James Wan has an acute understanding of what makes a ghost story work. It’s not the paranormal activity that scares us, but the buildup to it. More so, it’s the emotional connection we have to the victims of the haunting that causes the activity to frighten us. When the victims are nothing more than warm bodies, we sense the scares coming and roll our eyes at them. When we feel a bond with the characters, we tremble during the build and shriek at the scares because the characters do. The characters are like us: knowing what to expect, but treading carefully as to avoid the jolt. Since we’re along for their plight, we show vulnerability and compassion, resulting in the fear to consume us.
“The Conjuring 2” doesn’t host anything particularly new that you can’t see in another haunted house story, at least not in the way of the scares. The moments play out like a greatest hits package, with the keyword being greatest. Wan orchestrates the tension so well that we fall for each jump scare. Goosebumps covers ones skin that crawls during every paranormal event.
The victims this time around are the Hodgsons, a struggling family in London. The father has left, leaving his wife, Peggy (Frances O’Connor), to raise their four children. Those children are Janet (Madison Wolfe), Margaret (Lauren Esposito), Johnny (Patrick McAuley), and Billy (Benjamin Haigh). Janet is the main target of the ghost, a malevolent soul named Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian). Bill is the former tenant of the dilapidated apartment who demands the new tenants evade. He uses Janet as his puppet, possessing her to deliver his message.
Much like in the first “Conjuring,” Bill is a demonic spirit that not only preys upon the emotionally broken, but thrives on their torment. Any worries that the family would make the dumb decision to stay in the house are squashed, as the Hodgsons immediately move across the street with their neighbors after a terrifying haunting. Much like in “Poltergeist,” the demon is drawn to the person, not the house. Bill has seemingly given up on having his home to himself, now salivating on the anguish of the Hodgsons.
Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga) are called in by the church to investigate the Hodgsons’ claim. While the church wants to believe, they need proof as to not tarnish their image. This haunting is occurring alongside the infamous Amityville haunting, which many claim to be a hoax. The Warrens know all about this, as we see them investigating the Amityville house in the film’s opening. The opening alone is better than most of the films in the “Amityville Horror” franchise.
Lorraine initially protests in aiding the church, as she’s been having premonitions about Ed’s death. A painting of a demonic nun that Ed envisions in his nightmares (which I swear Patrick Wilson did in “Insidious,” as well) has been manifesting in her premonitions. This premonition also manifested itself during her investigation at Amityville, compounding her hesitation. He convinces her to do so as they may turn down cases, but they never turn down families in need.
The Warrens immediately take a shining to Janet. While Lorraine doesn’t sense anything demonic, which would point towards a hoax, she’s willing to believe in Janet. There’s a heart-wrenching scene in which Janet confides in Lorraine, stating how everyone fears her and she feels desperately alone and frightened. It’s this scene that catapults “The Conjuring 2” into the stratosphere of top-notch horror! We care deeply about both the Hodgsons and the Warrens, making any and all paranormal activity they encounter terrifying as we don’t want to see them in danger. It’s what made “The Conjuring” so effective and it’s what makes its sequel so effective!
Admittedly, Wan does lay in the sentimentality a little too thick. The other paranormal investigator on the case, Maurice Gross (Simon McBurney), also has his own emotional backstory that feels tacked on. The skeptics that challenge the case also suffer from the sentimentality, as they’re made out to be heartless in order to further fuel the sincerity of the Warrens. That sincerity treads the line of being too schmaltzy, but Wan keeps it in check. There’s one sequence during the finale that is schmaltzy, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t tug at my heartstrings.
Not only does “The Conjuring 2” live up to the original, but it actually surpasses it. We care as much for the Hodgsons as we did for the Perrons, and even more so now for the Warrens. While the thrills can be seen as rudimentary, they’re engineered so efficiently that they work in spades. A few twists and turns are even thrown into the mix to keep us guessing, as well as tying everything together and covering up any plot holes that arise. Once “The Conjuring 2” gets going, it never lets up.
Final Rating: A-