Synopsis–
For those of you who didn’t want to buy into the hype of this film during the summer months, I’m here to give you a run down on what you missed. I’ll admit that after hearing so much praise for The Conjuring during its first week of release, it may have soured my first viewing. I walked out of the theater feeling fairly underwhelmed at best. Although I felt it was a well made film, I just didn’t understand why some media outlets were daring to compare it to a classic like The Exorcist. Then came the Blu-ray release, and after my second serving of this horror treat, I’m much more on board with giving it high praise.
This is very much a slow burn type of horror film, and nothing too cosmic happens in the first hour of the movie, and I’d argue the best frights and scares are saved towards the end of the film. The overall plot centers around the real-life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. It’s Ed and Lorraine who attempt to help the Perron family become freed from the haunted, demonic spirits that haunt their new house in the country. The most disturbing aspect of this movie is seeing the character of Carolyn Perron transform from good to evil towards the final act of the movie. Lili Taylor, who plays Caryolyn, paved the way for me to feel disturbed watching someone essentially morph into the devil. Add to it, the fact you’re watching a mother of children turn into such a horrifying being, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a convincing horror film.
The remaining cast does a really nice job with the material, particularly Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s portrayal of the Warrens, and director James Wan really gives the look of this film a vintage 70s aesthetic. I will say it was a little bizarre seeing Ron Livingston, from Office Space fame, playing such a serious character, let alone the father figure in a family that’s being tormented. However, since that’s my biggest critique of the movie, that should tell you this is truly a great addition to the genre of horror films.
Video Quality– A+
I have a pretty good memory when it comes to how a film looks during it’s release in theaters, and with that I can assure all of you the Blu-ray version doesn’t disappoint by comparison for video quality. It even retained the same vintage 70s color tones that popped so well when I saw this on the big screen. Considering I was viewing this Blu-ray on an Epson HD projector, blown up to about 85-90 inches on my wall, then it’s a good bet that anyone viewing it on a regular LCD or LED TV will thoroughly enjoy how the film looks as well.
Audio Quality– A+
With a standard DTS 7.1 surround sound mix, the Blu-ray definitely creates a surreal feel in the audio department. If you want to feel like you’re trapped in the same house with the Perron family, that’s what you’ll get with how well mixed the sound was here. Everything from subtle, creepy sound effects to doors slamming will pulse through your home surround sound system. I also didn’t notice any audio irregularities either throughout the entire film, i.e. sound going back and forth between DTS or Dolby Digital. Everything was top notch in the sound department.
Extras– B-
Look, I’ve been noticing many modern films in the last year getting bare-bones home releases in the special features/extras department. It seems like there’s a growing trend with Hollywood studios to want to double and sometimes triple dip the same title on a given format, i.e. DVD, Blu-ray. So in the case of The Conjuring, what we get are three featurettes, albeit damned good ones, but this disc feels like it should have had far more on it for people having to pony up anywhere from $19.99-$29.99 here. Where’s the deleted scenes? Where are the more granular interview segments with members of the cast? Nonetheless, let’s talk shop about what we did get with these extras…
The Conjuring: Face-To-Face with Terror– This is a very intriguing extra that interviews the real-life Carolyn Perron who was haunted with the house she and her family purchased eons ago. Just listening to her recount her memories shows how utterly disturbed this poor woman is based on the events The Conjuring was solely based on. If nothing else, this adds a little gravitas to the fact this film was absolutely based on a non-fictional story, with non-fictional people.
A Life in Demonology– Here we get Lorraine Warren discussing what being a paranormal investigator meant to her and her late husband Ed. It goes into details about their career, and even why the case they had regarding the Parron family was used as the basis for The Conjuring’s script. Overall, it was nice to see the real Lorraine Warren in present day dive into her thoughts on the past, present, and future.
Scaring The ‘@$*%’ Out Of You– The final extra centers more around director James Wan and his artistic choices for making this film. Apparently he was the only director offered to direct The Conjuring, and I think you can see why his talents were sought after given how articulate he comes off in describing why he did the things he did in crafting the movie. Additionally, you may find it interesting the house used in this movie is literally just a set that was built! Yeah, I had no idea, but maybe that’s just me having a Rose Nylund moment.
In the end, for fans of this film, or would be fans who want to get their first indoctrination to The Conjuring, I’d recommend picking up this release for Blu-ray. As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments below regarding your thoughts on the film, or my review!
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