A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Conjuring -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

I've been attempting to play catch-up with recent releases, and finally was able to view James Wan's The Conjuring from WB. Need to get to Insidious, also.

The Conjuring came as suggested highly by my son, and after darkening the room, and finding a comfortable listening level, just a big higher than my norm, I settled in for whatever was about to unfold.

The film meanders a bit before it begins to sucker punch. Mr. Wan uses many of the old school tricks here, along with a novel approach, and the final result is a reasonably frightening film.

Audio was superb, and my speakers got a nice workout, especially in the extremely dense low-frequency shots. For those in shared dwellings, this film can be a lease-breaker, as the DTS-HD MA takes frequencies low and very loud.

Unlike Insidious, which was shot with a Red One, The Conjuring moved to an Arri Alexa, interestingly outfitted with Leica Summilux optics. The imagery, which I viewed at about ten feet across, was superbly rendered.

Bottom line, an interesting, occasionally frightening experience, with great entertainment value, and enough low-frequency audio information to de-lint one's speakers.

Strangely, a small creature, I believe it may be an odd doll, was perched near my computer earlier, and then disappeared. I took a quick shot, before it moved off. Don't know if it might return. Odd.




Recommended.

RAH

No dolls, please. And no clowns... [shudder].

A future classic. I loved everything about this film. I showed it at my outdoor theatre and the entire audience jumped in all the right places, and the sound was very powerful. My favorite film of the year.

I very much enjoyed it at the "IMAX". It did a lot of things right, and a rollicking good time was had by all.

I'm thinking of getting this.

I love the era of films it supposedly evokes.

And Me Julie is scared stiff of clowns and dolls.



Steve W

This film was actually creepy, for a change.

I just saw this today and I was so disappointed. I had heard such good things about this and was looking forward to a well-crafted, creepy film. I like that it tried in the beginning to be intelligent and well-modulated, before it descended into a laugh-out-loud bad, over the top finale. But everything in this film (down to some shots) was lifted directly from some other film. It was like a greatest hits compilation of horror film bits: Poltergeist, The Amityville Horror, The Haunting, The Exorcist, The Changeling, The Others, The Entity, Wait Until Dark, Magic, The Birds, Pyscho. I don't think there was one original moment in the film. I'd be more forgiving if it had actually scared me at some point.

One for my trade pile for Amoeba.

Loved this film.

I agree with John that it borrows from a lot of the best horror films we have seen.

But despite that, I still found it to be quite creepy with a lot of good scares.

By the film's end you are being hit with one shock after another to the pointthat I felt exhausted by it afterwards.

I am not a fan of horror films by any means, but this was well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The Conjuring was well done instead of overdone.

dpippel said:

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The Conjuring was well done instead of overdone.

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I agree with you. Every film made has its critics so John's comments are not unusual when it comes to the cinema artform.

I did love that it took the old "less is more" route. Wish a lot more movies these days did that.

Very creepy movie indeed. I will end up picking this up at some point.

John Maher_289910 said:

This film was actually creepy, for a change.

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So is your avatar.

Hey Robert. If you haven't watched it yet create the same conditions (no lights, good volume) and watch Sinister. I found it far more effective in producing chills with one of the best surround mixes I've heard in quite some time. VERY moody and most of the violence is more implied than seen.

A little love from me too.

I liked it so much I bought the company! .. .wait, I mean I bought it for my mom for Christmas. Can't argue with that!

Wasn't too impressed with it. It's typical of James Wan. It had its moments, and some of it worked very well. Acting was generally good, as was the cinematography. But then Wan can't help himself, he can't make up his mind of how he wants it to go. For once it seemed like he started on the right track, but then he had to put a creepy doll in it (lame, not scary). It would've worked a whole lot better if he stuck to the one style it sort of started with -- more realistic. Instead, it became a blatant mix of THE EVIL DEAD and THE EXORCIST. I'm glad he's going to stop making horror movies. The guy just doesn't get it. Loud noises and creepy dolls don't make a horror movie. And lose the dopey comic relief. Perhaps he needs a producer that knows how to reign him in. But at this point, he's made, what, half a dozen films and none of them have been that good (some even dire). Oh well. I guess I'll stick to the classics.

As a horror/thriller aficionado, I found the film thrilling and frightening. I agree with Kris Deering above -- Sinister is also quite frightening.

Regarding my earlier comments (above).

I watched this with Me Julie just after Christmas.

And I'm still in the doghouse.

Films like this are going to be a matter of taste, and not suitable for those who don't like horror, and probably too derivative for those who watch every modern horror film made. But for those who like the odd scare, it's smashing.

Looks and sounds great, too.

Thanks for the tip.

Steve W

I bought this for mom for Christmas. Yorkshire, she fits your profile... although she immediately loaned it to my niece... no word from mom yet.