James Wan and his creepy dolls.
Based on events in real life, Carolyn and Roger Perron, together with their children, move in a farmhouse in Rhode Island back in 1971. As they move in, strange things starts happening around the house that terrifies their entire family. Carolyn seeks help from paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren to take a look at their house. True enough, the couple finds out that a malevolent creature (it is clarified that it is not a spirit) is haunting their house and is threatening to harm their family by possessing Carolyn. The Warrens must now do what they can in order to put a stop to this demon before it hurts everyone involved, including them.
It's been a while since I've seen a horror movie that will really haunt me before I go to bed. Usually I'd just forget them after watching it.
The Conjuring is great in so many levels. What I really love about it is its smart and witty scares. This is what I look for in the horror movies I watch. There's nothing I hate more than a movie which uses cheap scares. Though Evil Dead also did a good job in turning the cliche into something new and scary, The Conjuring takes it up a notch and makes sure to send chills down your spines and keep you at the edge of your seat. This is the film that I needed to see after watching The Purge which uses the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to scaring people.
The story is very simple yet very effective. It's about a family that moves into a house that turns out to be haunted. There is a minor twist to who or what is haunting the house but aside from that detail, the rest is your normal horror story line. What makes is so different and unique from the rest is its execution. There are numerous horror movies out there that sound so good when you hear about it but you end up being disappointed when you watch it because it is not executed properly. The Conjuring, right from the start will literally scare you witless. The introduction of Annabelle, the haunted doll, is a great teaser to the entire film. Some were disappointed though since Annabelle is not given much spotlight since it turns out she is just a filler, well sort of. However, I look at it the other way around and I believe that Annabelle's story is a great stepping stone for the rest of the film. Right after Annabelle's story, the film allows the people to relax a bit but makes it impossible to do so since everyone is now wary of what might be lurking around the corners of the screen. I like how it does not rush into things. It keeps the film's mystery and thrills the audience even when nothing is happening yet. I am in love with how the film keeps on teasing and making the audience imagine the scariest thing that could happen, which would eventually not end up happening. When the moment comes wherein you start to relax, even for just a second, the film will suddenly surprise you with all of its might. I have to add that the trailer for this movie is also well done. When you see the film, having watched the trailer beforehand, you think you know where the scary parts are but it turns out the trailer is another ploy to add thrills and to scare the audience when they finally watch the movie.
Despite being a great film, it is not completely perfect. As the movie progresses, I keep on waiting for a twist that will happen in the end. Sadly, nothing happens that will blow my brain. Not unless if you count its suggestive thought for a sequel at the end, which there will be. I guess they took the simplicity to heart. The film is not completely void of twist and turn of events though since it did keep a few secrets of its own that will be thrown right at you as you watch the film but you wouldn't really count them as plot twists.
The scare and thrills in the third act of the film wanes from what was established in the earlier parts. It is still good but the decline is quite noticeable. It's probably because I keep on thinking of The Exorcist which is a really creepy and scary film that will never be forgotten. The Conjuring is a good film but probably can't hold a candle near The Exorcist.
The film is set to have a sequel which is a good excuse for numerous plot holes they leave in the movie. So if you have seen the movie and felt dissatisfied because of the plot holes, then worry not because hopefully the sequel will satisfy your hunger for closure. I'm not really a fan of sequels since they are mostly of low quality compared to their predecessor, but I'll give the sequel a chance for closure.
Overall, The Conjuring is a great horror film and it is a great addition to the horror/possession/exorcism genre we have today. We need more of these films since people have been so engrossed to the 'vengeful ghost' movies that they can't take these types of films seriously. This is probably one reason why some people thought that this film was not even scary. They now probably think that when a movie is of the horror genre, it's all about a vengeful ghost of a girl in a white cloth.
Rating: 4/5
You call that a kick? What an ass!
After the events of the first film, Dave Lizewski is apparently done being Kick-Ass and is living the normal life. Ironically, the world outside his bedroom has been so inspired by Kick-Ass that some normal citizens are now living their lives as superheroes. Meanwhile, Mindy Macready, Hitgirl, is still pursues crime fighting behind the back of her guardian Marcus. Dave approaches Mindy so that she can train him and proposes that they become a team. Reluctant at first, Mindy agrees to train Dave to become a better superhero. Eventually, Marcus finds out what Mindy's been up to and makes her promise to be a normal girl, to which she reluctantly agrees again. Dave now finds himself a member of a new team of superheroes he has inspired. Together, they fight crime and do charity in the idea of making the world a better place. On the other hand, Chris D'Amico, the son of Frank D'Amico, whom Kick-Ass killed in the previous film, is plotting his revenge on Kick-Ass and all his loves ones.
One reason why this sequel didn't work is because it downgrades a lot of aspects that made the first film awesome and its upgrades which are supposed to be an asset to the film turns out to be a liability.
What made the first film memorable and worthy of its name is the violence and cool action sequences it had. Sadly, this sequel is not able to live up to its predecessor's promise. Not only is the film less violent, it is also less funny and entertaining. The jokes are half-baked and the punchlines won't even hit you hard. With regards to the less violence, I'm not saying I'm a sadist or that I promote violence, but if I'm not mistaken, what made the comic book (yes, it's a comic book adaptation) so unique and unlike any others is the fact that it is realistic. The characters are normal people who decide to don the cape and mask and be vigilante heroes or villains out to save or destroy the city. The comic book tries to be realistic as possible and it can and will kill the hero if it has to, just to make it real. Now that I mentioned realistic, what can be more realistic than violent people out in the streets fighting one another. Just to be clear, I'm not a sadist, I'm just someone who's looking for the real essence that the comic book wanted to show.
One thing I like from this movie is that they added more characters. It brings more joy and happiness to a geek's heart and soul. A whole new set of heroes and villains. Sadly, this is the upgrade I'm talking about that eventually becomes a liability. It became a liability and a burden to the film's character development area. So many characters and not enough time to give each and one of them the spotlight they deserve. There were so many things going on from one scene to another and you can barely keep track of who the protagonist is in contact with. In one scene, Hit-Girl is in high school and is stuck in a Mean Girls predicament, then the next scene would be with Kick-Ass in his own type of Justice League, and then we have The Motherfucker who is forming his own group of villains as well. Imagining these scenes seems so exciting but the film's execution of it is mediocre. Every scene is seems to be so focused on the main protagonist and antagonist that the other characters around him/her is overshadowed. An example would be of Mindy/Hit-Girl's high school life. She may be a complete bad-ass outside school but inside it, she finds herself dominated by the people around her. The question here is Why? Who are these people she meets in school that can intimidate her. Then again, she is in high school where everyone is evil, so I guess I can let that go. So on to another example, when Kick-Ass joins the hero group Justice Forever. It is in this part where the characterization drops miserably. For all we know Kick-Ass is the hero in the entire series but the moment we are introduced to the other heroes, we see that it is not all about him after all. But due to the poor characterization, you would feel no sympathy to the other heroes. You're just gonna be like, "Who are you? Where's Kick-Ass?" or "The hero-chick Kick-Ass is sleeping with is hot." Such a pity since those characters could have been utilized more for the film. One character I like from the Justice Forever is Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). He's an eccentric and extraordinary character that rises above the rest. It took me quite a while to appreciate him though since I thought of him as weird throughout the film until his demise. For the villain's side, I was sad since the film didn't really dwell much into the character of Mother Russia. All it wanted to show was that she was freakishly strong and freakishly huge. Javier, who became The Motherfucker's guardian, was supposed to add depth in The Motherfucker's character but it ended up being mediocre. I could go on about how the film lacks in the character development field but I would be digressing already and I'm sure you get the idea.
However, I did like some of the technical things like the editing and the action choreography. I really like the scene where Hit-Girl used her adrenaline to defeat Mother Russia. It was like watching a video game and it was cool. Though I have mentioned that the jokes are not even funny, it can make you smile once in a while but that's the best it can do, at least for me. I personally like the arc of Hit-Girl in high school. We see a whole new side to her and it's more exciting, not knowing how she will handle her problems through normal means. Her story is more exciting than that of Kick-Ass to be honest.
Hopefully, the sequel would do better and close the series in a good note.
Rating: 2/5
