THE CONJURING 2

Three years after the first one, The Conjuring franchise is ready with a sequel. The Conjuring may not count as one of the classics when it comes to horror movies, but it certainly has been the benchmark over the last few years, maybe being outshone only by the Paranormal Activity franchise, which normal cine buffs might find a bit too intense for an evening’s entertainment. The Conjuring has perhaps found the perfect middle ground of scaring just enough without putting the average viewer out of the comfort zone. The years that have intervened between the first one and the sequel have been flocked with horror flicks dime a dozen. Most of them have been underwhelming, including The Conjuring offshoot Annabelle and the highly anticipated Insiduous 3. So, hopes were indeed high while walking in for The Conjuring 2.

It starts off reminding us about the Amityville haunting which is perhaps the most talked about

haunting incident around the world. So, something similar is happening thousands of miles away in Enfield England, says a scrolling text as we’re shown The Conjuring 2 in the familiar bold yellow font. The setting is quite similar to that of The Conjuring, or any horror movie for that matter. Big house, 4 kids, man rooms, a cellar, a stair, plenty of stuff with which any supernatural entity can play havoc! It starts off as minor incidents – someone is sleepwalking, someone is thirsty in the middle of the night, some noises are heard thudding up and down the stairs, but no one really wants to take all that seriously. But then, someone decides that there’s been enough of the funny small stuff, and takes it up one notch. Now, we have a terrified bunch of kids and their mom who are sure that there is something in their house that wants them to leave. The police want to help but find nothing that they can do, the media gets in the act and soon it’s all over the papers, and before you know the church wants their experts to have a look at the place to confirm whether all this is real at all or just a hoax. That brings in Ed and Lorraine Warren.

All the way from America to Enfield England, they fly to know whether anything that is going on in the house is supernatural. They come, and they do get to see a few events, but nothing that makes it plainly clear. Quite surprisingly, the entity that didn’t seem too bothered about all events being public is not too eager about the Warren’s getting a good look at it. As Lorraine says, she just can’t sense anything. So, what is going on? Is it a hoax? Or is it something worse, more powerful, more evil than they have ever seen before?

The plot of The Conjuring 2 is as solid as the first one. The characters are quite relatable and draw empathy from the audience which is a major victory for a horror flick. The film is not a straightforward narration of the haunting. At different points in the narrative, we shift to the Warrens, who are not yet aware of the Enfield haunting, and we are shown that they are somehow connected or being dragged into this, just like the demon in The Conjuring wanted to harm their daughter. This thickens the plot. There is one particular scene in the Warren household with Lorraine Warren locked up in a study with an evil entity, which is quite chilling. The visual depiction of the entity is quite difficult to shake off for a while after the movie has ended.

As with any horror flick, The Conjuring 2 is all about how many times we jumped out of our seats.

The initial hour, where the entity makes the household aware of its presence is quite interesting and there are a few genuine jump scares and slow spooks. But, once the presence is established, and the psychological breakdown of the victim begins, things get a bit predictable. Some scenes, like the Crooked Man scene, fall flat. Once the Warrens enter, the tempo continues to be a bit flat for a while before it picks up right before the finale. It might be that we are quite used to the James Wan style by now and know where to expect the scares from, and so are not very surprised at ever event. But it all picks up with that one scene in the train where the recordings come together to make sense.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson continue to do the fine job they started in The Conjuring, with Vera growing even more into the role of Lorraine Warren. The music is a shade less effective than in The Conjuring while the camera does a fine job of keeping us guessing of what lies beyond the light. The Conjuring 2 is not as good as its predecessor, but it still has some genuinely scary moments and a good story. Easily the best horror flick in over a year from Hollywood. Go watch it.

Scares you enough to keep you on the edge!

3/5

Annabelle: Scare me once before the end..please!

‘Before The Conjuring, there was Annabelle’, said the teasers that told us that this movie was coming. It was indeed a smart move to remind the audiences of The Conjuring, which was very well received in Indian cities. But, what the makers may have overlooked is that with the mention of The Conjuring, there would also be expectations; to be spooked, chilled and thrilled in the same way, or maybe in even better ways. Annabelle was the opening note of The Conjuring, and also made a significant impact in one of the story’s turning points, and so it is indeed exciting that an entire movie is focused on the demented doll and its doings in this world. Question is, does it make for a good horror movie?

Let’s get one thing clear, Annabelle is made in much the same way as The Conjuring. Many horror

film buffs had felt that The Conjuring was a bit too underplayed, with too few spooks and chills than normal. They said, it was not exciting enough. But, those who prefer more substance than shrieks and screams had found it very interesting. Annabelle tries to take us down that path. The makers have banked on a solid screenplay built around a good story. There is very little in terms of intentional scary stuff, be it graphic visual representations or curdling sounds. The director does not try to put scary things in your face and make you jump out of your seats or shriek in horror. Yes, there are moments when things come out from behind doors, there are dark corners, flickering lights, rain beating down on the window panes, creaking chairs, a big church with a weird looking statue; all these tell tale signs that something supernatural, or extranatural is lurking about. But, sitting through the 100 minutes of the movie, I never once felt my heart beating faster than it normally would, nor did I gasp. Yes, I did empathise with the young woman and her baby for being caught up in a warp of inhuman presence, but I never felt afraid, which is where perhaps Annabelle fails as a horror flick.

I have a theory about horror flicks. When we go to watch a horror film, we know what we are getting into; so there is no question of being surprised when a ghost appears on screen. The success of a horror film lies in planting the seed of eerie expectations in our mind about what is going to happen. It is about giving us clues about which corner or which door might reveal the supernatural. It is about getting us all wound up and then surprising us just a second before or a second later than we expect. It is that moment of uncertainty in which the horror film comes alive. Annabelle hardly ever comes to life like The Conjuring did. The moments like ‘hide and clap’ and the ‘hanging corpse’ that caught us unawares in The Conjuring are hard to find in Annabelle. I don’t know, maybe we have become familiar with the director’s style as a result of which he is not able to stay a step ahead of us. At least, that is how most of the audience reacted! There wasn’t any nervous shifting, no uneasy screams or an eerie silence in the movie hall, a sign that a horror flick hasn’t caught the audience by the scruff of their neck.We also miss the methodical approach, of exorcism or incantations that we have enjoyed in other horror flicks.

Some might call comparisons with The Conjuring as unfair, but the makers invited it by almost

branding Annabelle as a prequel. Make no mistake, this movie does a good job of narrating the story of the Annabelle doll, has well defined characters and portrays the mental disintegration of the protagonist in a very believable manner. Thanks to these two movies, even the most rational of minds now clearly knows the differences between ghosts and demonic spirits. But all that doesn’t add up into a good horror flick. It fails in its primary objective- which is to scare! Annabelle finally ends up diluting the aura of fear that was built around the Annabelle doll by the cameo in The Conjuring.

Annabelle – Good story, fails to thrill!

1.75/5.