The Conjuring 2

This review may contain spoilers!

The first Conjuring was made all the scarier because it was 'based on a true story', this film is the exact opposite. I would give The Conjuring 2 a 6.5/10.

The first half of this film was an absolutely perfect horror film sequel, we were introduced to the Hodgson's and got to see the haunting they were experiencing get worse and worse but at the same time we could see where the Warrens were at this point in their lives as well as the demon who was haunting them. This all made for quite a thrilling and truly terrifying beginning to the film, something that was quite memorably. The cinematography for this film was spectacular, the director knows exactly how to frame his shots or where to place his focus to get the most out of a scene. The editing was instrumental in making this film so scary, the timing within scenes was perfect. The score for The Conjuring 2 is easily one of the best horror scores that I've listened to this year; this was a film that got all the technical qualities of a horror film very right.

Patrick Wilson, who played Ed Warren, is a really strong protagonist for this film; his unwavering determination and onscreen charisma make him a stand out performer. Madison Wolfe, who played Janet Hodgson, did an exceptional job for a young actress in this film; she played the long game with he role and you could really see her character become more and more frightened of herself and the spirit possessing her. Benjamin Haigh, who played Billy Hodgson, has the remarkable charisma of a talented young performer; Haigh's role has a strong stutter in the film which he performs remarkably. Franka Potente, who played Anita Gregory, presented a more rational performance in this film; I liked her firm and decisive delivery about this haunting being little more than a hoax. Bob Adrian, who played Bill Wilkins, has an incredibly strong presence in this film; I liked that his role had two side to it and that he was more than just another 'malicious spirit'.

However the best performance came from Vera Farmiga, who played Lorraine Warren. The role of Lorraine has such a strong presence in this sequel, this time round it's less about her premonitions and more about her as a person which I really appreciated. Farmiga emphasises the dangers posed to this woman with a supernatural gift, she feels responsible for keeping her family safe yet cannot resist the call to help others. One particularly touching scene between Farmiga and Wolfe reveals how Lorraine has always felt like an outsider and that to find acceptance with her husband Ed is a precious thing to her; this great sentiment is brought to the forefront through the incredible onscreen chemistry that Farmiga and Wilson share.

This film ends on a bit of a flat note because the film starts analysing the idea of hauntings as hoaxes, this has the unfortunate effect of making the film a lot less scary and drags out the pacing with a lot of unnecessary scenes. Throughout the course of the second half I found myself looking at the film through a more sceptical eye because that's the direction the story was taking and as a result a lot of scenes lost the impact they otherwise would have had. The special effects within the film also pulled me out of some scenes, I thought the most obvious was when we first see the Crooked Man who looks more like a really poorly designed piece of CGI than a monster.

Frances O'Connor, who played Peggy Hodgson, was quite a boring character in this film; she was a very generic mother performance and never had a scene in which she really stood out. Lauren Esposito, who played Margaret Hodgson, had a really weak screen presence; sadly Esposito fell into the background when compared to Wolfe's performance. Patrick McAuley, who played Johnny Hodgson, is a role I forgot about several times in this film; of all the Hodgson characters Johnny is the least impressionable. Simon McBurney, who played Maurice Grosse, gave a rather boring British equivalent of the Warrens; sadly McBurney couldn't muster anything to make himself stand out like Wilson and Farmiga. Maria Doyle Kennedy and Simon Delaney, who played Peggy Nottingham and Vic Nottingham respectively, were two extremely unimportant side characters who were given far too much screen time; they were pointless because they never contributed to any important scenes nor did they share much chemistry with the rest of the cast. Sterling Jerins, who played Judy Warren, sadly falls into the backdrop in this film; despite the Warrens getting more focus in this film Judy is pretty much forgotten.