I got a chance to see this movie at the film festival, and boy was I TERRifically surprised! James Wan's 'The Conjuring' is one of those rare gems in the horror industry that finds a spot beside the classic titles of horror, 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', and 'The Exorcist' due to James Wan's ability to balance an atmospheric dreadful tale involving wonderfully crafted characters with a haunted house that had my palms sweating and my heart pounding during some of the most horrifying moments (There are a few of those; make sure you empty your bladder BEFORE entering the theater).
The things that make 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist', and 'The Exorcist' good is that if the editor were to chop out all the jump-scares and those sequences that fry an image into your brain, you would still have a moody, edgy story that makes you sympathies for the characters and their struggle. This is what Wan does right in this film, and it's then that you realize horror is more than what pops out at you, or what makes you scream. Rather, it's that feeling of dread you get that escalates into sheer terror and suspense, aided by shocking scares.
BUT WAIT! All this not to say 'The Conjuring' doesn't have its share of frightening visuals and pee-your-pants moments; believe me when I say I also rank this as one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. Yet, Wan realizes here that jump scares aren't what moves a story along, but what defines that classic image everyone gets in their head when someone talks about a certain horror movie that frightened them the most, kind of like a celebrity's autograph in the corner of a huge poster of their face.
All of this hence to say, "The Conjuring" is an exceptional piece of film that pulls all the right stops to frighten the audience, leaving a lasting impression on your mind as well the recently tired genre of horror.
Movie Score: 10/10!
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