B-List Delights: The Conjuring of fright

The Conjuring (2013), directed by James Wan, tells the story of the Perron family, who moved to a quiet, country home in 1971 and begin experiencing supernatural phenomenons. The Conjuring is based on the true events of the Warrens, who were real-life paranormal investigators.

All seven members of the Perron family start to experience strange occurrences after moving into their home in Rhode Island. The plot begins with the family dog, Sadie, acting strange, barking at the house and refusing to go inside. By morning, the dog is dead from an unknown cause, throwing the family for a loop. The mother, Carolyn, finds bruises all over her body and she is unsure of how they appeared, just suspecting it is an iron deficiency. Doors start to slam and the girls see shadows throughout their rooms. One of the girls even feels like someone is pulling her feet while she sleeps, while all the clocks stop at 3:07am. Lorraine and Ed Warren are called to help expel the dark presence from the Perron’s house. While there, Lorraine finds out that a witch has cursed the land and whoever lives there eventually dies. Bathsheba, the witch who haunts the house, targets Carolyn so she will murder her youngest daughter and sacrifice her to Satan.

Lorraine is a clairvoyant and medium, working with her husband Ed, who is a self proclaimed demonologist. Together they try to drive the demon away from the house, hoping to save the Perron family from certain death. Lorraine begins to become weaker, seeing the witch on multiple accounts. Lorraine and Ed had just collected a haunted doll, Annabelle, from a previous paranormal investigation. Annabelle (2014) became a spinoff from The Conjuring, going into detail about the backstory of the haunted doll. The Warrens’ daughter is attacked in their home by Bathsheba since Ed and Lorraine tried to exorcise her from the Perrons’ house towards the end of the movie.

James Wan is also the director of Saw (2004), creating Billy the Puppet and the Saw franchise. The cinematography by John R. Leonetti gives the movie an extra scary touch, using shadows to create an ominous sense throughout the movie. The casting directors, Anne McCarthy and Lisa Mae Fincannon, did a wonderful job choosing the actors to fill the parts. Mackenzie Foy, who played Cindy, was a part of the The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2012), playing Renesmee. Vera Farmiga, who played Lorraine Warren, was a main character in the show Bates Motel, playing the role of Norma Louise Bates. Patrick Wilson, who played Ed Warren, stuck to the theme of horror by playing Josh Lambert in Insidious (2010).

I was constantly on the edge of my seat while watching it. The Perron sisters like to play a game called “hide and clap”, where at one point the mother is playing with her youngest daughter. Someone claps from the closet, causing me to jump when I realized it’s the demon. The Conjuring is a five out of five skulls, simply a well rounded movie. It holds up to the horror movie criteria, bringing in the macabre theme all throughout, and making you constantly curl up in your blanket. There is definitely a cheesy factor to it, with some points where you’re yelling at characters to not go under the basement or open the door. It is one of my favorite films, being a part of the exorcist-type genre. If you’re in the mood to watch a scary movie with your friends on a Friday night, The Conjuring is the choice for you.