 Considering the message this movie ends with, I won't spoil much of anything, but I do feel the need to point out a friendly reminder that the real-life Ed and Lorraine Warren were complete and utter frauds who took advantage of people, some with mental health problems, and made a living off it. The thing is, with a genre like horror, we can take these "true stories," twist them into something else, and quite honestly, make some good horror where Ed and Lorraine essentially play the superheroes of this universe.
I treat these films as pure entertainment, as many elements of serious horror that I like are present throughout the series. While there are plenty of tropes as well, they generally provide the things I'm looking for in a serious horror movie; the 'Conjuring' series offers up a lot of suspense, strange visuals, and, above all else, from my perspective, the Warrens, as characters, take a back seat to everything else. I'm here to see the families, the hauntings, and possessions, and to encounter something that will ultimately make me feel uneasy later, marking it as effective. 'Last Rites' is thankfully such a chapter. Before I get into it, however, note that the film focuses a lot more on the Warrens this time around; namely their now grown-up daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) who brings her boyfriend, Tony (Ben Hardy) home to meet her parents, of course, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga), who have since retired from their jobs as demonologists due to Ed's heart problems he received during an exorcism in the previous film. So, this is one case where, unfortunately, the Warrens are more front and centre of it all, but I still found a lot of what I wanted to be effective. Getting into some of that, things start when the Smurl family moves into a new house in rural Pennsylvania. It's a bustling household, hosting a huge family on the day of one of the daughters' confirmations, Heather's (Kíla Lord Cassidy). As a gift, her grandparents (Peter Wight and Kate Fahy) gave her a creepy antique mirror, which just so happens to be part of a demonic case Ed and Lorraine investigated. At the same time, Lorraine was pregnant with Judy, causing Judy to come out of the womb stillborn, but saved with prayer. In other words, going back to Tony, he may be in over his head with more than just an unusual family. Before long, the mirror starts the dance of the demons as strange things start happening to several members of the Smurl family, which also includes Heather's sisters, Dawn (Beau Gadsdon), Carin (Tilly Walker), Shannon (Molly Cartwright) and her parents, Jack (Elliot Cowan) and Janet (Rebecca Calder). They call on their priest, Father Gordon (Steve Coulter), for help, who luckily may have the proper case to bring Ed and Lorraine back into the game, having their experience with the mirror come full circle. Aside from portraying Ed and Lorraine as heroes as opposed to the jerks they actually were, a few more things got irksome along the way for me. For example, the Smurl family is far too loud, rambunctious and annoying, even if it is meant to highlight how haunted they all look later. It also runs too long, and could have been edited down, as there are moments that drag. However, as far as the scares go, they were effective for the most part, including some imagery involving broken glass and blood that did manage to stick with me later on, effectively evoking that discomfort. 'The Conjuring' and other related films are another one of those series in which the first title will probably never be topped as far as its overall effectiveness goes, at least for me. But even then, it is admittedly hard to watch these sometimes, trying to separate the movie from what it is, when the movie still seems to suck up to Ed and Lorraine, all the same. Even some of the things I like about these movies get executed poorly when you learn the real stories behind these hauntings. Really, effective or not, it might be time to give this universe a rest. 3/5
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 Maybe it's just me, but personally speaking, the 'Nun' movies are probably at the bottom of the list of titles in the franchise, or at least very low on it. The first 'Nun' felt a little preachy and forced, as though they needed to give the demon Valak (Bonnie Aarons) an origin story, and it doesn't even really come across as such. For whatever reason, they decided to give that prequel a sequel, which is again pretty weak, knowing that Valak definitely comes back, and thus throwing any real stakes out the window.
I mentioned it in the first 'Nun' review, but there's not much point to either of these backstories apart from money-grabbing. I can't even say there's any family connection between Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), despite the women portraying them being real-life sisters. Like its predecessor, this is another cash-in, simply utilizing a universe that draws in horror fans and puts butts in seats. The story is highly similar, too, the short version being "nuns need an ancient relic to put a stop to Valak's evil doings," and there's some spooky shit that happens along the way. As the last movie wrapped up, we were left with survivors Sister Irene and "Frenchie" (Jonas Bloquet), who reveals his actual name to be Maurice. Once the chaos is over, the film leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger when Maurice finds himself "marked," so to speak, suggesting that there are definitely more horrific things to come. While Sister Irene goes on to serve in a convent in Italy, Maurice becomes a caretaker for a boarding school in France, where he befriends a bullied girl named Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey) and her Mother, Kate (Anna Popplewell). By 1956, signs of the terrible evil returning seem imminent, and Sister Irene is dispatched to check out a series of deaths that seem to be attributed to Valak, or at least something very close to it. Selected by the church to go it alone based on her experience, Sister Irene gets some company with her friend, the novice nun, Sister Debra (Storm Reid), because these religious horror movies need someone on the edge of belief so their faith can eventually be restored. Debra is actually a likable character; however, she essentially takes on the same role Irene had in the last film, providing more of the same. While Sister Irene and Sister Debra continue their investigation, they eventually manage to figure out that Valak has indeed returned, but is busy terrorizing the boarding school, using a character we know and have come to like as her conduit. Just as with 'The Nun' last time, a McGuffin enters the picture once again. This time around, it's the Eyes of Saint Lucy, which Valak seeks to acquire to restore and amplify her power. However, given our knowledge of what lies ahead in this series, we have a good idea of how things will unfold. One way or another, the Nun will make her return, no matter how we slice this story. The entire movie ultimately revolves around the Sisters intercepting the Eyes of St. Lucy before Valak can reach them, and the rest of it consists mainly of horrific scenery and jump scares that feel stale and lack genuine atmosphere, at least for the most part. It's not without a decent scare or two, and a lot of it gets pretty damn creative. For example, one of the most incredible scenes in this involves a magazine stand and magazines flipping to create a mosaic of Valak. I admit that I have not seen that anywhere else, and give it some points for originality. But just one or two creepy scenes aren't enough to save it. When you get right down to it, this is a movie that defines "all style, no substance." Despite a few solid scares that I can attribute to it, the film remains highly predictable, and even more so if you've seen the first one in preparation, which is almost necessary to begin with. A part of me suggests that this chapter is slightly better than its predecessor, if only because it feels less preachy, and some of the scares are more effectively executed here. But if it's better, it's not by a long shot. In the "up and down" consistency of this franchise, it's definitely still in the "down" category. 2/5  Unfortunately, 'Conjuring 3' here finds itself among the weaker titles in the franchise, although personally, I might not think it's as terrible as people suggest. It doesn't lack when it comes to a decent scene or two. But I will say that I think it suffers from a bit of "part-three-ism." Put simply, we've seen this whole song and dance before; it's more of the same, executed a bit differently, and it's once again "based on a true story," which, let's face it, is hard to take seriously at this point in the game.
While the Warren couple make for some pretty cool religious superheroes in these movies, the reality of them is that they were called to take a look at some cases, entirely uninvited for others, and this was all used to push their Catholic agenda on those suffering these unusual circumstances, some of them with real mental health problems, the Warrens would take advantage of. They also often victim-blamed the people involved in these cases. All of this was widely revealed by the time this chapter came around, so that likely detracts from any quality surrounding it as well. For more information on the story of the real Warrens and their possible connections to cases such as Amityville, the Perron family haunting, the Enfield poltergeist, Annabelle, and the case featured in this film, there are several online references to explore. Meanwhile, in the movie world, admittedly, things are finally starting to feel stale, and many of the scares and suspense that made the first two movies good have become par for the course. The timing in 2021 didn't help much, as we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was scarier than any horror movie we could watch at the time. Taking place in 1981, we once again follow a revamped film version of professional demonologists, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), as they document the exorcism of David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), an 8-year-old boy who one will probably recognize as young Luke Craine from 'Haunting of Hill House.' I must give full credit to this kid's acting abilities, as he makes his possession look remarkably convincing, and actually provides this movie's highlight. The rest of the film, although okay, doesn't bring anything new and interesting to the table. The exorcism is held around David's family, including his sister, Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook) and her boyfriend, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor). During the nightmarish process, Arne tells the demon to spare David and pick him instead. From this, Ed becomes convinced that somewhere within Arne, the demon still lies. One day, Ed and Lorraine find themselves working to clear Arne's name when he commits a murder, apparently without realizing he did it, and this brings us full circle to the title of the film, and the real-life case of Arne Johnson, who was convicted of murder but used possession as a defence in court. While I can concede that it's recognizably one of the weaker titles of the franchise, I have to admit that I find the idea that someone really tried to use demonic possession as a defence in court fascinating. As I've already mentioned, several articles and documentaries on the subject are available, and they are interesting, but also get to the point of being laughable. There's almost enough there to make for something of an ironic piece of entertainment: a film that takes itself seriously, but the viewer just can't, and thus laughs at all the dumb little details. Unfortunately, though, the film is more easily forgettable, and the first two still stand out. So, if you like these movies for what they are and can accept them as fictional horror, very loosely based on real events, I could, at best, consider this one passable. However, I must reiterate that this series is full of ups and downs, and this installment finds itself wedged between the poorly executed 'Nun' films (which I consider the worst) and 'Annabelle Comes Home,' which, although not a great movie, is still a good time. But much as it is with any 'Conjuring' movie, whether good or bad, the real-life case is probably worth checking out more. 3/5  When it comes to the 'Conjuring' series, I've mentioned before how with each film, the quality shifts. Although it's perfectly debatable, I consider 'Annabelle Comes Home' to be one of the better, if perfectly average titles. I enjoy this, as far as average "haunted house" movies go; it's something to watch for a fun Halloween romp. It's more on the fun side of things, less on the scary side of things, and it features a slew of possessed objects as Annabelle more or less leads an army of entities here.
The film opens with Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) receiving the Annabelle doll from nurses Debbie and Camilla (Kenzie Caplan and Sade Katarina, respectively) and bringing it home to be locked away, thereby preventing any further harm to anyone else. While driving back home, Ed and Lorraine experience a variety of paranormal activities, including Ed being attacked by a group of cemetery ghosts. Here, Lorraine establishes that Annabelle acts as a beacon to other restless spirits. Once home, the doll is blessed and stashed away in a glass case, labelled with warnings against opening it. Once Annabelle is locked away in her case within a locked room filled with cursed and haunted objects, Ed and Lorraine are contacted to investigate another case, which will be overnight. They welcome their daughter Judy's (McKenna Grace) babysitter, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), and this is where things get interesting. For me, the fun of it comes into play once Ed and Lorraine leave, and the film says, "let's just do our own thing." Honestly, I believe the only thing based on "truth" (a word we use very loosely with the Warrens) here is some of the drive home and locking Annabelle away. While babysitting, Mary Ellen's friend Daniela (Katie Sarife), having learned at school just whose house she's babysitting for that night, pays a visit to the Warrens' home to hang out with her friend and have her show her around. When, admittedly very irresponsibly, Judy and Mary Ellen leave for a quick errand, Daniela is left alone to snoop, stumbles into the room of oddities, finds the key to unlock Annabelle's case, does so, and therefore unlocks a bunch of evil that channels the other spirits in that room to "rise," and haunt the hell out of these kids. Daniela may very well be a snoop, and perhaps a bit untrustworthy, but it's hard not to empathize with the real reason she's there - in hopes of getting into contact with her deceased father. In the meantime, I'd say Mary Ellen plays the audience, while Judy takes on the role of the "paranormal expert," having been given some of her Mother's psychic gifts. On a personal level, this particular title holds extra fun for me, as I mainly know McKenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler from the more recent 'Ghostbusters' films, which is a connection that is just too strong to ignore in a movie like this. As the movie unfolds, it is, as I mentioned, a haunted house-type film with a lot of variety, as several of the spirits that terrorize the house are interesting and creative. Some are loosely based on real cases, but some are clearly made for the film. My personal favourite is a piece of haunted Samurai armour, from which the closer you get, the more you hear what seem to be the tortured screams of its victims. It also just looks really cool. However, there are several other entities here, each as creative as the last, that deserve just as much credit. Suppose I compare this to another horror series. In that case, I might consider it the 'Elm Street: Dream Master' of the 'Conjuring' universe, given that reviews are overall very mixed, and it feels like a bit of a cash-in, suggesting that most of its viewers came to see it because of the title as opposed to word of mouth on anything good about it. To each their own, but I find it underrated. There are far worse movies in this collection. It's not as scary as some of its predecessors, but also not as lame as others. This is good for a fun evening of not-so-serious thrills and chills, and something that injects a bit more fun into the series. 3/5  'La Llorona' is a side quest of sorts in the film. While not officially connected to the 'Conjuring' series, the film connects to the franchise through Father Perez (Tony Amendola), who first appeared in 'Annabelle'. If I were to compare it to something more for the masses, it's to the 'Conjuring' universe what 'The Eternals' is to the MCU - connected very loosely. When you get right down to it, this title is entirely skippable, given everything I've mentioned, and the fact that the film just isn't that solid.
Just a couple of months before 'Annabelle Comes Home' was released, this dropped, just one week before 'Avengers: Endgame' managed to drown it with pure MCU power. It seems clear that, much like 'Halloween III', this is the movie, whether you want to include it in the franchise or not, that gets overlooked the most, and I can understand why. This is an interestingly average horror flick. There's a lot of clichés going on here, but it's not without the odd moment or two that satisfy the senses on a fun, horrific level. The trouble is, those moments are few and far between, and a lot of the rest of it is almost annoying in a way. The whole thing opens with an origin story, keeping it brief and to the point, as the viewer gets to know the legend a little better. Long story short, in Mexican folklore, La Llorona (the Weeping Woman) is a vengeful spirit who roams bodies of water while mourning her children, whom she drowned, out of jealousy that her husband was unfaithful. Now, legend has it that whoever hears her crying suffers great misfortune and possibly even death. Movie-wise, it's more about her finding more kids to drown, which is also part of the legend, and the primary focus here. In 1973, LA, a caseworker named Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini) arrives at the house of client Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez) for a welfare check, only to find her two children, Tomas (Aiden Lewandowski) and Carlos (Oliver Alexander), locked inside a closet. Patricia attacks Anna for opening the door, and the kids even ask Anna to keep the door shut so "she can't hurt them." Of course, this prompts the accompanying cops to arrest Patricia under heavy suspicion of abuse, and the kids are taken to a shelter. Little does anyone know that Patricia isn't who they were hiding from. Meanwhile, Anna's kids, Chris (Roman Christou) and Samantha (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen), each have paranormal encounters with a mysterious crying woman in a white dress, who ultimately turns out to be the malevolent spirit of La Llorona, now chasing after Anna's kids. Their only hope, and I found this funny, is an ex-priest named Rafael (Raymond Cruz), who knows the legend inside out. If Cruz's name sounds familiar, it's because he played the unforgettably suspenseful and nerve-racking character of Tuco in 'Breaking Bad.' Unfortunately, I can't get Tuco out of my head when looking at Cruz, and it's tough to accept him as a "good guy," especially when he still carries that "f*ck-around-and-find-out" aura with him that made his 'Breaking Bad' character so scary. For as amazing as he was in 'Breaking Bad,' however, watching him here almost gives me a sense of confusion when trying to take him as, again, a good guy type. I also mentioned "annoying" earlier, and that's a bit more of a personal matter. While there's a bit of bad parenting that stands out, for me, Chris' scream is like nails on a chalkboard, and it happens often enough that you want La Llorona to get him. While I may come across as nitpicky in some regards, one cannot deny how clichéd the movie is, with all of its scares more or less expected, and almost no mystery or subtlety to the figure of La Llorona herself. It just doesn't have the same heart as the 'Conjuring' movies or the later 'Annabelle' movies, and in a way, it's unfortunate for the series that director Michael Chaves has taken over, and the films under his name have been pretty average at best. Still, this doesn't mark the "beginning of the end" for the franchise. In this guy's humble opinion, a few more still manage to stand out in a good way. 1/5  The 'Conjuring' franchise can get a bit confusing at this point, if you're only reading this and haven't seen any of it yet. To make things easy, however, the 'Annabelle' movies are prequel films, save for 'Annabelle Comes Home', which is a prequel attached to 'The Conjuring'. Meanwhile, the 'Nun' movies stand on their own as a couple of prequels to everything. So, if you want to do these chronologically, 'The Nun' films are where you want to start. But fair warning, most of the franchise is better after these films take place.
The nun in question is Valak (Bonnie Aarons), who established herself as the Warrens' archenemy in 'Conjuring 2.' So yeah, this is a second origin story, establishing where the demonic nun in Ed's painting and Lorraine's visions comes from. By the way, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are not a part of these movies. Instead, we get a handful of unlikely heroes: a nun yet to take her vows, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga - Vera's sister); a French-Canadian villager, who goes by "Frenchie" (Jonas Bloquet); and, perhaps most entertaining, an almost-bad-ass priest named Father Burke (Demián Bichir). The short of it is that the abbey the nun terrorizes was built in the Dark Ages by an occult-obsessed Duke who summoned Valak through a rift in the catacombs in hopes of power, wealth and knowledge. An assembly of Christian knights eventually killed the Duke, though, and the rift was sealed with a convenient vial of the blood of Jesus Christ. Later, in WWII, bombing loosened the rift, and since then, nuns have kept things protected with powerful magical prayer. But in 1952, the demonic force manages to escape, taking the form of a nun, and terrorizing the abbey, causing one of the sisters to hang herself. Frenchie discovers the hanged sister, and that's where Father Burke and Sister Irene are called into action to investigate the abbey, determine what's happening, and, with any luck, contain the evil force terrorizing the area. The thing is, since we have 'Conjuring 2,' we know that the evil eventually gets loose one way or another. Having said that, however, I won't spoil anything further as to what happens with our leading three. Speaking of which, let's delve into that, as both religious figures here are such opposites. While Frenchie is a sort of "everyman" for us to relate to, and his performance is probably more or less what you'd imagine it to be, it's almost fascinating how underwhelming Irene is while Burke is so over the top. Taissa Farmiga was quite wooden throughout. She's supposed to be all "pure," I think, but there's no real personality to her whatsoever, making it hard to establish any connection and route for her. Demián Bichir, on the other hand, is clearly having some fun with this role, delivering a serious performance with his best Batman voice. I get a guilty pleasure out of watching Bichir, as he offers some of the funniest, if cheesiest, lines in the film. I laughed out loud more than once at some of these line deliveries, which he delivers with such conviction that they sound like those of some action hero. In my own way, I love Father Burke. He's not excessively over the top, but his character comes across as a sort of Dirty Harry/Noir detective, and the man is a priest. He may have been, at least partially, inspired by the priest in 'Dead Alive', despite sources indicating that this is not the case. This one didn't perform well critically, and there are several reasons for that. My most significant criticism, and it may come as no surprise, considering the subject matter, is that it's preachy. The whole thing is essentially about the power of prayer keeping evil contained, and we all know the evil escapes anyway, so it's also a real downer of a movie when you take a moment to think about it. I could see it becoming a guilty pleasure of sorts over time, but it's not that good overall, and the scares are much more potent in other chapters of the 'Conjuring' franchise, both prior and subsequent. 2/5  Perhaps this is just my perspective, but the 'Conjuring' franchise has about as much hit-or-miss quality as the 'Star Trek' franchise. While one can expect a lot of horror cliches to play out through the series, sometimes those cliches are executed poorly, and sometimes, really well, like here in 'Annabelle: Creation'; arguably one of the better movies in the collection, and a far cry from its predecessor. This film may be a prequel to a prequel, in pure cliche fashion, but it makes up for the boredom provided by the last one.
Not only are the scares much better executed here, along with the suspense, but the acting is also well done. It provides us with at least a couple of characters we genuinely care about, and it offers more than just a doll sitting there with weird things happening around her. But before we get into it, for a touch of "spoiler," it is revealed in 'Annabelle' that the doll is assumed to have been inhabited by the spirit of a girl named Annabelle, however the reality is that it's actually a demon of sorts, and this chapter tells of that origin story, answering any unanswered questions as to what exactly Annabelle is. We get introduced to doll-maker Samuel (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife Esther Mullins (Miranda Otto), who, circa 1952, twelve years after a family tragedy involving their daughter, Bee (Samara Lee), open their home as a shelter for a nun named Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and six other girls, when their orphanage closes. Two of these girls are outcasts from the other four, and provide our primary focus for the film: Linda (Lulu Wilson) and her polio-stricken best friend, Janice (Talitha Eliana Bateman), who have a sister-like relationship. Since the tragedy involving their daughter, the Mullins' have kept Bee's room sealed, and warned the girls not to go exploring in there. But of course, we can't have a horror movie if someone doesn't get curious. Sure enough, when Janice is left alone while the other girls, including Linda, go exploring the grounds, she does just that. She also comes upon a key in the room that unlocks a closet leading to nothing but Bible pages posted all over the small space, along with an eerie porcelain doll, made by Samuel, whom we know very well by now as Annabelle. In unlocking that door, Janice unknowingly unleashes an unspeakable evil on the house, which terrorizes essentially everyone. However, no one wants to speak about it for fear of being seen as crazy. As the film unfolds, it's full of great atmospheric tension, decent jump scares, and even a bit of dark humour that may relate to any average horror fan. As an example, the exchange of "What is that?" / "Who cares? Run!," contradicting the typical "let's check it out" idea. While not a knee-slapper, it's appreciated as one of the smarter, subtler lines I've heard in a horror movie. As I mentioned earlier, this is a far cry from the first 'Annabelle,' so if you, like me, weren't a fan, don't let that deter you from checking this out if you enjoy some of the other movies in this franchise. The scares are much better, sure, but what this movie also has is a certain amount of heart and empathy for the lead. Janice provides us with a character who has a lot of trouble being mobile, and this adds a bit of extra vulnerability to her character, especially in one particular scene involving a stair lift. Her situation reminds me of Nica's in 'Curse of Chucky,' which was also part of what made that film good. What really matters to Janice, though, is her friendship with Linda, and how much they love and care for each other, no matter what happens throughout the movie. Their connection to each other is where the real heart of the film is, and it provides a lot of good to fight against the evil that's stalking them. I'm also big on the idea that everyone experiences these weird goings-on, and these happenings don't get secluded to a couple of characters no one believes, as that would be typical. The way this is executed overall makes for one of the better chapters in this franchise. 4/5  I think it's important to remember that when it comes to these movies being "based on true stories," that's a statement meant to be taken with a massive grain of salt. While these are apparent real-life stories that will prompt most people to put on their skeptical hats, it is worth noting that they also take considerable liberties with their storytelling, especially when it comes to Ed & Lorraine Warren. The pair make for a couple of good movie heroes, though, when exaggerated, so here we are.
This time around, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) become a significant part of the Enfield Poltergeist case, one of the most compelling real-life cases of poltergeist activity, whose true story is fascinating and may have made for a better movie. That said, this is still a strong chapter in the series, and it effectively brings back the scares after the disappointment of 'Annabelle.' We open up at the Amityville house in '76, following the DeFeo murders, where Lorraine has a vision of a demonic nun, and Ed being brutally impaled by something. We then get her somewhat famous line of "that's as close to Hell as I ever want to be." The following year, the Hodgson family, who reside in their cozy Enfield, London home, experience strange occurrences around the house after the second-eldest daughter, Janet (Madison Wolfe), decided to have some fun with a Ouija board. While the haunting seems to affect the whole family, Janet appears to be most vulnerable, as she keeps coming across the angry spirit of an older man who used to live there, named Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian), who pretty much wants the Hodgson family out of his house so he can kick back and relax in his La-Z-Boy in peace. As the activity continues, other locals end up checking the house out and getting more or less attacked by the entity, or at least witnessing something or another. All of the strange activity causes them to call on the Warrens for any help they can get. While the Warrens oblige, however, Lorraine remains hesitant due to her vision, especially when it ends up matching a painting of a nun Ed saw in a dream. For help, they call on Maurice Gross (Simon McBurney), who, if you read up on the real case, is the real hero of the story, and Anita Gregory (Franka Potente), who comes across as your average professional debunker. As the paranormal investigation continues while the Warrens and their Friends stay in the house, plenty of compelling evidence comes to light, including a giant "Crooked Man," a demonic mockery of the old nursery rhyme, as well as more common occurrences, such as objects getting thrown. Perhaps most creepy, however, is Janet getting occasionally possessed by the spirit of Bill, and talking to others in Bill's voice, providing the film with one of its most chilling scenes. But for as entertaining as this chapter is, truth be told, I like the first 'Conjuring' just a tiny bit more. Don't get me wrong, this movie is great for a horror fan like myself, who gets a better scare from something a little more psychological, even if it is a "haunted house" movie. Certain scenes here work really well for messing with one's head - my favourite being Janet getting interviewed in the La-Z-Boy chair (the chair being one of those inanimate objects that becomes one of the film's central characters). It has its scares, its suspense, and even some heart, but I have to say things start to go "Hollywood" here a bit more, and it lacks the subtlety of the first. I also feel somewhat bad for Maurice Gross and his investigative partner, Guy Playfair, who wrote the book 'This House is Haunted' about the whole situation, and isn't even part of the film. The real case is a little more compelling once you get to know it. For entertainment purposes, however, there's not a lot of negative to be said about it. It's a little less creepy overall than the first, but it's still one of the better movies of the franchise. It manages to do some of what I like to see in a good supernatural horror movie by taking risks and making new things out of old ideas. 4/5  While the first 'Conjuring' film did a great job of getting into my head, I sincerely cannot say the same for its first spin-off movie. This was always one I found silly, and I'll get to why, but the biggest disappointment about it is that it isn't scary. In fact, I'd say the scariest scene in the movie actually involves living, breathing human beings, and nothing of the supernatural variety. That's just one example of why I think this is silly - it's a supernatural horror movie, and anything supernatural about it is just okay at best.
It all begins in Santa Monica, CA, 1970, when medical student John Form (John Horton) comes home to his pregnant wife, Mia (Annabelle Wallis), with a special gift; one of the creepiest dolls you've ever seen, meant to be a rare collector's item and a gift for the new arrival. It's placed on a shelf in the nursery along with a collection of others, and sticks out like some demonic sore thumb. Honestly, seeing them all together, it's like picking out a moose from a flock of geese or something. There were probably rights issues for using an actual Raggedy Anne doll (as the real Annabelle is), but they could have toned her down nonetheless. On with the plot, things are looking up, until we reach what I consider to be this chapter's most frightening scene, as Mia is woken out of her sleep from screams of terror coming from next door. Their neighbours are brutally attacked by a couple of cult members (very much reflecting the Manson family). To make a long story short, eventually one of the cult members, Annabelle Higgins (Keira Daniels), dies in the struggle, holding the doll. This, of course, gives us that copy-paste aspect from 'Child's Play' in which her spirit eventually possesses the doll. It's not long before supernatural basics start occurring around the house, and they decide to make a move to Pasadena as a result. Mia asks John to get rid of the doll, but upon moving, it finds its way back to them, despite John's insistence that he threw it away. Despite everything, however, Mia suddenly decides she wants to keep it around instead of being as terrified of it as she probably should be. To no one's surprise, a paranormal plague of events happens to both Mia and her daughter, while John's just along for the ride. Beyond all that, the film unfolds as a series of horror clichés, and there's a heavy focus on the Manson Family, whose real-life story is far more interesting and frightening than anything this movie has to offer. There's a fair share of cheap jump scares, doors opening and closing, books falling off shelves and various other creepy things. But despite all of these odd occurrences, there's just nothing scary about a doll who sits there doing nothing. Don't get me wrong, though, I get that dolls are generally creepy to some people. I'm sure it must have worked for a few. The first 'Conjuring' movie, though, eclipses this massively in quality. While the aforementioned break-in scene is well done as far as scares go, there might be only one other scene that comes close, involving an entity running at Mia. Otherwise, it feels like a lot of general spook house stuff, and it plays with that old, worn-out idea that whatever is inside Annabelle needs a soul, and the big worry is for Mia's baby, Leah. Many movies have done this in the past; even one of my favourites from the past, 'Ghostbusters II.' For me, the idea of a baby being in some supernatural danger has been done, and it almost feels cheap in a way, just to evoke concern for something representing actual innocence. Movies like this give me my reasons for not caring as much about many paranormal titles as I used to. Sometimes things get a little too cliché, and this was one such example. You'll also notice I haven't mentioned the Warrens (among other unmentioned characters), and that's because they're not really a part of this. Personally, I believe it's a good example of a failed second film in a franchise (in this case, a prequel), and it remains the most disappointing of the batch, based on popular opinion. The good news, however, is that this series arguably doesn't get any worse. 1/5  'The Conjuring' movies are one of the most fascinating cases when it comes to movie-viewing as an individual. In truth, I missed almost every film in this franchise upon its initial release. I was hard-pressed to attach myself, because supernatural horror (ghosts, hauntings, demons, possessions and the like) tends to be more of the same, and highly predictable for me. This franchise is no different; however, most of its movies aren't without a good and effective NON-jump scares or two, and that's what makes them good.
We are introduced to the well-known and well-debunked husband-and-wife demonologist duo, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). Perhaps most famous for investigating the Amityville haunting, the pair, despite their real-life controversy, have a good selection of cases loosely associated with them that make for good Hollywood horror. This particular story is based on their experience with the Perron family of Harrisville, Rhode Island, and the now-famous "Conjuring" house, which, by the way, looks significantly different in real life from the movie, and I'd say much creepier in person. As the couple gets introduced, we are further introduced to Annabelle, the possessed doll (who would essentially become the face of this series and go on to have three movies of her very own) and Ed and Lorraine's room of horrors, containing cursed objects of all sorts. We also get hints that the clairvoyant Lorraine suffered some unspeakable trauma during their last case, making it something she'll ultimately have to face up to to solve this "Conjuring" case, which they are eventually called in to investigate. The case itself takes place in '71, and involves the Perron family: Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn (Lili Taylor), along with their five daughters, Andrea (Shanley Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), Cindy (Mackenzie Foy), and April (Kyla Deaver), moving into a new house. It's not long before the family encounters a malevolent presence surrounding their new home, tormenting them. When the Warrens get called in to investigate, what they uncover is far more sinister than your average haunting. If one researches enough about Ed and Lorraine Warren, they will uncover the couple as being total fraudsters. And to those of my readers who don't believe in the paranormal, it's no surprise. However, it's essential to acknowledge this as a movie designed to scare and entertain us, and it's one of the better examples of its kind over the past couple of decades. If the viewer can treat it as pure entertainment, it works out well. It can be a little slow at times, but in some of the darker-lit scenes, the suspense is front and centre, where it should be. Ed and Lorraine are actually the weaker point of this whole movie. Not that they make for bad characters or anything like that. But they definitely take a back seat to the Perron family and their experiences, which are actually pretty creepy - my personal favourite involves Nancy, Christine, and an entity hiding in the shadows of their room. It makes for a personal favourite horror scene as far as anything after the turn of the century, and Joey King's dramatically scared performance is pretty damned convincing. Whether or not this story can be proven entirely false, it doesn't detract from the horror aspects in the film that I really appreciate. The suspense here is well executed, the scary mood lighting is on point, the scared performances are convincing, and despite a bit of predictability, it really makes for a solid haunted house flick. It gets into demonic possession as well, as we probably all know by now, but even that didn't feel as cut-and-paste from 'Exorcist' as I initially assumed it might be. Altogether, this is a solid horror flick that, thankfully, doesn't rely on gore and remembers how to get inside people's heads. 4/5 |
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