TheConjuring2

Similar to the first installment, the action arena's setting is the plus. In this case, it's London Borough of Enfield. You are inside the environment with the characters and James Wan deploys the swing, house tent, room portraits, rain, toys & dark corners of a poverty-stricken household as boosters to scare the living soul out of us! Don Burgess' camera is a persona of its own as it's woven with the family, the terror through seamless transitions & navigations. Sharp sound effects make the night creep into your bedroom silently.

Scares. There are some legitimate scares in this one! Sleep-talking's just a hint. The television remote shift scene that gives the first look at the dead who claims authority of the home will choke you! Once you've seen the male ghost, you get to learn its character. You know it does not bullshit around. It's robust, translucent & doesn't hesitate to do the necessaries to meet its clear objective!

Valak's painting turning into real life & the crooked man's attack are noteworthy. One particular sequence that's extremely memorable is the night where the whole family comes to know the existence of Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian). His activity of pushing the furniture around chases them out of the house, to the neighbors, before the same happens to a couple of police officers! The humor here is incredible!

After the above key incident, things aren't scary anymore. It's because we've seen the entity already. A horror film works when the suspense is not revealed. It's effective due to our own minds begin to transpose or perceive how the ghost will be, by reflecting the kinds of images that are to our own fear. However, the makers have smartly attempted to mask this by 'showing without showing'. Ed (Patrick Wilson) interrogating Bill with back turned against & his blurred vision at the climax are instances.

What stands out in The Conjuring franchise is the facet of family. True horror lies in losing the ones you love. We slowly see Janet (Madison Wolfe) crushing down to crumbles; spirits weakened. Her TV interview scene is significant! Ed comparing the haunter to a bully & performing Elvis' 'I Will Always Love You' with an impression are admirable. Peggy (Frances O' Connor) telling Ed about her husband taking the music records away literally is hilarious. In the midst of inexplicable events, this aspect of the story adds so much of humanity & serenity into the experience. The downside to this is, things do get dramatic, mildly campy in & out.

Curiosity is aroused when the question of whether Janet's been faking all these occurrences or otherwise keeps arising. The footage shot is a highpoint, supported by a dense storyline through crisscrossing the audio recordings to get a single message!

Unlike the first installment, the introductory case through a clairvoyance visioning is mediocre, mainly due to the hyper-speed cut that's off-putting. Scenes like Ed finding the false teeth retainer & live show debate proves nothing. Computer-generated imagery of the crooked man kills every seriousness built thus far! While the investigations done are nice, the biggest drawback of this picture would be a delayed Act I, followed by a lengthy Act II.