In 2013, when ‘The Conjuring’ released, there was a new life for the horror genre. The first installment in ‘The Conjuring’ (2013) movie series had such huge success that it made sure that there will be more to come and after the spin-off ‘Annabelle’ (2014), the sequel to the original arrived and has managed to be the talk of the town again. This movie continues the adventures of the American paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine, the Warrens who were associated with going through a good number of cases of haunting throughout the country. ‘The Conjuring’ (2013) is based on the case of the Enfield Poltergeist which goes back to the ’70s in England where there were claims of poltergeist activity and the Warrens were involved in the investigation.
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) are checking the Amityville house in 1976, but Lorraine goes through a vision through the murders which happened at the place and comes across a creature that looks like a demonic nun, along with a scene of the death of Ed. It has her worried about the future of their paranormal investigations, and she feels that there is some terrible fate awaiting them as long as they go on with their job. She does have another visit from the demon in her dream, and Ed also draws a portrait of the demon. It is in the year 1977 that the Hodgson family comes up against some weird incidents at their house. The police are helpless against these, and they decide to call the local priest instead to figure things out.
The family includes a divorced mother Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her two daughters, Janet Hodgson (Madison Wolfe) and Margaret Hodgson (Lauren Esposito), and her two sons, Johnny Hodgson (Patrick McAuley) and Billy Hodgson (Benjamin Haigh). It all begins with Janet, the second of the children beginning to talk to darkness and also seems to sleep-walk during the later hours of the night. There seems to be the presence of an evil entity, that claims that the house belongs to him and everyone else is trespassing. As the rest of the family also witness the presence of something not of this world, they stay at the neighbour’s house, but even then, they are not spared. On more than one occasion, Janet is possessed, and her situation only gets worse.
This finally brings Ed and Lorraine to the haunted house. They consult with other paranormal investigators, including Maurice Grosse (Simon McBurney) and Anita Gregory (Franka Potente) and they come across the spirit of an old man named Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian), but the Demon Nun (Bonnie Aarons) is not really out of the equation. Soon, they will find out that the spirit of the old man, the demon, the vision of Ed’s death, and the new case of possession and haunting, that are all connected to each other. With the fear of death in their minds, can they go past the spirit and the demon to save the little girl who has put her faith in them? Or will the house remain haunted forever, and the family destined to remain in trouble?
It is difficult to compare the two movies, but one can safely say that this sequel is almost as good as the original. The success of this movie can be attributed to many things, including the setting which has been used here, the one strong demonic antagonist which is very well supported well by a secondary opponent, the jump scares that excels in quality, and the acting department itself. With a huge number of scares in-store, the movie is certain to keep all of its audience entertained. The attempt to scare begins with the first moments at Amityville itself, and they just keep coming as if to remind you that we are not done with you yet and that we will always have something to scare you.
The best moments of the movie include the first appearance of Bill’s spirit, the Demon Nun coming out of the portrait, the possession of Janet, the sudden appearance of the Crooked Man, and the spirit rising from underneath the water. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have done their parts wonderfully, and one got to love Madison Wolfe who played the possessed child. The one problem that people can have with this movie, is with those emotional moments, but they are actually very less in number. Throughout its run, ‘The Conjuring 2’ does make the viewers feel that they are part of this dangerous journey through the haunting, and successfully doing the same, manages to be the sequel that the original movie deserved.
‘The Conjuring 2’ has almost everything working in its favour. If you have watched the original, you will need to watch this sequel, and if you haven’t, still you need to check this one out. It works for everyone, and so we can be assured that there will be sequels to this movie, ‘Annabelle’ (2014) and also that spin-off titled ‘The Nun’ (2018) featuring the antagonist of ‘The Conjuring 2’. Here, we have a movie that needs to be watched with its entire splendor on the big screen, and it is a safe bet to make. This is also a valuable franchise, and so the fans can be sure about getting their money’s worth with more titles which are to follow.
Rating: 4.5/5
