The Conjuring isn't the scariest film of all time ... and yet it works

The Conjuring isn't the scariest film of all time and certainly not a cinematic phenomenon that you shouldn't dare miss. Period.

But the monstrous box office success ($200 million and counting), the overtly positive reviews and the high pitched marketing campaign, even in India, suggests otherwise. Indeed, the movie has got a few spine chilling sequences that can truly scare the hell out of you (In fact, during one of those scenes, a girl sitting next to my friend squeezed his wrist so tightly that the poor guy almost screamed writhing in pain.) Yet The Conjuring breaks no new grounds. It isn't as scary as The Exorcist or The Evil Dead (a movie which can give me sleepless nights even today). It doesn't explores a new genre in horror like Paranormal Activity franchise. The film doesn't even has that suspense angle to all the supernatural activity that catapulted The Ring and The Grudge to a great success.

In spite having none of the above, The Conjuring works; and works pretty effectively.



The movie begins on a thrilling note as the protagonist of the film (real life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) listen to the the nightmares of 2 girls who are being haunted by a possessed doll. Few minutes later the story moves to a family of 7 arriving in a suburban house. Very soon sinister things begin to happen and there and the celebrated couple comes to the rescue.

Director James Wan adopts that same style which made his previous horror flick Insidious a sleeper hit. The narrative unfolds slowly as the family settles in a new house. Few weird things happen but there is nothing alarming. The film shifts gears half an hour later and then its one hell of a ride right till the end. If I talk about the novelty factor for the horror genre aficionados, there are none. Like countless supernatural flicks there is a desolated house, a sad background story, a possession and an exorcism. But here Wan's dexterity comes in. He brings a subtlety to the film. In spite of the presence of a no. of cliches related to the supernatural horror genre in the film, Wan incorporates them in a subtle manner. He is able to heighten the tension and then suddenly bring it all down. The characters of the film are not on the edge continuously, something we often see in horror films. It is almost like a sudden onslaught of terror after a lull.

In fact, The Conjuring comes across as a perfect 'horror masala' movie with all the necessary ingredients in place. And though it is not amongst the top three scary films of all time (at least for me), I recommend it and urge people to watch it in the theater. Because, frankly, how many good horror films worth watching in multiplexes do we get to see every year.