National Lampoon Magazine once
featured a “horror movie calculator” or something like that. I am recalling this from decades ago and I
didn’t even buy the damn thing; I just read it standing in the drugstore. Anyway, it a hierarchy of choices, such as “Monster
cannot be destroyed by a) nuclear weapons; b) bombs or torpedoes; c) guns; d)
villagers with torches”. I saw right
away that almost all the horror and sci-fi movies I loved could be easily
generated by a fairly limited number of such options.
The
Conjuring (2013) certainly could.
Does the action take place in a) a haunted house; b) Tokyo; c) outer
space? Select a. Are the primary characters a) a couple; b) a
family with children; c) a group of potential heirs to a fortune; d) a group of
ghost busters; e) criminals hiding out. Select
b and d.
Despite that, TC is a rocking
good horror movie. It has more than its
share of genuinely scary moments and the primary elements of the horror craft
are consistent through the film. I would
point out immediately that one of the trailers is very misleading. It leaves you expecting to see one more
mockumentary. Except for a few brief
scenes, this is a traditional film.
The Story ****
In 1971, the Perron family,
consisting of Carolyn (Lili Taylor from Hemlock Grove), Roger (Ron Livingston)
and their five daughters, moves into an old house. An escalating series of terrifying events
convinces them that they are not alone in the house and that the ghostly
presence means them no good.
The action shifts back and
forth between their story and that of Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick
Wilson), two veteran paranormal investigators.
We watch as they come to the aid of a family menaced by a genuinely
terrifying ventriloquist dummy. The
Warren house turns out to have a room containing the dummy and other cursed
objects. Why not destroy them? It’s best to keep the genie in the
bottle. They also have a young
daughter.
The two stories weave together
when Carolyn Perron enlists the Warrens to come to their aid. Along with their team, the Warrens unravel
the mystery of the cursed house and the land surrounding it. Armed with that information (along with crosses
and holy water) the battle between good and evil is joined.
The film purports to be based
on a true story. The Perrons and the
Warrens are real people and, so far as I can tell, Rhode Island is a real
place. I doubt very much whether
anything in the film really happened.
Acting/Casting *****
The casting was near perfect
and the acting very good. Lili Taylor
and Vera Farmiga were equally compelling in vulnerability and fierce
resolve. Patrick Wilson’s portrayal of
the ghost hunting Ed Warren is crisply authentic to anyone who has spent some
time in small town churches. He looks a
bit like Pat Boone. The children were
all very fine as well, especially Joey King.
Plot/Dialogue/Mood ****
The film is strongly
scripted. The initial story of the demon
doll draws us immediately and effectively into the realm of horror. The weaving together of the two sets of
characters and stories is very effective.
As I watched one of the stories, I kept wondering what was happening to
the other folks. I can’t say that there
was any moment in the film that didn’t hold my interest.
The dialogue was solid, with
only a few gaps and frayed threads in the narrative. The mood of more or less ordinary people
facing a steadily increasing menace was consistently maintained.
The Catholic Church plays a
supporting role in the story. Ed Warren
decides an exorcism is warranted but he is not qualified to perform one so he
seeks the help of a priest and, in turn, the Vatican. His deference to Church orders is a small but
very robust element in his character and it gives the story an old fashioned
feel that is very welcome here.
Likewise, there is an element
of paranormal science in the Warren’s story.
We see the two giving lectures.
In one lecture, Ed tells us that the worst cases proceed in three phases:
Infestation, Oppression, and Possession. First, the demonic presence attaches itself to
its targets. Second, it breaks down
their resistance with repeated terror.
Finally there comes possession. I
don’t believe in demons or magic, but I like the idea of such things in fiction
and such quazi-scientific demonology makes it feel more authentic.
Finally, there is a bit of
demonology that is worth reflecting on.
Ed Warren explains the difference between two kinds of disembodied
spirits: ghosts that once walked the earth as living beings and, he can’t quite
say “demons” so says only “the demonic”.
This distinction gets fuzzed a bit in the plot, but it is robust enough
to raise a few hairs on this neck.
Visual Effects/Action *****
The film does well by avoiding contemporary
special effects. The action works by
people moving down corridors, crawling through crawlspaces, and falling down
stairs. Oblique camera angles and
partially glimpsed backgrounds are the primary visual strategies.
There are also a number of
devices that work beautifully in the context.
One is a hide and seek game that the children play and the mother is enticed
into. The seeker ties a cloth around her
eyes and feels for the hiders. Three
times she can all out “clap” and everyone has to clap twice. I am not spoiling much by telling you that
there are more sets of clapping hands available than there should be.
Summary
It is not impossible for a big
studio to make an effective horror film.
This one is pretty damn good. For
thousands of years our ancestors lived in a world populated by invisible,
malevolent spirits. They depended on
priests and shamans to protect them. Whether
we have left that world or not is an open question. One function of horror fiction is to
entertain us and perhaps enrich us by bringing the view of our ancestors back
into focus. Sit down with The Conjuring for a couple of hours and
see if it is like remembering something you once chose to forget.
