The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Director: James Wan
Story: James Wan, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’ Connor, Madison Wolfe
Music: Joseph Bishara
Time: 134 minutes
Bottom-line: Predictable; not frightening at all 

Horror films can be like The Exorcist – has barely any storyline, but does an exceptional job of scaring the daylights out of you; or like Yavarum Nalam amd Shutter Island – not frightening but somewhat “logical” horror films, and my favourite type. The other category is the films that try to scare you and tell a story, which in most cases, fail. The Conjuring 2 falls in the third category.

1974 – When paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga) are documenting the Amityville murders, Lorraine sees a vision where she relives the murders, sees a demonic apparition dressed like a nun, and also witnesses Ed’s death. The story shifts to 1977, England, where strange happenings occur at the Hodgson residence. The youngest daughter, Janet (Wolfe) is possessed by the spirit of Bill Wilkins, the man who had lived and died in the same house. As Janet shows more signs of being possessed, Ed and Lorraine are called to investigate. What they find, and whether or not they are able to relieve Janet of the spirit is what the story is about.

Wilson as Ed and Farmiga as Lorraine

The “horror” aspects of the film are all clichéd, and hence, the incidents become predictable quite often. This is why The Conjuring 2 fails as a horror film, but because of the mediocre storyline to support, it turns out to be a decent drama. The text in the beginning tells us that it is based on a true story, and the corresponding real life characters are shown along with the closing credits. One good thing the film did was to popularise Elvis Presley’s Cant’ Help Falling in Love, which is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard. The comments section on YouTube makes it clear that a large number of people heard the song because of the movie.

The acting was good, by all the actors. Farmiga and Wilson reprise their roles from The Conjuring. The former has done really well, in terms of body language and facial expressions, and the latter wasn’t so active on screen, but one highlight was his performance of the Presley song. Madison Wolfe is worth noticing in the film. She plays the possessed child Janet, and even if the makeup and acting don’t scare as much as Regan’s character in The Exorcist, this is a commendable performance too.

Connor as Peggy (left), Wolfe as Janet (middle)
and Lauren Esposito as Margaret

I still haven’t seen The Conjuring but I don’t think it is a necessity to see the prequel to understand this film. There’s nothing really unique in The Conjuring 2, except for the song. The story’s predictable, and it does not scare you to the amount you expect from a proper horror film. The sets and atmosphere aren’t really scary either because they’re old school (rainy nights, dingy cellars...). It’s a mildly entertaining movie at the most, but not really worth going to the theatre to watch.

My Rating: 2/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 76%