The Conjuring
I like how the movie plays like a procedural and actually opens with a B case, in which they will quickly resolve before the end of the opening sequence.
★★★★
Mild Spoilers
Directed by James Wan
Written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes
Loosely based on real-life experts on the occult Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), who assist in authenticating cases before calling in the Vatican-sanctioned exorcists. The movie is about one of their most difficult assignments back in 1971, concerning the Perron family who encountered strange occurrences in their new home. It’s the one that also inspired the making of the Amityville movies.
No matter how much I see myself as a proponent of science, horror movies still scares me. A lot. Specifically, the supernatural ones. Science horrors like The Thing, Alien, The Fly I can take. But when it comes to the metaphysical, I’m a scaredy cat. I think Ringu might be the most frightening one for me. Goes without saying that I have a large stack of horror movie Blurays that are still left unwatched.
Back to The Conjuring. I like how the movie plays like a procedural and actually opens with a B case, in which they will quickly resolve before the end of the opening sequence. There is no doubt that the supernatural exists in the movie’s universe, but even so the Warrens’ investigations were methodical, sensible and even compelling. They didn’t just aimlessly flick holy water everywhere and call it a day.
Performances are strong across the board. I was surprised to see familiar faces like Joey King, Mackenzie Foy and Lili Taylor. Ron Livingston was the weakest link here, whom I thought didn’t sell his desperation convincingly enough. The standout was Farmiga, who exudes gravitas in everything she does. Wilson is good as the supporting and reliable husband and ghost-busting partner.
I noticed some influences from Asian horror cinema, e.g., women in white nightgowns, spirits latching on the backs of people, etc., probably coming from Australian director James Wan’s roots. (He grew up in Malaysia.) There are also nods to the classics like Poltergeist and The Exorcist. The Conjuring is really an amalgamation of several genres: a detective mystery, a haunted house story, and a possession flick rolled into one. It makes it unique from the never-ending slew of generic horror films, and I can see why a lot of people loved it.
It’s a good one; I’d recommend it. Now I just need to muster up enough courage to watch Part II, which some are already telling me is scarier than the first! Hopefully, I’d be done watching it before Halloween 2024!
A Haunting in Venice
This is a very traditional whodunnit, with the usual suspects of affluent family members, their acquaintances and the help all trapped in a building while the great detective slowly grills each person until the reveal of the murderer(s?) is done in a grandstanding fashion.
★★★★
Mild Spoilers
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written by Michael Green
Based on the novel Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Just in case you didn’t know, this isn’t exactly a horror movie, but the third film based on Agatha Christie’s mystery novels that was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played the role of Christie’s world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot. The other two were Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. There is no continuity except for the recurring detective character, so no prior viewing of those two films are necessary at all. Murder mysteries are by design standalone stories.
I really liked these series of films because there’s just something really appealing about mid 20th century European backdrops, and I absolutely enjoyed Branagh’s take on the eccentric Belgian sleuth. His third outing did not disappoint, although it isn’t without some flaws. These movies often include a cast of established and up-and-coming actors, and Branagh managed to get Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, the Fifty Shades guy and the baddie from John Wick 2 for this one.
This is a very traditional whodunnit, with the usual suspects of affluent family members, their acquaintances and the help all trapped in a building while the great detective slowly grills each person until the reveal of the murderer(s?) is done in a grandstanding fashion. What’s new this time is the element of the supernatural complicating things for the detective who purely relies on logical deductions. Some of you may find these too old fashioned, but if you’re anything like me you’re going to enjoy it as much as I did.
There is also something a bit off about the way lines are delivered here, which were done so hurriedly that I found it difficult to hear what each character was saying, especially when there are so many different accents at play. There’s also this over-abundant use of wide angle lenses that makes almost every shot looked warped, like you were constantly looking through the point-of-view of a first person shooter video game. It can be annoyingly disorienting at times, even if it was intentional.
Otherwise, this is still a solid but traditional whodunnit held up by lush visuals, a strong central performance and a reliable cast of familiar faces.