THE BFG (2016) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

THE CONJURING 2 (2016) movie

Genre               |   Horror Thriller

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   134 minutes

Released         |   9 June 2016

cast

Vera Farmiga ... Lorraine Warren
Patrick Wilson ... Ed Warren
Frances O'Connor ... Peggy Hodgson
Madison Wolfe ... Janet Hodgson
Lauren Esposito ...
​Margaret Hodgson

director

James Wan

writer

​Chad Hayes ... (screenplay by) &
Carey W. Hayes ... (screenplay by) &
James Wan ... (screenplay by) and
David Leslie Johnson ... (screenplay by)
 
Chad Hayes ... (story by) &
Carey W. Hayes ... (story by) &
James Wan ... (story by)
 
Chad Hayes ... (based on characters created by) &
Carey W. Hayes ... (based on characters created by)

cinematographer

​Don Burgess

music

​Joseph Bishara

film editor

​Kirk M. Morri

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box office result

Worldwide             $320,270,008​ ​  

Australia                 $​8,096,663

North America        $​ ​​102,470,008 ​

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the best dialogue

Anita Gregory: Last year I was conned by a Welsh family pretending to be possessed by demons. And honestly, I don't know what was worse: the demons or the people who prey on our willingness to believe in them.
​
Lorraine Warren: The demons... are worse.

Lorraine Warren: Ed, this is as close to hell as I ever want to get.

Lorraine Warren: After everything we've seen, there isn't much that rattles either of us anymore. But this one... this one still haunts me.

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THE CONJURING 2 (2016) IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

THE CONJURING 2 (2016) STORY SYNOPSIS

​In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, England, where single mother Peggy Hodgson believes that something evil is in her home. When Peggy's youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help the besieged girl, only to find themselves targeted by the malicious spirits.

THE CONJURING 2 (2016) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 8 June 2016
​Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

With THE CONJURING 2, James Wan has achieved something few Writer-Directors have been able to achieve in their careers; a sequel that is superior in every way to their first effort in the series. It may be tempting to argue that Wan was coming off a low base, as THE CONJURING, released in 2013, relied on jump-scare after jump-scare to build its tension and in terms of plotting had lost its way by the time the demonic force of that story had been exorcised.

This new story sees Wan, and his screenwriting team of Carey & Chad Hayes and David Johnson, focus upon parapsychology husband & wife duo Ed and Lorraine Warren, played, once again, by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Wan has chosen the London Enfield hauntings that were widely reported in 1977 as his new setting, and combines his focus on the Warrens with the effect of long-term exposure that this new unexplained phenomenon has on a single mother and her four children.

The film opens with an extended prologue that helps to reintroduce Ed and Lorraine Warren, as Wan recaps their involvement in the Amityville hauntings that took place in the Northern Hemisphere Summer of 1975. It is in her exploration of this event that Lorraine has a vision of Ed’s death and comes face-to-face with the most powerful demonic force she has ever encountered.

The story cuts across the Atlantic Ocean to the London suburb of Enfield where the Hodgson family are introduced as lower class and impoverished, living in a run-down Council house that hardly seems fit for human habitation. Besides mother Peggy (Frances O’Connor), the mainstay of the Hodgson family is young Janet (Madison Wolfe), who becomes the focal point of the supernatural mayhem that follows throughout the movie’s 133 minute running time. (Don’t be put off by the running time, as there’s a lot of story to cover based on the actual documented events and many of the film’s events feel underdeveloped despite the film’s length.)

Where THE CONJURING 2 really works is with its characters. Wilson and Farmiga reprise their roles from the first movie, but the screenplay provides them with greater depth. The story spends its fair share of time examining the couple’s relationship and the reason why they have so much faith in one another and in a higher presence. Lorraine Warren’s abilities are also explored in much greater detail and the underlying conceit that she is some kind of Earthbound Angel walking among Demons is given more credence in this film as the writers provide more of her backstory.

In addition to the Warrens, Frances O’Connor does a great job as Peggy, showcasing the character’s social isolation and her frustration that her lowly lot in life brings its own set of prejudices from those whom she tries to enlist help. Simon McBurney is good as Maurice Grosse, an amateur paranormal researcher who became embroiled in the Enfield case, however, his motivation is glossed over for the sake of the film’s pacing, but there’s so much more the audience needed to know about him that is merely alluded to. All of the Hodgson kid characters are great, with young Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh and Patrick McAuley providing excellent support for Madison Wolfe’s Janet.

Technically, THE CONJURING 2 is almost faultless. Wan has a great visual style and he makes the most mundane scenes interesting with his unusual camera placements and tracking shots, more than ably assisted by Cinematographer Don Burgess. The use of in-camera visual effects over CGI is always welcome and helps sell the realism of the threat at hand.  At its heart, the success of The Conjuring 2 lies in the expanded scope of Wan’s screenplay. The supernatural elements are not the main game, there are just enablers of a story about faith, trust, endurance and love.

The film strikes a nice balance between its returning characters and the new family who are put through the proverbial demonic wringer. It’s the best Horror/Supernatural thriller to come out for quite some time and is a clear demonstration that James Wan is maturing into a film-maker who can makes audiences jump out of their seats, deliver them breath-taking visuals AND tell them a story that has depth and meaning.

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