The Conjuring 2 — Cole Rothacker
Sequels have always been a dubious undertaking within the horror genre. For every worthy follow-up like Halloween: H20, there’s Halloween: Resurrection. This problem has persisted not only throughout slashers and B-movies, but also big budget prestige horror films with some Academy clout under their belt. The Exorcist was followed with the baffling Exorcist II: The Heretic, and Silence of the Lambs got the campy Hannibal. It stands to reason that a sequel to 2013’s smash hit The Conjuring would not be a guaranteed hit—especially after the quickie Annabelle prequel spin-off came just a year later and was promptly forgotten about. However, not only did 2016’s The Conjuring 2 live up to its predecessor in every way, it arguably surpassed the first film and helped pave the way for a new burgeoning subgenre in horror.
I’ve watched The Conjuring 2 almost a dozen times. After the third or fourth viewing, I realized that the story literally makes no sense and has plot holes a-plenty. It essentially boils down to the Nun–a demon named Valak–luring the Warrens out of semi-retirement to help a random family in London being haunted by the ghost of an old man that’s really a proxy for the demon nun. It’s utter insanity.
However, I get so swept up by the movie’s sheer level of filmmaking that I barely notice the flaws. Made on a $40 million budget (by comparison, It was only $35 million), The Conjuring 2 is operating on a production level not afforded to most horror films. The movie is held together by slick camera work and gorgeous production design.
More importantly, I can’t stop thinking about the scare “set pieces.” The plot of the movie is secondary to the extended moments of dread that saturate the film. While a lot of horror films rely on jump scares, gore, or shocking elements, the Conjuring films (specifically the ones made by James Wan) actually sustain extended scenes of tension. They function in the movie the way car chases and fight scenes function in action movies, and it’s this approach that I think elevates the film beyond horror to a horror blockbuster. We now see a trend of big budget horror films coming out every summer. Is it any wonder that James Wan followed the Conjuring 2 with a Fast and Furious sequel? Horror films are entering a golden age with several hit blockbusters as well as many independent sleeper hits coming out of the woodwork every year now. And much of that is due to the fine filmmaking and artists craft of James Wan and his work on the Conjuring films.
