Welcome back to our series look at the Conjuringverse films. It's been an interesting experience so far. We've been through The Nun, Annabelle Creation, and Annabelle. With each installment, we are able to receive small glimpses of the Conjuringverse world at large. There is a bit of a progression to it. I have to say that it also proves that this franchise is extremely flexible. It really can leave it up to the viewer to watch it in any order that they would love to. You can watch it in the order that the films were released. Or you can watch it in this timeline order that we've been doing. I've honestly come up with another order unto itself.
My son is starting to get into horror movies. He loves to be spooked. He has seen the TV Cut of Halloween '78 and Halloween '81. He loved both of them. He's seen the original Blob as well as the remakes of When A Stranger Calls and The Fog. So his introduction is a bit encompassing a lot of different varieties. Over the weekend, he said he wanted to watch a spooky movie. As I've been working through these movies, I been checking to see exactly if he could watch them. Well for the most part, these films are a bit what I'd call light-R. They are darker than PG-13 but may not feel like Rated R entirely.
So on this past Saturday, we turned down the lights and covered the windows. Popped some popcorn. I switched the LED strip on the back of our TV to Spooky Season Orange. And loaded the blu ray of the first Conjuring.
Now by this point, I have seen The Conjuring a lot. It's a film that is extremely well crafted. There's a reason that this first film was so well received. It has that feeling of an 80s film. You know the feeling. Honestly, this whole franchise feels like a wonderful throwback to the 80s franchises. SAW is very much the same way. They don't make them like this anymore. They try, but for the most part tend to fail.
This watch was different. I wasn't viewing the film through my own eyes anymore. I was able to see the film through my son's eyes. First off, we see the opening moments with Annabelle. By this point, we have seen a variety of versions of this moment. But this time around, I got to sit and take in the sequence differently. It's simple and effective. It's also extremely in the vein of like an urban legend as the people are explaining their story to Ed. The thing I noticed was that the broad strokes remain in line with what we have seen in previous films. However the subtle differences began to emerge. It really does showcase how much of an urban legend Annabelle was. They had mentioned that Annabelle Higgins had died in their apartment. No mention of the dollmaker and his wife. It's really cool seeing the way the story progressed to Annabelle becoming an urban legend.
During this whole sequence, my son was sitting there on the edge of his seat. He was totally engrossed in what was going on. Earlier in the day, we had gone to Spirit Halloween and we had seen a life size Annabelle doll. He asked bout her. Now, he was getting a bit of the story. He just looks at me and says "No, Dad. We can't get that Annabelle from Spirit.". I explained to him that it's not the same and what he's thinking isn't necessarily true. But then I asked him, "Well, have you seen something similar with this story before?". "What do you mean?", he looked at me quizzically. "Goosebumps. The story of Slappy.", I explained, "How is that different than Annabelle? It's not really. Doll wants to transfer itself into a person. It's very much like Slappy's story.". This honestly was the first time that I had made that comparison. And it does hold up that Annabelle is like the Slappy of the Conjuring films.
After the Annabelle sequence, we are then introduced to other two-thirds of the formula of this film - The Perrons and The Warrens. Typically in horror movies, families can be a large hit or miss. They can either work really really well or leave you wanting to see them being tormented. A good example of a family that works are the Freelings from Poltergeist. They are fantastic and relatable. We cared about what happened to them. We wanted to save Carol Anne and their family from the hauntings that were going on. An example where the family is on the opposite end of the spectrum would be the Lutzes from The Amityville Horror. I will say that The Amityville Horror, the original, just doesn't work for me. It's safe to say that my review for that film would lead to me saying that it feels overly bloated and just doesn't work. And a large reason for that would be the family.
Thankfully, The Perrons in The Conjuring all work. They are all relatable. Yes, we have a scene with the little girl talking to 'an imaginary friend', or so the Mom thinks. But this is a loving family. It's extremely clear that they all love one another. They are sadly in a situation similar to the Lutzes. Money's tight and so they found a good deal through the bank. Sadly, it's a deal that could be too good to be true. And thus, we have them being haunted by Bathsheba Sherman. One of the sequences that just is fun to see unfold is the first time they play Hide and Clap. Just seeing the family playing the game together is pretty wonderful.
Then, we have The Warrens. Ed and Lorraine are absolutely wonderful. It's extremely clear that the cast, not just Patrick and Vera but everyone, loved working on this film. Everyone is delivering solid performances. The love between Ed and Lorraine is so real. It's absolutely believable and a good anchor for these characters. The love that they show for their daughter, Judy, is also very evident and believable. Honestly, if either of these families didn't work, the film wouldn't work. Cause in order for it to work the way that it does, we have to care about these characters.
The scares in this film work to outstanding effect. There are not a lot of jump scare moments. Each scare is slowly built and carefully timed. Yes, there's one or two instances where there is the jump scare you expect - loud noise happens as something happens. But each scare happens for a reason. There's no overthinking with things. The one thing I will say that I think everyone remembers the first Conjuring for is Annabelle. That little snot of a doll managed to steal the show. I know I always find in my watches that I'm surprised when Bathsheba takes over the mother. The other spirits that make appearances always managed to surprise me as well. I just always remember the Annabelle sequence and the Hide n Clap game. So, in a way, it leads to Bathsheba and the others to be very subtle.
My son was very surprised with The Conjuring. He jumped at almost every moment there was a scare. He looked at me a time or two and was like "Did that just happen?". The whole second Annabelle sequence left him telling me multiple times that I cannot get the Annabelle doll. He was absolutely floored by it. By the end, he just asked if there was more.
In the end, The Conjuring is a film that works beautifully. Once again, it's a true homage to 70s horror films like Amityville Horror. Wonderfully crafted. It's a film that I also turn back to every now and then. Another good example of a comfort horror movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
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