Excellent ghost story in its own rights. Review on The Conjuring 2

Conjuring 2 picks up with paranormal investigators Ed and Warren in 1976 as the pair conduct their famous study of the “Amityville Horror” case – in which the Lutz family claimed they were terrorized by the same demonic presence that drove their home’s previous owner to murder his family. During a seance at the old Lutz home, Lorraine had a horrifying encounter with a mysterious demon that prompts her to tell Ed they need to stop their investigations – before something terrible happens to them. Coupled with the Warrens’ increased fame, since they helped the Perron family, that has only made the couple a popular target for skeptics seeking to debunk their work, Ed agrees with Lorraine to stick with a quieter life(teaching, giving guest lectures), instead.However, in 1977, the Warrens are approached by the Catholic Church to investigate a highly-publicized case(one referred to by the general public as “England’s Amityville”) in the London Borough of Enfield. There, the Warrens meet Peggy Hodgson(Frances O’Connor) – a working-class single mother who, along with her children and in particular her daughter Janet(Madison Wolfe), is seemingly being terrorized by a malevolent spirit in her home. Is this supposed supernatural event just a hoax, as many suspect it to be… or have Ed and Lorraine now inadvertently made themselves a new target for a demonic being that is attempting to possess Janet and force her to commit the ultimate sin?

The followup to Saw and Insidious director James Wan’s hit 2013 horror film, The Conjuring 2 is another chilling tale of the supernatural featuring fictionalized versions of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Where Insidious: Chapter 2 – the only previous occasion where Wan directed a sequel to his own hit horror film – aspired to explore its predecessor’s mythology only to(arguably) over-complicate it and diminish its mystique, at the same time sacrificing the quality of its human story core, The Conjuring 2 successfully expands upon dangling plot threads from its predecessor at the same time that it explores compelling new material and delivers more than its fair share of good scares. While The Conjuring 2 isn’t as innovative a horror film throwback as its predecessor, it’s an excellent ghost story in its own right.The Conjuring 2‘s narrative structure resembles that of its predecessor, complete with a prologue based around one of the Warren’s investigations prior to the main events of the film – something that doesn’t come as a surprise, given that Conjuring co-writers Chad and Carey Hayes also co-penned the sequel. In some ways, though, the Conjuring 2‘s screenplay(also co-written by Wan and Orphan screenwriter David Leslie Johnson) weaves a tighter narrative web than its predecessor, as events in the Amityville-set opening not only connect to those that later transpire in Enfield, but set up the larger themes of the film at the same time. The Conjuring 2 continues Ed and Lorraine’s love story from the first installment too, allowing the sequel to serve as a satisfying bookend to the original movie’s portrayal of the Warrens and their relationship(regardless of whether or not their story is eventually continued onscreen with The Conjuring 3).