Conjuring 2 : Le Cas Enfield

It's 1976. Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) investigate the Amityville house. After the incident, they are attacked for participating in a hoax. Lorraine is haunted by the nun and visions of Ed's death. She convinces him to stop. Meanwhile in London, the Hodgson family is suffering from a haunting. Peggy Hodgson (Frances O'Connor) is a single mom with four kids. Janet, the 11 year old, is possessed by the spirit intermediately. As more incidents occur and a media crisis gather, the church calls in the Warrens.

At its core, this is a simple haunted house horror. There are a few good horror moves but by itself, it's not that special. The Warrens make it special. They have create a compelling horror universe. Lorraine and the nun have a great nightmare scene. The best is Lorraine having a heart to heart with Janet. They make all the difference.

I was really counting on this movie to raise my scare level to the top, and if you haven't seen this movie, you have no idea what I am talking about! Oh my gosh, this film was freaking terrifying! For three years I was plagued with nightmares of the first movie, and i didn't think any movie could be more scary. Conjuring 2 definitely proved me wrong! Not only were there jump scares but REAL horror, not just being startled by a loud noise but James Wan shows us what real horror is. There were many rising suspense scenes and you have no idea what will happen. That is what scary is! Demons are what true scariness are. What lurks in the darkness is something to be terrified about. And this movie shows us this perfectly. Like I said it does have jump scares, and I appreciated that, why? BECAUSE NONE IF THEM ARE FALSE, they were not a cat jumping out or a character popping out, every single one was real and lived up to the rising suspense that was built up. Not only is it scary but it is an awesome story. As a matter of fact a TRUR STORY. It was very well told and unlike most horror movies today it actually had a PLOT. The twist in the end is brilliant, unpredictable and pieced together the plot elements well. Also greatly shot, greatly acted and great character development. Unlike most horror movies this has Likable CHARACTERS. Unlike most horror movies it's not a gore fest or has countless swear words, it's rated R JUST because of how SCARY it is. I love James Wan he is terrific at what he does. Every horror director now days NEEDS to see the insidious trilogy and of course the 2 conjuring movies. This has restored my faith in horror movies! I definitely recommend it. See it with your spouse, friends, girlfriend or boyfriend (definitely do not bring your kids) and you will have the thrill of a lifetime! By the way you might want to look under your bed tonight! 😉

"The Conjuring 2" is an excellent example of what more sequels should aspire to be. It is a perfectly executed haunting movie from James Wan that dives deep below the surface to explore themes of vision, belief and faith. The family drama is still right at the center and is quite effective, and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are excellent to their roles. The film doesn't give anything new at the horror movie genre, but its set pieces are often impressive, even if sometimes rely a bit on jump scares. The truth is that "The Conjuring 2" has enough suspense and story to have appeal for all kinds of horror fans and is a film clever enough to scare us. nikisreviews.com

First, the all-important question: Is The Conjuring 2 scary? Like, jump out of your seat, watch through your outstretched fingers scary? The answer to that is "yes." Under James Wan's direction, even the most clichéd haunted-house tropes (and this movie is bursting with them) are genuinely creepy, and although the movie isn't overly reliant on jump scares, the ones it does use—well, they work. On a lizard-brain level, The Conjuring 2 taps into the universal childhood fear of the dark, and some of its simplest moments—like a little girl hiding under the covers with a flashlight—are its most effective, bolstered by skillfully executed sound design and Don Burgess' gloomy cinematography.

Speaking of tropes, that's where the "based on a true story" bit comes in. The main plot of the film revolves around a real-life incident known as the Enfield Poltergeist, an extremely well-documented case of a supposed ghost who terrorized the Hodgson family of North London from 1977 to 1979 and was apparently a fan of the classics: knocking on walls, shaking beds, throwing furniture, and even the occasional haunted kid's toy. And as malevolent spirits often do, it picked on one of the children in particular, 11-year-old Janet Hodgson (Madison Wolfe). Call it a collective delusion, or a desperate cry for attention from a disturbed child. Or call it what the movie very explicitly calls it: The Devil.

With this installment, the Conjuring movies may have overtaken The Exorcist as the most Christian of horror franchises, taking place in a universe where the Catholic Church is the spiritual S.H.I.E.L.D. and demon hunters Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) its holy roller super-agents. The film opens with the Warrens investigating the famous Amityville case, during the course of which Lorraine first encounters the hellish presence that will haunt her for the next few years. Fearing for his life, she begs her husband to suspend any future paranormal investigations, to which he reluctantly agrees. Until, that is, a priest arrives to give them their next mission: Travel to London and confirm the veracity of reports of a demonically tinged haunting.

Both Farmiga and Wilson are given their chance to shine in spooky set pieces—Farmiga early on in the film, Wilson later. But while they're both convincing in spiritual warrior mode, Wan's decision to play up the romance between the two doesn't quite work. We knew that the Warrens were a happily married couple in the first movie, but having them each individually tell the story of their paranormal love and Ed make suggestive comments about the sleeping arrangements seems odd, maybe because they're flirting in front of a possessed pre-teen whose soul is currently in the process of being swallowed by the Pit. (On the other hand, this is just another day at the office for the Warrens.) The non-horror elements of the film are uneven in general: The score, so effective in the fright scenes, suddenly evokes eye rolls when things start to get sentimental, and there's one scene of unintentional comedy where the film's retro '70s setting—another element downplayed in the first film but foregrounded here—collides with its demonic imagery in an honestly pretty silly way. (The Conjuring 2 shares its predecessor's eye for period details, some of which seem out-and-out ridiculous until they're juxtaposed with photos of their real-life counterparts in the end credits. The on-the-nose pop music gets no such redemption.) That being said, there are also some truly funny moments, like a shot of the Hodgson family running from their haunted house after a particularly intense bout of psychokinetic activity that riffs on smartasses' favorite retort, "Why don't they just move?" (And, for the record, they don't move because it's public housing, and the local council, which is naturally quite skeptical of the whole "ghost" thing, has to approve the relocation.) It's also worth noting that The Conjuring 2 is more than two hours long, allowing for lots of escalation. And while each individual haunting scene can be white-knuckle intense, by the dozenth or so such shock, the film starts to lose momentum. So the final confrontation, when it does come, is a relief in more ways than one. The long running time also allows Wan to overthink his demonology: The main villain, an infernal nun, is appropriately nightmarish, if reminiscent of the veiled "Bride In Black" from Wan's own Insidious. What's less compelling is the insertion of the "Crooked Man," a storybook scarecrow monster that starts spreading Babadook-esque chaos about halfway through and is explained as the demon assuming a form that's familiar to the Hodgsons. Which would be fine, if it weren't for the two familiar forms that the spirit has taken already.

When The Conjuring 2 focuses its efforts on scaring the audience, it succeeds, wildly. And why wouldn't it? Wan's got his horror technique locked down at this point. It's the parts where it wanders away from the basics of creating and releasing tension that prevent it from outdoing its predecessor.

The Conjuring 2 doesn't waste time in bringing the scares in. By that, I mean you're pretty much in the thick of it from the get-go, being given some background (via another very notorious haunting incident) for what is to follow.

The Warrens are sent on behalf of the church to investigate some paranormal activity which is whipping up a media storm in Enfield, England and, as per the first movie, they go and attempt to work their magic on the situation. Once again, a family is being haunted and they fear for their sanity and lives. There are a few new twists this time round, so all does not play out as before - but it's not a complete departure from the format, which might have made it a bit more gripping in places.

James Wan's trademark visual style is repeated in this movie - his bag of tricks sometimes yielding a sense of deja vu but generally working like a charm. When it's intended to scare, it really does. The scares come a bit more frequently than in the first movie and do manage to build a lot of tension, even if you've seen the original, so well done to Wan for that.

What's really enjoyable about this movie, is its nostalgic recreation of 70s England. Wan has really done a great job of this, which is surprising given that he's not from there. Also, the central support role of Janet Hodgson is pretty crucial to empathising with the Enfield family and Madison Wolfe gives a solid performance.

It's arguable this one is as strong as the first. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed part one, or indeed likes movies of a haunting or possession theme.

Some awesome, unsettling and creepy music in places too.