After poking around in the Conjurverse a little bit, I decided to go back and see why the original film was so successful that it launched the popular franchise.
As I’ve stated before, haunted house films aren’t typically my favorite. For whatever reason, the tropes and rules surrounding slashers or monster movies don’t bother me, but I have far less patience for the standard possession story. So, The Conjuring had an uphill climb if it was going win me over, even before I turned it on. Furthermore, it doesn’t really have anything new to offer, in fact deliberately paying homage to several of the genre’s films that came before. Against the odds, however, I found myself completely enamored with this movie. It’s a masterclass in building tension and making its audience care about its characters.
The unfortunate family that falls victim to the titular haunting are both relatable and sympathetic, but the real heart of the film is Ed and Lorraine Warren. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play the husband and wife team of supernatural investigators as so earnest and altruistic that they practically command your adoration. It’s a weird bit of cognitive dissonance, considering the real Warrens were almost certainly predatory con artists, but in the reality of the film they are modern day paladins. Although introduced early on, they don’t become embroiled in the main plot until nearly midway through, and that timing does great things for the story’s pacing. By the time the Perron family reach out for help, things have escalated at home from “that was wierd” to “oh shit, we’re in mortal danger”. With the Warrens’ calming presence and ghost-busting experience, the tension has a chance to reset for a while, as the family gets some much-needed relief and enjoys the company of their amicable guests. When things inevitably get so bad that even the Warrens are frantic and worried for their lives, the audience is thrust into even less comfortable levels of terror and anxiety.
I just watched The Conjuring a few days ago, and I would happily turn it on again right now if I didn’t have such an incentive to spend my time on horror movies that I haven’t already reviewed. It is such an elegantly constructed story with a humane core and real scares, I found myself too wrapped up in what was happening to wish for a more novel approach to the well-worn genre. The soft browns and beiges of the 70’s era setting lend the film an autumnal, sepia-toned feel that are quite lovely when you aren’t having the bajeezus scared out of you. The irony is that something this well made should stand as a singular experience, but that self-same quality is what drove New Line to turn it into a franchise that could never live up to its inaugural installment.
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