North Texas Daily

Cole Clay/Intern

3.5/5

Think back to the golden age of horror, circa early 1980’s where films such as “The Evil Dead” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” paved the way for the now thriving horror genre. Well, without these films we may never have gotten the chance to see “The Conjuring” the bone-chilling new film from director James Wan (“Saw” 2004).

“The Conjuring” is the “true” story of paranormal investigators Ed & Lorraine Warren played by Patrick Wilson (“The Watchmen” 2009) & Vera Farmiga (“The Departed” 2006) respectively. The couple is called upon to help a family whose farmhouse is being terrorized by a powerful and unknown presence.

Wan doesn’t take any scene for granted with his streamline style of direction this gives the film steady pacing that never lets up, there are plenty of scares, very few dull moments and once it’s all over it will take most of the car ride back home for your bones to defrost. Wan’s twisting camera movements are never obtrusive and will keep the audience as disoriented as the family being haunted.

The cast of this horror romp is quite impressive and the central characters, Wilson and Farmiga, make believable on screen companions and are given a solid backstory, allowing viewers to get a sense of what connects the couple as well as what draws them to this off kilter line of work. I can see why actors with the chops of Wilson and “Office Space” star Ron Livingston (who plays the patriarch of the haunted family) would want to work with such an innovative director.

Wan, also shows his horror fan boy side with this effort, while he is known for his originality, he apparently took some inspiration from masters of suspense such as Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead Trilogy”) and Alfred Hitchcock (“The Birds”). He even places small nuances from their bag of tricks throughout the movie including Raimi’s herky-jerky camera tricks and Hithcock’s use of the MacGuffin.

Wan saves the day by amplifying the script with the performances he evokes from his actors in addition to his eye for terror. These are some of the reasons for why he was selected to take the reigns of the immensely successful “Fast & Furious” franchise.

“The Conjuring” is an outstanding horror movie that will become a popular film at Halloween for many years to come. Most of the credit goes to Wan who’s impeccable directing is simply mesmerizing. There are many terrifying scenes in this movie aside from the typical jump scares.

A haunting score and rousing camera movements add other eerie elements to the movie. Potential viewers are advised to bring a friend along for this one and get ready for a night filled with scares and screams.

“The Conjuring” opens this Friday.