Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland, Joey King, Mackenzie Foy, Kyla Deaver, Shannon Kook and John Brotherton
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: Chad Hayes & Carey Hayes
Running time: 112 minutes
Rated: R (for sequences of disturbing violence and terror)
One of the things that makes The Conjuring stand out from the rest of the ever popular and overdone possession films that have flooded the market within the last 4-5 years is the fact that it’s a true story based on one of the cases of demonologists/paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren from 1972-73. Throughout the Warrens dubious career, they claim to have investigated over 10,000 hauntings, most notably of which was the Amityville house in Long Island.
The writers based the film on the case file from the Warren’s investigation as well as information provided to the producers from The Perron family, who lived in the house during this time. Warner Bros. and director James Wan have crafted an abnormal haunted house/possession film in that it harkens back to the days when films need not rely on gratuitous gore or sex but rather mood and suspense. The film is highly reminiscent of such classic films as The Haunting (1963), The Uninvited (1944) or Poltergeist (1982) with a dash of The Exorcist (1973) thrown in.
The Conjuring follows the true story of the Perron family, Roger (Ron Livingston-Drinking Buddies), Carolyn (Lili Taylor-
Hemlock Grove) and their five children. Set in 1972, the family moves into a house in Rhode Island only to experience mysterious occurrences from day one that only worsen in intensity. At their wits end and with nowhere else to turn, they approach noted paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, Insidious) and Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) for help.
What follows is an all-out assault on The Perron family by some very nasty entities in which the Warren’s fight the most unrelenting battle of good vs. evil they’ve ever encountered before or since. Since this is a true story, the Perron family felt the world was not ready to hear the full story until now – 30 years later.
There are many adjectives that can be used to describe The Conjuring – Scary, frightening, intense or terrifying, but none of them do the film enough justice. All I can say is The Conjuring is one of the most frightening films I’ve seen in recent years, and for good reason. As I stated earlier, the filmmakers don’t go for the gross-out effects or red herring’s to scare the audience, they do it with the good old fashioned building of suspense which at times builds to a fever pitch. We as an 
audience know something is coming but are not sure what it might be until we’re caught completely off guard with some genuine bone-chilling scares. The film left me looking over my shoulder and feeling truly unnerved after leaving the theater and for me, that’s the number one mark of a great horror film.
Writing and direction were impeccable and would be hard to improve upon. As you would expect, sound design for a film of this nature needs to be right on the money and it was. Directional effects were firing on all cylinders adding perfectly to the fright factor. Make up effects were minimal but scenes that required it were outstandingly creepy. Lastly, the set design was fabulous. They created a suitably terrifying house from the 1970’s era to match the story scare for scare.
A film like The Conjuring wouldn’t work if not for the incredible performances making us believe all was real. The entire cast was great but the standout performances belong to the two female leads, Vera Farmiga and Lily Taylor who both turned in utterly incredible interpretations of their real-life counterparts. 
Can I find any fault with The Conjuring? I’ve been asking myself that question relentlessly for a few days now and I’ll be damned If I can come up with anything that’s not nitpicking. I’m not a reviewer that feels they have to have at least one thing negative to say about each film I review. If there is, I will certainly tell you but I will not make something negative up just so it’s not a one-sided review. The Conjuring is so good it will literally have you on the edge of your seat, or under it. This is the film that other horror projects strive to be but most never attain. It has it all, great story, writing, direction, cast and some of the best scares in recent memory. Horror fans need to see The Conjuring at all costs; it really is the scare of the year, highly recommended!
4 ½ out of 5 Pentagrams
Watch the trailer here,
