The Conjuring 2 (2016)

☆ ☆ ½

The Conjuring 2 (2016) – J. Wan

You’ve seen this one before (and not necessarily in the first The Conjuring, 2013).  All the various tics and tropes of the haunted house picture are dutifully trotted out by director James Wan, along with a healthy dose of The Exorcist (1973).  The film takes place in the 1970s (mostly England) and is based on a “true” story taken from the adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren, psychics and investigators of the supernatural for the Catholic Church.  Can one really complain about genre pictures that don’t innovate (beyond updating slickly to 21^st century technology and methods)?  After all, you get what you pay for and I certainly didn’t check out the Conjuring 2 hoping for Ingmar Bergman.  So, does it deliver?  Yes and no.  There is a good effort to generate the requisite creepy atmosphere and there are a few unfair shocks, but the film feels overlong with a few too many bits of furniture thrown around the house.  The primary evil spirit is pretty scary but its underling, an angry old man, is more pathetic than frightening.  Everything wraps up rather quickly and defeating the evil was surprisingly easy.  But I still felt a bit wary heading off to bed in the dark, so I guess this sequel works at some fundamental level.