The Conjuring (2013) - Horror movie review (No Spoilers!)- The Creepy Critter

I have to start this review by giving credit where its due! I watched "The Conjuring" with a casual cinema goer and they were suitably absolutely terrified and unnerved! Certainly they got what they came and paid for, and in that respect therefore "The Conjuring" is a success. How does the movie hold up however, under intense scrutiny from the bloodshot beady eye of the dedicated horror fan?

"The Conjuring" supposedly recreates the real life events as experienced by members of the Perron family and paranormal investigators / demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The PR for the film would have you believe that this is a case file so horrendous, that the Warrens’ kept the details hidden from the public eye for many years! The case in question concerns the demonic infestation of a house with a long history of tragedy and murder, that was once inhabited by a satanic witch! The Perron family purchase the house completely unaware of this horrible history, and ready to start their new lives in the country. Of course its not long before all hell comes a’ knocking! and the family are forced to turn to the Warrens’ to try and save their souls! The main story arc is interwoven with the story of another famous Warren case file, concerning the demonic inhabitation of a "creepy as feck" old doll.

"The Conjuring" is very well acted throughout, with Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren) and Patrick Wilson (Ed Warren) deserving special mention for their depiction of the Warrens. The chemistry between the two actors is completely believable and endearing. Indeed you will care about all of the main characters in this film, and that is a very important part of the what this film does so right.

It is totally fair to say that "The Conjuring" does nothing new, in fact it contains every haunted house movie cliche in the book, and as with so many demon inspired movies of late, much of the space between the truly scary parts of the film are filled in with much demonic door slamming from the unseen entities! I mean jeez if i was a paranormal investigator i would solve half the problem by removing the doors in the house and shouting “how you like them apples!” loud enough for all of hell and its pesky demons to hear. Let me suggest a drinking game for you to play whilst you watch "The Conjuring"! Make a check-list of every haunted house movie cliche you can think of and then take a shot of vodka, tequila or whiskey whenever you see one of these cliches in the film. I can assure you that you will be as drunk as a skunk before the half way mark of the movie!

Creepy basement - Check
Spooked pets - Check
Stopped clocks - Check
Child playing with unseen friend - Check
Reluctant priest - check!!!! etc etc etc

You get the picture!!!

For me the film was particularly reminiscent of “Amityville” and “The haunting in Connecticut” which of course are two other horror films based on supposedly true events that involved the warrens'. One could therefore argue that many of the haunted house cliches the film contains are actually the typical signs and symptoms of a home gripped tight in the grasp of demonic forces.

So there you have it "The Conjuring" is 112 minutes of cliche after cliche......................
All of them used superbly! and boy is "The Conjuring" ferociously fantastic for it!!!!!

As with the recent "Evil Dead" remake, yes "The Conjuring" is nothing new, but its something old remixed, relaunched and tweaked almost to perfection! There is no filler in "The Conjuring", no dead space at all, the pacing of the movie is absolutely spot on, you are always unnerved, constantly worried for the Perron family and the Warrens' which keeps you intently focused on the film and therefore the scares as they start to come thick and fast in the last half of the film have all the more impact and jump effect! Its all in here! Witches, demons, exorcisms, ghosts and possessions all held in place by a tight script that slowly reveals the mystery of the house and just how big a demonic kahuna the Perron family and Ed and Lorraine are facing! The creepy Annabelle doll subplot works really well and is seamlessly interwoven with the main storyline despite initially beginning as a very separate story, this in itself a sign of a really well written and directed film.

Is "The Conjuring" the best haunted house movie of all time? i wont answer that right now, but the fact that i a seasoned, battle scarred horror film veteran is even thinking about that question, should tell you just how brilliant this movie is. 8.7 Skulls out of ten!

Night of the Demons (1988)! Horror movie review

The eighties are quite rightly revered as a golden decade of horror. What stands out in so many of the horror films made during this period is a genuine love for the genre carried through in movies with budgets both large and small.

Right from the off with its introductory animated sequence you can see that “night of the demons” is a horror film that has been lovingly crafted. The storyline itself is nothing ground breaking involving as it does a group of partying teenagers beseiged by evil spirits in a spooky house with a history but its just done with such aplomb and character that you cant help but enjoy the hell ride!!! The story takes place on the night of the halloween as a group of young un’s travel to an old house in the middle of nowhere to attend a party being thrown by party girl suzanne and her friend Angela, who just so happens to have a strong interest in the occult. The group decide to hold a seance as part of a party game which needless to say unleashes a savage group of demons that are hungry for fresh meat, murder and mayhem!

Special effects and make-up duties were carried out by Steve Johnson and they are simply monstermendous! This is one area of the film that on recent viewing has not aged at all. The blood looks real! The demons are suitably rotten! and i would not expect anything less from a man with this guys pedigree seeing as he has provided special effects and makeup duties for a ton of terror tales including the howling, ghostbusters, the fog, nightmare on elm street and bad moon to name but a few. An interesting piece of trivia for fright fans is that Steve Johnson ended up marrying Linnea Quigley who plays the part of Suzanne in the film.

A couple of standout scenes from the film include Angela performing an erotic dance to the bauhaus song “stigmata martyr” as she slowly becomes possessed by a demon and the character suzanne proving her nipples are as practical as they are pert! by using them as storage for her make-up!!! You really need to see the latter to understand this properly!

Angela as the demon begins to take hold!

Suzanne about to get real freaky with her nipples!!!

Audio is superb for the film throughout and makes excellent use of traditional haunted attraction type sound effects that really add to the halloween atmosphere of the film.

Night of the demons does suffer a little from the variance of acting ability on display! Without naming names, whilst there are some standout performances this invariably draws even more attention to those not quite on the same par as their fellow thespians!!!

In conclusion, Night of the demons is not a master piece and it never sets out to be! But it most certainly is a frightfully fun filled rotten romp of a horror movie, that was clearly put together with love and an intention to detail. Final score: 7.5 skulls out ten!