THE CONJURING (review)

Review by Joe Yezukevich

It seems as though the last several years have produced some great movies and TV shows based on what happens in the shadows while we are not paying attention.

Several Stephen Moffat-penned Doctor Who episodes immediately come to mind as well as the Toy Story franchise. These are stories that characterize everyday objects or sounds in such a way as to prevent the viewer from ever again taking these occurrences for granted.

This is the ground upon which The Conjuring walks, sometimes shaking and sometimes shaking the audience.

The Conjuring is based on the true story of the Perron family who have moved from New Jersey in 1971 to a great big and old farmhouse in Harrisville RI. Soon after moving in, a series of strange phenomena start that build in intesnsity and violence until the family calls upon the services of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).

The couple are God-fearing paranormal investigators who might be an amalgamation of Mulder and Scully of the X-Files with the 70’s Ghost Busters, sans Tracy the Gorilla. After some revelations come to the clairvoyant Lorraine during a visit to the Perron home, the couple is convinced of the necessity for an exorcism. Exorcisms as it so happens in the movie can only be performed by an expert with approval from the Vatican, which needs proof of a possession before permission can be granted.

The process of capturing the spectral proof is where the movie finds its strength with some of the creepiest moments I have seen on screen in some time. These moments taken as a whole are surprisingly weaved together, but in the end, they are simply telling the story of a particularly creepy home framed by the lodging of this family within. Their story is fine, but short on satisfaction. Finally when what feels like the set up of a promising ending does not come to fruition, we are left feeling simply empty.

The Conjuring is a movie that tries to sell itself as The Exorcist for a new generation, but instead comes off as the New Coke equivalent: many of the ingredients that made the original so memorable are here – possessions, a demonically haunted house, an exorcism – but overall the movie fails to satisfy its audience after consumption.