The Conjuring 2

My expectations of sequels are usually lower than their originals, especially in the horror genre. When I first watched The Conjuring two years ago I was surprised how well crafted and effectively scary the film was. Since then the sinister ideas and dark images have crept into my mind at night more often than most other horror movies. I finally got the courage to watch its sequel, The Conjuring 2, thinking I would easily laugh it off as I do most horror sequels. Instead I got a fresh new batch of nightmare fuel.

The Conjuring 2 expands on Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren’s (Patrick Wilson) dealings with the supernatural. The opening scene depicts some of their involvement investigating the infamous Amityville haunting (any horror fan will recognize those windows). Here and at home, the Warrens get visions of a ghastly nun and dark premonitions. Then, they are called to investigate a haunting in England.

The Hodgson’s on Green street in London are a family trying to move on from a messy divorce. Peggy (Frances O’Connor), her two boys and two girls live in an old house, furnished by the previous owners. Strange happenings revolving around the younger girl, 11 year old Janet (Madison Wolfe), begin to shake the family. Was it the homemade ouija board she’s been playing with? Her older sister finds her sitting up at night, talking to the darkness. Janet thinks she’s sleepwalking. It all seems like childsplay until their mother witnesses a strange, violent and unexplainable occurrence right in the girl’s bedroom. It’s a great, startling scene!  When the police are involved, they witness objects move in ways they cannot believe. The media gets involved and records an interview with the girls, where Janet seems to be possessed and speaking for a long dead owner of the house. 

When Ed and Lorraine arrive in England to help the Hodgson family, things turn serious.  Details, crazy shit. Ed gives the children a pep talk to stand up to the bad spirit together. Lorraine confides in Janet about their supernatural experiences. But some of the investigators think Janet is faking all of it and any proof of that could quickly discredit the Warrens. But how will the family fare without them around to protect them?

Something I really admire about this film, and its predecessor, is that their overall look is genuinely scary. The inside of the Hodgson’s house looks haunted. The walls are dingy. The boys little tent is dark and foreboding. Their basement is a dangerous mess. And that corner with the armchair looks absolutely rotten, like these sinister supernatural things have been eating away at the house for years. And then there are the physical manifestations of the things that haunt the family and they’re not easy images to shake from your mind in the dark. 

Throughout the film the cynic in me wanted more explanation about the creepy nun. She seemed out of place in the beginning, and knowing about there’s a film in this series called The Nun, I originally dismissed it as a long con advert. Don’t be as cynical as me, it all connects and pays off in the spectacularly suspenseful end. And I was close to picking up those clues to the demon’s name, that alone makes me want to rewatch the film.

Overall, The Conjuring 2 is a good and scary horror movie, but only nearly as frightening as its predecessor. Still, images of that demon nun seem to lurk in the shadows and possessed voices still ring in my ears. Good supernatural sequels are hard to come by, so The Conjuring 2 is a welcome addition here in my October Haunts. And James Wan proves himself as more than a one hit wonder for scary stories. And overall, The Conjuring saga/Warren files are proving to be a very interesting and entertaining slice of the horror genre. I want to check out more. Perhaps The Nun next. Maybe Annabelle, if I’m brave enough. 

“After everything we’ve seen, there isn’t much that rattles either of us anymore. But this one… this one still haunts me.”

The Conjuring

From the very beginning, the filmmakers of The Conjuring want you to understand that what you’re about to watch is based on a true story. Maybe they know that makes this story all the more terrifying. With any movie, we expect some exaggerations and liberties to be taken for dramatic effect, but when deciding how much of this horrific tale is true, I’d be left aghast at any of these creepy occurrences being true. The Conjuring tells the story of a case Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) took in the early 1970s. Supposedly, it’s so terrifying that they decided to keep it under wraps, until now.

When the Perron family move into an old farm house, they start noticing some creepy occurrences. As the family happily walks into their new home, the dog refuses to go in. They discover a cellar that’s been boarded up. And soon strange noises happen. The youngest child starts talking to an imaginary friend. Another starts sleepwalking, always bumping into an old wardrobe. Soon, doors start closing, the mother has unexplainable bruises and one daughter sees someone behind her bedroom door. This case has it all and the family call the Warrens for help.

Shit really starts hitting the fan when the Warrens and their crew arrive to investigate. Lorraine, who is a medium, senses a sinister presence has attached itself to this family. She also can sense that horrible events have happened in the home and one presence wants to make history repeat itself. To save this family, there will have to be an exorcism, but the priest is on hold and they’re running out of time.

The whole setting is designed to be so dark and foreboding. That dog had the right idea to not even step foot in that creepy house. The inside feels like a cave; hollow, deep and dark. The walls are a creepy texture of gray with a touch of green for a sickly color. The whole house looks like no happiness could ever occur within those walls. Only fear, pain and tragedy.

This film has all the classic haunted house creeps ticked off and uses them effectively. Plus there are some jump scares, but they’re not the main source of scares. The use of the blindfold-clap game creates amazing suspense. Best of all, there’s enough well crafted, true terror to make this horror fan to look away to avoid nightmares. Like any good horror film should, there are some creepy images that are left burned into your mind after the film: hands reaching out of that wardrobe, a reflection in a music box, blood being vomited over a white sheet during an exorcism. You can’t unsee that.

What I believe makes this film so truly scary is the careful storytelling. We see these events unfold so organically around this family that we can relate to so easily that we cannot help but be pulled in and feel a part of this terror. And when Lorraine explains the history behind these hauntings, the story gets a whole level deeper and thrills viewers even more. By the crazy-intense third act, we are hanging onto our seats and crucifixes for dear life.

I do have one main gripe: movie starts out with story about a creepy possessed doll, Annabelle. While it’s cool and creepy as fuck, that’s not what the story is about, but is used as just a segway to the Warrens. I guess that’s why the film had the working title The Warren Files. It’s interesting and no doubt sets up interest for its own movie, but I wanted the focus on this story, it’s surely so rich and powerful it doesn’t need any fillers. Also, keeping a doll you know is possessed in your home with a kid around is just asking for trouble, even if you’re a demonologist.

Overall, The Conjuring is a truly scary movie and one of the best horror films I’ve ever seen. The dark setting, the uneasy suspense and horrific third act all add up for a terrifying ride. Whether or not you choose to believe, the based on a true story bit can make it even more horrific. I watched this film at home, in the middle of a hot summer day with my newborn son. I’ll admit that at one point I jumped so hard while holding him that he woke up and was not happy with me. And I tried my best not to think about this movie during his late night feedings. Unless you’re really not scared of anything, keep the lights on and don’t do it alone.

“There’s a lady in a dirty nightgown that I see in my dreams. She’s standing in front of my mom’s bed.”

Up in the Air

In mid 2009, a professor would ask my entire graphic design class every week up to graduation if anyone had found a real job yet.  Every week, all we could do was laugh.  No one was hiring anyone in any field, much less us hopeful artists and budding writers.  People were losing their jobs left and right and by the release of Up in the Air the only person in my immediate family with employment was my husband.  Three months later, this blog was born out of a need to connect and be a productive citizen again.  Part of what made Up in the Air worthy of Oscar nomination was it’s recognition of the downward economic conditions; the other part was its ideas on isolation.

For the film, director Jason Reitman interviewed many individuals who had recently lost their jobs, asking them to reiterate what they felt and said in the moment of bad news.  We get this footage in three smartly edited scenes.  Their comments range from outrage, worry, some depressing very thoughts and finally the ideas of new beginnings.  To think about Ryan (George Clooney) bearing witness to all these reactions day after day, I can understand his need to keep isolated.  It’s easiest to keep unemotional when you carry no attachments.

Ryan Bingham is a man who loves living most of his life alone on the road and flies across the country to fire people, when their bosses don’t have the balls.  Business is booming.  He also does some motivational speaking where he encourages people to live life free of commitments.  To preach any idea, one has to practice them and believe in them.  Ryan is just the man to encourage us to unload our backpacks.

Back at his company’s office in Omaha, newly graduated Natalie (Anna Kendrick) has innovated a new idea that will be more efficient and save money on travel, firing people over a web-cam.  In an attempt to keep his life on the road, Ryan takes Natalie out criss-crossing the country to show her the ropes of his job and how such a personal blow should be done face-to-face.  We’re not lost on the irony of this coming from the unattached man with an empty backpack speech.

Along the way, they meet Alex (Vera Farmiga), Ryan’s mutual hookup whenever their path’s cross.  Young and idealistic Natalie cannot bring herself to comprehend this relationship with no future, especially after a cold breakup via text message.  It seems Natalie spouting her ideas on at least not being alone gets to Ryan as he asks Alex to be his date for his sister’s wedding.

Some people may think that Ryan leads the perfect bachelor life, until they see him with his family.  Though there is still love, Ryan has been so unattached he is an outsider to his own sisters.  There are uncomfortably silent moments between the three siblings and it seems bringing Alex was a good idea for just having something new to talk about.  The happiest moments of this film are Ryan with his family, they’re also the most bittersweet.

Visually, Up in the Air is very simple but subtly convey meaning.  Notice the poster with Ryan and the two female silhouettes in front of the terminal window.  Each individual is separated in the grid structure and none seem to be acknowledging one another.  We find the same separation and grid structure in the opening credits showing all the aerial shots of the ground below.  And throughout the film, you’ll notice times where Ryan is alone and framed within something.  The camera feels most organic during the wedding scene, where the isolating structure is broken, the lighting is warmer and Ryan is surrounded by the people he shares mutual love with.  It looks simple and sweet here, like a home movie.

This day and age we can all be very isolated without really realizing it.  Between all the modes of social networking and everything our phones can do, it seems we can always be connected.  While postcards, text messages and web-cams make communication quick and easy, they can be cold and sterile, lacking in humanity and are not appropriate for all occasions.  Especially firing or a break-up.  Running your life from a screen isn’t much more connection than living on the road.  And for many of us today who haven’t found jobs or settled in one location, our lives are still up in the air with so much uncertainty and hope.

“Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now.  And it’s because they sat there that they were able to do it.”