THE CONJURING (2013) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

the conjuring (2013) movie

Genre              |   Horror

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   112 minutes

Released         |   19 July 2013

cast

Vera Farmiga ... Lorraine Warren
Patrick Wilson ... Ed Warren
Lili Taylor ... Carolyn Perron
Ron Livingston ... Roger Perron
Shanley Caswell ... Andrea
Hayley McFarland ... Nancy
Joey King ... Christine
Mackenzie Foy ... Cindy
Kyla Deaver ... April
Shannon Kook ... Drew Thomas
John Brotherton ... Brad
​Sterling Jerins ... Judy Warren
​

director

James Wan

writer

​Chad Hayes ... (written by) &
Carey W. Hayes ... (written by)

cinematographer

​John R. Leonetti ... director of photography

music

Joseph Bishara ... (music by)

film editor

​Kirk M. Morri ... (as Kirk Morri) (edited by)

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box office result

Worldwide             $​​​​​​​319,494,638

Australia                 $​​​​​​​​​8,167,711

North America       $​​​​​​​​137,400,141

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movie minutiae

​The film contains no sex or nudity, little profanity, tame and mostly bloodless violence, and brief depictions of alcohol and no smoking, yet it received an R rating. This was solely for its scare factor alone.

This film not only marked the second time composer Joseph Bishara has scored a James Wan-directed film, but it was the second time he had played a demon figure for Wan. He portrayed the demon embodiment of Bathsheba Sherman and previously played a lipstick-faced demon in INSIDIOUS (2010).

​When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Catholic priests to bless the viewers before showing it. This was due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The priests also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.

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related movies

THE CONJURING 2
(2016)

THE CONJURING (2013) MOVIE IMAGES

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THE CONJURING (2013) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Based on a true story, The Conjuring tells the suspenseful tale of Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson), world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives, after working such cases as the Amityville Horror and the Haunting in Connecticut.

THE CONJURING (2013) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 19 July 2015

​​Pop Movee Rating

THE CONJURING has some great moments that frighten the absolute crap out of the viewer. That's a good thing, because, after all, it's meant to be a supernatural thriller!

Unfortunately, the film is also unevenly paced and sets up far too many of the big scares in the second half of the film; leaving the viewer looking at their watch for much of the first 45 minutes of the movie wondering if the story is ever going to get into gear.

Director James Wan and screenwriting brothers Chad & Carey Hayes take the road well and truly travelled in THE CONJURING, ensuring that genre enthusiasts are not disappointed by their efforts.

The story is set in a small Massachusetts community in 1971, where the Perron family have purchased a sprawling old home as part of a tree-change for their family.

Lili Taylor & Ron Livingston play Carolyn & Roger Perron who bring their five daughters to their new home in search of a better lifestyle. Events take a turn for the unusual when the family discover a basement under their home that they were not aware of when they purchased the property. In a sign of things to come, the family's young daughter Alice (Kyla Deaver) discovers the family's dog dead after their first night in the house.

The film jumps away from the Perron's at various points to paranormal investigators Ed & Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga) who have first-hand experience at dealing with ghost, demons and the supernatural in general.

Director Wan wisely chooses to introduce the Warrens in this fashion as their story is far more interesting and both Wilson and Farmiga turn in stronger performances than any of the other actors in the film.

As events unfold, the film becomes as much about the strength of the Warren's love for each other as it does about exorcising the demon spirit that has - quite literally - attached itself to members of the Perron family.

The challenge with both Lorraine and Ed Warren is that they become cyphers to help explain what's happening, but that doesn't always help the viewer...

Lorraine Warren tells Carolyn this at about the halfway point of the film; which begs the question as to why the remainder of the film has to take place in the house? Why not just go to a more controlled environment and do what needs to be done? (Yes, it's part and parcel of the story that the finale needs to be set at the house to fit with the in-built mythology created by the Hayes' script.... It's just a glaring loophole that didn't need to be so obviously stated as it dispenses with any semblance of logic that may have legitimised the story.)

As THE CONJURING gathers pace toward its conclusion, the story falls apart under the weight of shock & awe employed by Wan to create a visually satisfactory ending.

Any sort of self-contained logic that has driven the story during its first 80 minutes is lost as Wan’s need to overwhelm the viewer takes hold and does not relent.

The last 30 minutes feel like any number of supernatural horror thrillers that have made their way on to the screen over the last thirty years. The film owes most of its appeal to the manner in which its embellishes tropes seen in genre classics like THE EXORCIST (1973) and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979).

While not viscerally disturbing, THE CONJURING spends too much of its time inflicting psychological pain upon the Perron children. Hopefully, this was a product of the story process and not a deliberate attempt by the writers to exploit children, as there are more than enough adults present upon which to wreak that type of horror.

In the scheme of supernatural horror films, THE CONJURING is better-than-average. In parts it feels more like a construct than an actual narrative. Many of the film's big jump scares feel telegraphed by the cliched setting of the old house. There's the usual complete lack of critical reasoning on display by most of the characters and music & sound effects are used to try and cover over some of the film's slow moments.

​All in all, it's the prototypical film of its kind given a slick makeover by a Director who's well known for his skill at creating striking visuals.

THE CONJURING (2013) USEFUL LINKS

The Conjuring - Wikipedia
​The Conjuring (2013) - IMDb
​The Conjuring (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes​

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