I thought it was just your typical haunted house movie. The only difference is that this one was actually really well made. After everything I've heard I expected it to be a lot scarier though.

Yeah, I was slightly let down too after the huge hype and the enormous success. It#s not the scariest of horror films. But as you said, one thing does set it apart - it is very very well-made.

Even though I expected it to be scarier, I loved it. It'll be a damn shame if James Wan doesn't return to horror eventually.

***1/2

conventional

The Conjuring

Definitely a scary film. It is the scariest horror film of 2013 and it has this great 70s real-life quality to it. Mix that with some genuinely scary characters/shots, and eerie music, and all the normal haunted house gimmicks, and this reaches a level of respectability that other demon/spirit films are just too lame to reach (Mama, for example). It's very well acted and James Wan really is a terrific director. If there's any criticism, I suppose I thought it might have been scarier. When it does scare, it doesn't keep those scares going. It lets you off the hook, which I was actually pleased about (because I'm a big fat pussy), but that's not what a horror movie should do!

The cinematography was probably the best I've seen for a horror movie. The shot selection and atmosphere that is created by the shooting of inanimate objects is well done. Farmiga is great.

B+

Though they waste a lot of time on the faux true story nonsense, The Conjuring features a compelling enough story and it's period setting gives it an facade of authenticity. Plus, the actors sell the whole flimflam perfectly.

Among the better modern horror movies I've seen.


4 out of 5.

My first repeat viewing one year later and it holds up very well. It's just a well-made horror film.

Kind of funny now that I've watched it back-to-back with Insidious how similar the structure is for both, up to a point. Family moves into house. Some sort of malicious demon haunts the family. A group of ghoul pros hops aboard to expel the demon. The difference is this stays very conventional, whereas Insidious heads into The Further.

I just rewatched this. My grade is now 4.5/5. For me, with horror being probably my least favorite genre, it's my favorite movie in the genre. It's so well done on every level. The cast and acting are fantastic, the cinematography and score are amazing, the atmosphere created in the 1970's time frame is great. The movie made me jump several times, and at many moments I felt serious dread for these people. I cared about the characters, which is almost never the case in a horror movie. If most of the movies in the genre were as well made as this, it wouldn't be my least favorite genre.