The Conjuring

[Ella]

Can't believe there's thread for this movie. I haven't seen it yet..I'm kind of scared. Has anyone else seen it? Is it as scary as the trailer looks? The hands clapping behind the woman was enough to give me chills.
Smilla, you must have seen it? I hope.

[lea1977]

It was so scary there were tears. It was shot very well, very suspenseful.

[Ella]

I'm not sure if I want to see it.I remember seeing The Original Amityville horror and it didn't bother me until after we got home. I didn't sleep at all that night..and kept all the lights on.It's movies like that...playing with the mind horror, sudden scares.I can't handle them.I live alone now and I'd be keeping the lights on for weeks.

I still may go though.

[Mme Erzulie]

I'm trying to see this this week, I can't wait. Love ghost movies.

[Deleted]

I saw it last week, and even though I didn't think it was bad, it didn't scare me that much. I think I might have jumped a couple of times. It's not a film that has stayed with me since seeing it at all.

[magazinewhore]

I just saw it. It wasn't that scary. Being shot in the 1970s was a nice touch because the really scary horror movies tend to be from then. There are jumps and family was a nice touch.

However, they used a lot of tired tropes from other horror movies that seemed fake(ish) and tired...(animal deaths to signify presence of evil). Wilson and Vera were very good but I was annoyed that their explanation for evil fell into the old Judea-Christian template, and the old "women are sources of/more vulnerable to evil" trope who were saved by their well-meaning husbands.

[bklynred]

I saw this tonight and am still awake (3 am). I thought it had some really good scares, and I'm always interested in stories with some roots in real life. I'd suggest seeing it in the theater if you love scary movies, or waiting for DVD if you're a slight scaredy cat. One downside of it being based on true events--trying to keep all five daughters straight. I managed the youngest and Renesmee from Twilight, but that's about it. I enjoyed how Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga worked as a couple too.

[luminosa]

Slightly OT, but the girl that plays one of the daughters that was also in Twighlight is insanely gorgeous. Geez.

I wasnt scared but thought it was a great horror movie.

[GirlyGhoul]

Aug 7, 2013 3:16:07 GMT -4 bklynred said:

I saw this tonight and am still awake (3 am). I thought it had some really good scares, and I'm always interested in stories with some roots in real life. I'd suggest seeing it in the theater if you love scary movies, or waiting for DVD if you're a slight scaredy cat. One downside of it being based on true events--trying to keep all five daughters straight. I managed the youngest and Renesmee from Twilight, but that's about it. I enjoyed how Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga worked as a couple too.

I just saw it last night and had the same problem keeping the kids straight. When the one girl got dragged by her hair, I'm still not sure if that was the oldest girl or the next one down.

I enjoyed it. I wasn't that scared overall, but I enjoyed the jumps and boos and gotchas here and there. My friend scared me more because she kept screaming in my ear and practically jumping in my lap. I guess I am jaded. Lili Taylor's face during the Exorcism scene was about the scariest thing. That and the doll. That damn freaky doll bothered me more than anything and it wasn't even in the main story.

The overall problem I had with it was I couldn't get into the family. I know it was based on a true story, but the family seemed very bland. Just victims and nothing more. So that said, I think it would have worked better by having the Warrens as the main focus. The stories they talked about in their lectures were much more interesting to me and I wanted to stay in those flashbacks whenever they were happening. Heck, if the whole movie had been about that damn doll I probably would have been jumping into my friend's lap instead. I also think, even though this is based on true events, they could have changed the family and fictionalized them. Have less kids so that more time could be taken getting to know them and their individual personalities. That would have made what was happening to them scarier. I still think the Warrens' story was the more interesting one and would have liked to have delved deeper into their lives and their cases.

One time long ago I had one of their books (might still have it if I dig through my parents' basement one day) It was called 'Werewolf'. I got it in a thrift store because I have thing for werewolves but quickly realized it was really just about a possessed guy. I think that might have been the guy they showed flashbacks of because the pictures from the book looked similar. Maybe they'll make a movie about that case or others in the future. If they make a whole movie about that doll though, I'll probably skip it.

[forever1267]

Just watched this On Demand, because my panic disorder would have, well, panicked at seeing it in a theater.

It was really creepy, although, like Insidious, it seemed to lose some power towards the end. It just couldn't amp up to a climax. It's very old-school, and I really loved and appreciated the practical effects. Whatever CGI they did was seamless to the film, unlike, say the remake of The Haunting where everything is an obvious special effect.

This is a fun one, without being gross and violent, for your Halloween viewing. And all 4 leads were terrific.

If you want a creepy doll, check out the "Ghost" thread in General Chit Chat.

I would love to see some sequels with Patrick and Vera as the Warrens. Fascinating people.