I love a good horror film, even some of the more borderline absurd styles like the Evil Dead remake, or a few of the Saw films. However, I have certainly missed the old school feel you could only get from a horror movie made in the 70s or early 80s, a la the Exorcist, The Omen, Poltergeist, etc, and The Conjuring certainly takes you back to that time period in terms of visual style and overall feel. But does this film live up to the current hype machine? Is it a modern day classic for the genre? Those were the main questions I had walking into the theater.
I'll just say it: I don't think this is a classic, at least not yet anyway. I walked out of the theater feeling as if the first hour had my brain over-guessing when the first big scare was going to happen, and truthfully I'm not certain I was ever truly "scared" throughout the course of this film. Disturbed? Absolutely, but not scared in the traditional sense that moviegoers tend to grade the effectiveness of a horror film by. I'll elaborate on that more a little later. Now, for those who don't know what this story is based on, well, it's taken from a true story derived from the experiences of a married couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were paranormal experts in real life. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga did a very good job convincing me they were in fact emulating a couple who has had numerous experiences dealing with possessed demons and various haunted homes. And this is where I must say it's about damn time a horror film has a cast of actors and actresses who aren't still in their 20s and barely know how to act just yet. What made films like The Exorcist, Alien, The Omen, and Halloween so vivid was each cast having at least one or more respectable actors in roles these films needed to have a certain believability to them. For the most part, the last 15 years of horror films has more or less gone with the youth movement for casts that simply can't elevate the story material to new heights. So in that regard, The Conjuring hits a home run with me. Additionally, I do appreciate the fact the director, and all those involved with the writing and production of the film, chose to do a very slow build up to the action sequences in the film. This really gave it a classic horror film feel, and classic movie aura for that matter, where the audience is FORCED to sit the hell down and wait for the big payoff. In the era of ADD audiences, that's a very ballsy pace to go with for storytelling.
Another facet I must mention that made me smile ear to ear was the opening credits. It reeked of the same eeriness, and subtle intensity the original Exorcist opening titles had with the music truly setting the mood of this film.
Now as far as why this film disturbed me over just scaring me out of my seat, I just think the theme of this movie, dealing with demonic possession and forces you can't truly see can honestly make a person's own belief system become challenged over the course of 2 hours. I'm not a particularly religious person but the fact I walked out of the theater even remotely believing some of the events depicted in this film could have been possible in real life says something to how convincing the picture was. That's why I feel this movie is far more disturbing than it is just a typical scare fest. I'm not quite ready to label this as a classic because let's face it, most films that are considered classics took 20 years or more to be recognized as such. I think that's why I'm beginning to have a problem even giving a final review on a film I've only seen once because the passage of time is the real truth for a film's legs. Having said that, I DO think this film probably will go down as a classic over the next two decades or so. Lots of attention to detail, lots of images that will probably stay with you as you leave the theater and I think that alone says there's some replay value to revisit this picture again and again.
A must see but don't expect to be blown away upon first viewing. Nuff said.
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