The Conjuring 2 follows the Warrens as they investigate a haunting in England. The Hodgsons family comes under attack from a malevolent entity, but there may be more sinister powers at work that the Warrens must unveil.
**Contains spoilers!**
I apologize for my absence. However, I am back and ready to review more Very Scary Movies™. The other night I had the opportunity to enjoy The Conjuring 2.
After seeing The Conjuring a while ago (which, regrettably, I had seen before I became Final Girl), I was surprised at the level of production value the movie had. It had some good, chilling moments. Patrick Wilson is a versatile actor in a strong male role as Ed Warren and Vera Farmiga is lovely as the kind but not-to-be-trifled-with Lorraine Warren. The first film was a refreshing ghost/paranormal/possession story.
I was a little hesitant, though for The Conjuring 2. So often a sequel is half-hearted compared to the first in many franchises. Despite my immense enjoyment of the first movie, I’ll admit I was munching on lukewarm frozen pizza and gulping cheap boxed red wine and tentatively giving this one a chance. I figured it would have just been a fun, creepy movie without the charm and originality of the first.
This movie was another breath of the macabre! The movie starts with the Warrens contacting spirits for a family in an Amityville home. Lorraine and Ed assist with a haunting (a couple who ghost hunts together, stays together!). During this seance we meet the Creepy Nun who shows Lorraine premonitions of Ed dying. And this Nun, let me tell you, left just enough to the imagination to be shocking and showed just enough for me to be in awe of what this next chapter could hold. With Creepy Nun as our appetizer, at this point I was ready for the main course even after my cheap pizza and wine.
The Warrens travel to England where they assist the Hodgsons with a possession of their youngest daughter, Janet. Janet goes through the rigamoroll and throes of possession, complete with destroying rooms and terrorizing her siblings and mother. Lorraine and Ed help the family with the girl’s affliction, which turns out to be the spirit of a man named Bill who lived in the home prior to the Hodgsons.
We are blessed with more alarming scenes: toys wandering through the Hodgsons’ halls all on their own, crosses rotating upside down, Janet speaking with the voice of a demon, and the relatable doubt and gloom experienced by the Warrens. As the Warrens are just about to return to the States, Lorraine has a moment of clarity in a way she’s able to help the Hodgsons: After recording the insane and horrible mutterings and shrieks of Bill while he possessed Janet and splicing them together, the Warrens are able to decipher that the man was calling for help through the mouth of the young girl. The Warrens decide to turn around and help the family, though potentially at a price, as doing this may cause Ed to fall to the same fate as that in Lorraine’s vision.
We learn the Nun was actually a demon. The final act wraps up with Lorraine using the true name of the demon, Valak, and condemning her back to hell, thus releasing the spirit of Bill. A fitting ending for a ghost-hunter movie and the premise of naming the demon in order to banish it was one I hadn’t experienced yet.
At this point, I don’t have much bad to say about this movie! There was one scene which didn’t seem to fit stylistically with the rest (a pseudo-animated sequence where the children’s musical toy box comes alive). However, the cast is wonderful and the child actors did well. The directing and writing felt accessible to a general viewer and the film didn’t rely too heavily on jump scares.
Good movie: Yes!
Scary movie: Yes!
I am pleased to call this a Very Scary Movie!
Horror Qualifier: 10/10
Horror Quality: 9/10
Film Quality: 8/10
I’m curious what else can happen with the Warrens. We’ll see what shakes out with more of these films.
Be safe, readers.
-Final Girl