The Conjuring 2 (2016) Review

"Ed, this is as close to hell as I ever want to get."

-Lorraine Warren

The Conjuring 2 is very similar story-wise to the first film.  A family apparently lives in a haunted house and Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are asked by the Catholic church to look into things.  But this time, the family in question, the Hodgson's, lives all the way over in London and the entity behind the haunting isn't interested in the Hodgson's, but is after the Warren's themselves.

What Works:

The strength of both of these movies and the reason why the spin-off films aren't as good is the lead characters.  In real life, Ed and Lorraine Warren were both frauds, but in the world of The Conjuring, they are both really interesting and likable characters.  In the movies we know they are right about everything and much of the world doesn't believe them.  This makes them easy to root for and the performances by Wilson and Farmiga make them even more interesting and likable.  This sequel goes further into their background with the supernatural and how they fell in love.  It's a sweet story and makes me like the characters even more.

Like the first film, The Conjuring 2 is a technical marvel.  The cinematography is very fluid, especially inside the house of the Hodgson's.  The visuals are really cool and the shots are both interesting and unsettling.  In addition, there are some really cool lighting effects that really elevate the creepiness of the film.

This movie manages to keep the creepiness going from the previous film.  There are many scary and creepy moments throughout and lots of interesting visuals and effects to make your skin crawl.

Finally, I really enjoyed the 3rd act of the film.  It was pretty intense watching Ed make his way though the house and Lorraine racing to catch up to him.  The music, the performances, and the style used for this sequence really makes you fear for Ed's life and it is easily the best sequence of the film.

What Sucks:

The biggest problem this sequel has is the Hodgson family.  They are not nearly as likable or as interesting as the family from the first film.  In the original, the entity was specifically targeting the family, but in this movie, the Hodgson's aren't the main target.  The Warren's are.  This type of story should mean the Hodgson's don't need to be developed as much, and they aren't, but we spend a ton of time with them, but they never really do anything interesting as characters.  Most of the movie, they are just kind of there.  Plus, their dialogue feels stereotypically British.  The writers of this film are American.  I'm no expert, but it feels like the writers just put in every British slang word they've ever heard in a movie into their script.  I could be totally wrong about this, but the dialogue doesn't feel natural when it comes to the Hodgson's.

The Warren's don't show up in Britain until halfway through the movie.  Most of the first half is just spent with the Hodgson's.  Like the first movie, it isn't nearly as interesting when the Warren's aren't around and like I said above, the Hodgson's are less interesting than the original family.  I just wanted to get on with it and bring the Warren's into the story.

Finally, there are parts of this movie that feel too much like the original.  It doesn't do enough different to really stand out as a sequel.  It's basically the same movie in a different location, with a slightly different ending.

Verdict:

The Conjuring 2 is not as good as the first film, but better than either of the Annabelle films.  The lead characters are excellent, the technical aspects are fantastic, there are plenty of creepy sequences, and the 3rd act is very well done, but the family is mostly uninteresting, the Warren's aren't in enough of the film, the dialogue feels unnatural at times, and it feels too much like the original film.  All that said, it's a good movie and has got it going on.

 7/10: Good