\”The Conjuring is a fairly classical horror/haunted house/exorcism movie. That was pretty much what I was hoping for. Slow and creepy build up to a final outburst and confrontation with an evil entity. This is a good movie although it is not really something new in terms of story. It is fairly impossible not to think about, and make comparisons with, The Amityville Horror when seeing this movie. I do not think it really deserves the glowing 9 or 10 star ratings that I have seen but it certainly do not merit those 1 or 2 star ones either. What were these people expecting? This is a solid effort of making a movie along the classical lines of supernatural possession. As I wrote, it is not really something new, but it is nice to see a new movie using this kind of story without just turning it into a CGI gore-feast. Sure, the movie also includes the traditional pitfalls that most horror movies apparently must have like people thinking it is a good idea to walk down into the dark and scary basement all alone in the middle of the night. One thing that irked me with the movie though was the idea of phantoms and performing exorcism being presented as kind of normal and accepted things. Of the movie would have played itself out 70 or so years earlier maybe but in the 1970′s? It just felt somewhat surreal to see this “ghosthunter” make presentations and talk to people like supernatural entities and the practice of exorcism was just things that happened. The we have the ending of course. Not that it was overly bad but christ, if you are going to do an exorcism then do it damn it. Do not stop the procedure and look lost every time something goes bump. Anyway, I was not sure whether I was going to be disappointed or pleased when sitting down to watch this movie. On the whole I was pleased. It was a nice to watch a movie that was going back to the traditional values in horror movie making and it was as well implemented as one could expect.”

Per Gunnar Jonsson

\”I'm a fan of Wan, and while I must say I believe that _The Conjuring_ is pretty severely overrated, it's also one of the best horror films to have hit the mainstream in the past few years. _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._”

Gimly

\”Hadn't seen this in a while and watching it again in preparation for the third movie, found it to be well done. I'm not much for these supernatural horror movies but with James Wan's camera work, and the screen presence from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, makes it an entertaining flick. **3.75/5**”

JPV852

\”"Ed Warren" (Patrick Wilson) and his wife "Lorraine" (Vera Farmiga) are renowned paranormal investigators drafted in by the at-their-wits-end "Perron" family to their remote Rhode Island farmhouse that they are convinced is possessed. It doesn't take them long to realise that this whole area has been the scene of Satanic worship since time immemorial, and those lingering spirits have got it in for the new occupants of the house - and their five increasingly hysterical daughters. James Wan really does develop this story with an effective degree of menace and Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor work well together as the parents scared out of their pants by the goings-on in their dream home that is turning into a nightmare that perhaps even an exorcism won't resolve. Joseph Bishara presents us with an eerily effective musical accompaniment to this story and the acrobatic and prosthetic visual effects all contribute effectively to create a real sense of malevolence that, unusually for many in this genre - it has a degree of plausibility too. Big screen experience is better especially in a busy cinema, and well worth a watch.”

CinemaSerf

\”'The Conjuring' is an extremely solid supernatural horror. I admit that I did find it less interesting as it went on, but even so I did comfortably enjoy seeing the progression of the story; I like that the plot doesn't majorly meander, each stage is clear. It doesn't rely on cheap jump scares either, which is something I was expecting it to utilise. The supernatural elements here are very well done, we don't see terribly much of the demons, at least early on, so any appearances are effective. The stuff with the kids/mum is convincing too. I was happy to see Vera Farmiga appear onscreen, I remember her fondly from 2011's 'Source Code' and have wanted to see her in lead roles since - she's excellent in this. Patrick Wilson and Lili Taylor are also notable performers, while Joey King has one particularly great scene. I'd class this as more creepy than scary, admittedly I seldom find movies scary (just the way my brain is wired with fiction). I can obviously still sense when something is unsettling though, anything with kids being possessed does the job in that regard. How this franchise has ten features and I hadn't even seen one is a mystery to me. Better late than never, hopefully this strong first entry is a sign of things to come.”

r96sk