Last Friday I went to see The Conjuring 2. I'm a massive horror fan, with supernatural horror being my favourite subgenre, and I loved The Conjuring, along with James Wan's other films, so this one was a must-see.
Both films are based on the case files of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Conjuring opened with the Warrens involvement with the haunted doll, Annabelle, before moving to a completely unrelated case about the Perron family. Similarly, The Conjuring 2 opens with a view from one of the iconic quarter-circle windows of the Amityville house.
The most exciting thing I found about this prelude to the story was a scene where Lorraine spies a ghostly boy with glowing white eyes peering round a corner in the house. If you aren't as worryingly obsessed with horror as I am, you may not have realised that this shot was actually based on a real photo of an unexplained boy, which was taken in the abandoned Amityville house after the Lutz family famously fled the property.
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| Real image of a ghostly boy, taken in the Amityville house |
Whilst this probably went over many people's heads, it's a big fangirl moment for people with an interest in the paranormal.
Again, like The Conjuring, the film then takes its focus to a completely unrelated case of the Enfield poltergeist. Thankfully, we don't see any terrible attempts of English accents, which are all-too common in Hollywood, and in fact, the representation of English life is pretty accurate, from the weather (raining throughout) to the school uniforms and run-down council estates.
If you like jump scares, then you're in for a treat, because there are plenty. Also, if you're already familiar with the story of the Enfield poltergeist, this isn't a retelling of the same tale you've heard numerous times before, and still offers much to surprise you with.
Sadly, this means that the film isn't wholly based on the true story. Some of this has obviously been done for the cinematic effect (such as the crucifixes scene, and the slightly-cringeworthy CGI "Crooked Man") as well as satisfying the need to keep the film fresh and original for audiences. For sure, the Warren's involvement in the case has been exaggerated by a mile, as they were not the principal investigators for the case, and cannot be credited for stopping the hauntings. In fact, people who have lived in the house after the Hodgson family, claim that it is still haunted to this day (but that wouldn't make a climatic ending, would it?)
Having said that, the source materials have been used excellently; scenes from the case files are replicated well, including reports of levitation, the background of the poltergeist, the recorded interviews and the infamous "spoon bending" incident.
By far the scariest feature in the film, however, is the nun.
I'm pretty sure this character (who is in the same vein as Insidious' black-veiled old woman) is just a product of James Wan's imagination, and not from any real paranormal investigations from the Warrens, but that doesn't make her any less creepy.
The nun has a slow-moving, silent and unexplained presence to begin with, which makes her sinister and ominous, which is what I think I found so unnerving about her. She's used as a narrative device to string the story together, and she's undoubtably been thrown in to make the film ten times scarier... but it comes as no big surprise to hear that (similar to "Annabelle") the creators of The Conjuring 2 are intending to make a spinoff film, solely about the nun, which I'm guessing is the main reason of her feature in the film. (P.S. I will be first in the queue to see it.)
So, the verdict?
Whilst The Conjuring 2 is far from a documentation of the real Enfield haunting, it provides great entertainment to keep you on the edge (or jumping out of) your seat, which fans of the original will neither want to miss, nor be disappointed by. James Wan does not fail to deliver with his excellent talent to scare audiences, and manages to keep the famous story fresh, but enough of the true case present to send continual shivers down your spine.
*CLAP CLAP*
Pete
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