The Conjuring (2013) - Dagon Dog Treats

The Conjuring is one of those movies that I admire (and even thank) for keeping the genre alive in a meaningful way. Horror, as a film genre, has gone through incredibly substantial changes since its humble beginnings, and can often be categorized by the decades in which a horror movie was released. I hold firm that the 1980s was one of the best decades for the genre while the 1990s and early 2000s were two of the worst. So, I am thankful and appreciative when a movie like The Conjuring comes out in the modern era, scares the pants off of people, does a lot of things right, and manages to be extremely successful for justifiable reasons. I’ve seen The Conjuring many times by this point and I would argue that it’s one of the best horror movies to come out in the teens (2010-2020). Had I been more knowledgeable about website building back then as I am now, or had Squarespace been an option for me, The Conjuring would have probably been one of the first movies for me to review for DagonDogs.com. As I have mentioned in the past, however, the much weaker spin-off sequel, Annabelle, would take that spot.

When it comes to my favorite horror movies of all time, The Conjuring does not sit as high as others in my mental pantheon. However, that is not to diminish the quality of James Wan’s work. It seems extremely rare to have a horror movie that is well-made and beloved by many fans—without being a movie that uses overt political commentary to win over audiences, or without being a movie with a director who is good, but not the flawless genius that so many people think he is— so I’ll take what I can get. (If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you probably can guess which movies and directors I’m referencing in that sentence.) The point is: The Conjuring is one of the best horror films to come out in the past 10 years and you’re wrong if you disagree.

Plot

The Perron family, a small family of 20 7, have moved into a nice large home in the New England area of the United States in the 1970s. Everything seems perfectly nice and normal for the working-class family at first, but of course, spooky things start happening soon enough. Turns out that the house is haunted by a very vengeful spirit and some not-so vengeful ones. Out of desperation to figure out what is going on, Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) contacts paranormal investigators, Ed (Patrick Wilson) & Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga).

After a quick look around, it becomes clear that the situation is far worse than they originally thought. Things escalate rather quickly, and everything goes Amityville Horror by the end. It’s a “haunting” movie, what more do you expect?

What Works & What Works

Direction & Discretion

How do you make a movie using the traditional and very familiar plot devices of haunted houses and demonic possessions so scary that the content screeners for the movie bumped it up to an R-rating due to the amount of soiled pants that were in the theater that day? James Wan, who has directed a number of successful horror movies at this point seems to know the answer pretty well. When you consider how many other movies exist that are similar to The Conjuring, in both plot and tone, it’s somewhat shocking that anyone could pull off what he and his team did.

I attribute a fair amount of praise to Wan’s direction because he matches his scares with the intensity of the film at that moment. There are jump scares throughout the film, some more successful than others, but each scare that happens and the amount of detail you see at that moment depends on how far along you are in the film. This might seem like common sense, but a mistake that lesser films make is showing too much, too early. Wan does the less-is-more strategy for the first half and even revels in it with one of my favorite scenes, in which the middle daughter, Christine (Joey King), is tormented by an invisible figure in her room. She can see it in the dark, but the other characters and the audience don’t see a thing. This relies on her ability to convey her terror to us, as well as the sound and music helping the scene since we can’t see anything. However, I think it’s extremely effective.

There are other moments like this that are just as memorable and spooky, if not more so than the ones in which the characters see an actual ghost. The “hide & clap” scenes are both great because they allow the silence and tension to build The scenes involving Lorraine outside by the tree or doing laundry are also creepy and surprising moments. While other James Wan movies depend on the individual moments being effective at scaring you, like Insidious, The Conjuring manages to hold all its moments together in a cohesive package that works.

Acting

I won’t say too much here other than everyone does a good job with their roles, regardless of how big or small the part. Patrick Wilson is good in pretty much everything he’s in and he’s proven to be capable of playing a wide range of roles. Lili Taylor is also an actor who manages to sell the moment pretty well, regardless of whether it’s a good movie like this or a bad one like Eli or the Haunting remake. More surprising is the amount of quality acting from all the young girls in the Perron family. To have five young actors all manage to play their parts pretty well is a feat in and of itself. It should be no surprise that they’ve all gone on to do several more movies/ TV shows since then.

Sound & Tension

The Conjuring makes great use of silence before it gets extremely loud and intense. While this can get excessive in other films—especially in those attempting to use jump scares constantly—The Conjuring walks the line quite well. There is a distinct understanding of how useful silence can be in building tension. Again, it’s a common sense thing when it comes to making horror movies, but what makes this movie a master at it is that if/when the tension is released in a loud noise, you don’t feel any safer than you did beforehand, because the jump scares aren’t fake. The fact that there isn’t always a jump scare to cap off the tension also makes it less predictable and allows the creepiness to linger. It is even bold enough to do many of these creepy moments out in the open sunlight.

Likewise, the music of the orchestra manages to evoke the unsettling emotions you're meant to feel in the film’s creepiest moments. The string instruments do the classic slow building of tension with long swipes along the strings. It’s no soundtrack that I’d want to buy, but it does the job.

Why You’re Wrong if You Disagree

There have been plenty of haunting and possession movies over the years. Some of which manage to stand out as unique in their own way. The Conjuring, while using a familiar premise and a simple scenario, manages to set itself apart as one of the best. Not all of James Wan’s movies have been monumental successes, but a lot of the different factors in this movie just work together in tandem.

I will confess that there are parts of the movie that I don’t think work to its benefit. I think some of the script, particularly spoken by the Warrens, is a little stiff or cringe-worthy. I also don’t like how the movie portrays the Warrens as the superheroes of the film, as though they’re more important than the people being haunted. Small things like the photograph of the Perron family on the beach with a stock background look like cheap props that should have given more detail since we focus on it so much. The fact that it’s set up for sequels and spin-offs also rubs me the wrong way.

Nonetheless, these are all nitpicky criticisms that don’t impact my experience with the film in any substantial way and they shouldn’t impact yours. It’s not a perfect film, unlike some of the other movies that I’ll be mentioning for this feature. However, The Conjuring’s flaws are extremely minor in comparison to its strengths. The way the shots are framed, the way the creepy props are arranged (like ghostly feet dangling in the air above someone’s head), the way the tension slowly builds in a scene, and the way that less is more is used, all work together to make it a much better haunting/exorcism movie than most others.

How Tasty Is It?

The Conjuring is one of the best horror movies to come out in the past decade. It doesn’t necessarily do anything new. However, it does a lot of things right and well enough to make a PG-13 movie scary enough to be rated R instead. There are plenty of modern horror movies out there to watch, but not many that are better than The Conjuring. If only the sequels and spin-offs were as good.