(Originally from Facebook – August 8, 2013)

As I said to a friend recently, “The Conjuring was so creepy, I nearly conjured a load in my shorts.” I was kidding, but only just. Horror is one of those genres in which there’s such a glut of options that most of them are bound to suck. This isn’t one of them. James Wan keeps proving that he knows how to create films that scare us. I feel like he’s moved away from the sheer gore of his Saw series (which frankly became cartoonish after a while), and found a much deeper creepy. His previous film Insidious was more frightening, I think (although not by much), but this one is more mature, and doesn’t have the third act issues that the former had.

It is a slow build, but I think that’s where Wan is at his best. In both films he takes his cue from classics like The Exorcist, giving the audience a chance to know and like the characters, yet at the same time, showing us that there’s just a little something off with their world–a walled-off basement, for example. It makes the payoff very effective.

The performances were all good, with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the standouts. Nothing spectacular, but nothing disappointing either. It was also nice to see Ron Livingston again. I feel like he’s been among the missing for a while, now.

Overall, I was a little disappointed, but only because the film was so hyped that it raised my expectations too much. IMDB gives it a 7.9. I can’t go quite that high, but I feel comfortable giving it a 7. It’s one of the better horror films to come along in a while, and if you like them, I think you HAVE to see this film. (running time 1:52)