The Conjuring (2013)
Certified: 15
Duration: 112 minutes
Directed by: James Wan
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy
KRS release

The Conjuring is set in 1971 when Carolyn and Roger Perron (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston) and their five daughters move to an old farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island.

There the daughters – Andrea (Shanely Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), April (Kyla Deaver) and Cindy (Mackenzie Foy) – discover a cellar that had its passage blocked. Soon weird things start to happen: Christine starts having her legs pulled while sleeping, April finds herself talking to a boy that only she can see and all the clocks stop at 3.07am.

Help is sought from Lorraine and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson), a clairvoyant and a demonologist respectively. The couple, who are parents to Judy (Sterling Jerins), think that something evil is in the house. So they bring in Drew (Shannon Kook), their tech-savvy helper, and Brad (John Brotherton) from the local constabulary. They want proof of a demon presence to start exorcism proceedings.

But soon matters go beyond what they had imagined and evil starts to take over the house.

The director consciously tries to move away from his previous pictures to deliver something different

James Wan has become the director to go to if you want a horror movie made on a small budget yet one that delivers healthy returns.

So far he has directed Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007) and Insidious (2011) whose total budgets amounted to $22.7 million and cashed in $222 million. Dead Silence had been costly and broke even at most, but the other two films are now modern classics of the genre.

Now along comes The Conjuring and Wan is back with a movie that cost $20 million but has already made over $100 million.

Apart from the box-office success of these movies, The Conjuring is probably Wan’s best film yet. Here he consciously tries to move away from his previous pictures to deliver something different. His trademark element of winding his audience up and imbuing the film with tangible suspense is present and very much alive. So beware.

Like many other films in the genre, The Conjuring is supposed to be based on a true story, which here relates to the Warren couple who had also been involved in the much-publicised film The Amityville Horror (2005). Ed Warren died in 2006 and many have placed doubt on the couple’s work.

That does not mean it does not make for a suspenseful cinema-going experience. True or not, the stories that the Warrens have permeated are sure to make the audience jump out of their seat.

Wan manages to use the usual clichés in his favour. What is, however, the best part of his direction is that he does it all without overplaying his hands and keeps things simple. His flair for flowery cinematography is toned down and he simply focuses on the scare tactics.

In addition, this time around, he has gathered a set of real actors: Farmiga is impeccable, Taylor is spot on, while Wilson is doggone earnest. The children’s cast is also very strong.

Wan is meticulous and fussy and this sense of calculated direction really leaves an imprint. Couple this with a musical score by Joseph Biashara that is made to deliver goosebumps and some nice 1970s tracks and The Conjuring conjures all the right reactions.

Next up for Wan is Insidious 2 later on this year and The Fast and the Furious 7 next year.