Front Row Geek: The Conjuring: Hollywood Horror Perfected

The Conjuring: Hollywood Horror Perfected

(– ***Spoilers For The Above*** –)

I have a deep and abiding love for horror films. Much of my early exposure to films stemmed from the horror genre, so believe me when I say, The Conjuring is nearly flawless. I say nearly due only to the veracity with which it sticks to the tropes of the genre. However those tropes have been executed flawlessly by James Wan and the writers Chad & Carey Hayes. I think it is safe to say that Mr. Wan has conquered the horror genre with Saw, Insidious, and now The Conjuring. I have not seen a Fast & Furius film since Tokyo Drift however I am quite tempted to see what Wan will do with FF7.

This film is beautiful to look at, the coloring is sumptuous, and the cinematography not only has depth, but is meaningfully designed. A lot of love and care went into the making of this film, as evident in the hiring of cinematographer John R. Leonetti, whom served as DP on many of my favorite childhood films including, Hot Shots! Part Deux, The Mask, and Mortal Kombat, just to name a few. His IMDB page has the rest of his more recent films in case you’re curious. There is so much to love about his work here, I don’t quite know where to begin. This continues his work with James Wan, whom he colaborated with on two films prior, and their working relationship fully blossoms here in spectacular fashion.

As I said before, the film is a standard horror flick from start to finish, including a family moving into a haunted house, and a ghostbusting couple played by Patrick Wilson who gives a campy performance stradling the line between cheap carsalesman and superhero. He shines in his scenes with his on screen wife Vera Farminga who inhabits the role of real life and still living medium Lorraine Warren with grace and power. Mrs. Farminga is in dire need of a meaty role so she can have her Oscar already. She presents her character with love and seriousness that raises the stakes on the story, and helps to elevate the film to its lofty status, atleast to this reviewer.

I was shocked to find a bad review on Salon, where the critic points to the female characters as a point of derision. I found the actresses portraying all of the female characters to be not only the highlight of the film, but the rock on which the films foundation is built upon. Without their solid performances this would be just another standard horror film, although gorgeously shot and directed. There are shots in this film that I wonder a) how they were concieved, and b) how they were executed to perfection. Each set piece is perfectly paced and excellently designed, there is not a single wasted frame in this film. I for one was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and being a horror veteran I knew exactly where the story was headed, and where each plot point was taking us, yet because of the excellence with which the film was written, photographed, acted, and directed none of that mattered. I was completely focused on the film at all times, and I will admit to jumping out of my seat twice, and letting out a yelp once.

I don’t feel the need to deconstruct the story or offer my own opinion on some of the allusions, metaphors, or symbology present in the film. However I would like to defend the film against that Salon piece, whose criticsm is based purely on the critics personal hang ups, and never meets the film on its merits as a beautiful piece of art. The critic attakcs the film because of its connection to the Salem Witch Trials, which the film is never really about, it is only mentioned once in a scene as being connected to the infamous Trials. To this critic I say, horror films are based on the fears of their audience. In America, there is a fear of witchcraft, dating back to, oh I don’t know, the 17^th century and the Salem Witch Trials, and even before that. So it makes sense to me, that the writers, the filmmakers, and the studio would exploit that fear.

And to suggest that this film has a religious or female depowerment agenda is asinine and a really misguided attempt at politicizing a film that is apolitical. Excorsism films tend to have a religious component to them, it kind of goes with the territory, so to critisize this film for using religion to defeat evil, is missing the point entirely. To say that this film paints women in a bad light, is completely ridiculous, when the film has a female antagonist, and two female protaganists. While yes it takes a male character to perform the excorcism, to disregard the work of his wife is again a complete misreading of the film. Lorraine Warren is constantly pushing her husband to take the case, when he was relunctant. When he tries to leave her at home, she forces herself into the position of protaganists time and time again, and he would never have even been in position to perform the excorsism in the first place if it was not for her work as the medium. And on top of all that, it can be argued that his excorsism does not even work, and really it was the connection between the two female protaganists that allows for them to purge the demon from the house.