‘The Conjuring 2’ Drowns a Dramatic Real Story in Overblown SFX

Last updated on: June 9, 2016 at 9:50 pm by Kate O'Hare

‘The Conjuring 2’ Drowns a Dramatic Real Story in Overblown SFX 2016-06-09T21:50:48-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There are moments today when I want to slap filmmakers’ hands and take away their digital toyboxes. For example, in “Captain America: Civil War,” the emotional impact of a truly affecting character-based tale was nearly obliterated by extended CGI fight sequences that could have been 50 percent shorter.

When it comes to the most obvious and spectacular special effects, less is usually more.

Recently, I went to a screening of “The Conjuring 2,” the sequel to the wildly successful 2013 movie based on the exploits of Catholic paranormal investigators/demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The original was plenty spooky but light on showy effects. Sadly, the same can’t be said of the sequel. There were moments that startled me, but I was never scared, and mostly I was bored. If anything like what the movie showed actually happened in the North London neighborhood of Enfield, the entire British army, if not Doctor Who himself, would have been called in. To say it’s over the top would be classic British understatement.

The irony is that the original story, the 1977-’79 Enfield Poltergeist, named after a London suburb, is one of the best-documented paranormal cases in recent history. From the U.K. Daily Mail (don’t read the full story if you want to remain unspoiled for the movie):

What was going on? This was the case of the Enfield Poltergeist, which held the nation spellbound 30 years ago, puzzling policemen, psychics, experts in the occult and hardened reporters alike.

It involved levitation, furniture being moved through the air, and flying objects swirling towards witnesses. There were cold breezes, physical assaults, graffiti, water appearing on the floor, and even claims of matches spontaneously bursting into flame.

And before you ask why the family didn’t move, this was British public housing, and relocation wasn’t possible without the approval of the skeptical council, which didn’t want to buy the Hodgson family’s story.

Director James Wan returns for the sequel, but this time, the effects become so extreme and cartoonish that they detract from the story. And that’s a shame, because Madison Wolfe gives a great performance as the 11-year-old girl at the center of the events, and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are once again convincing and compelling as the Warrens.

Several times, we see a demon nun that’s so preposterous-looking that it could have come from FX’s twisted anthology “American Horror Story,” one season of which played on creator Ryan Murphy’s perverse obsession with Catholicism (OK, all his obsessions are perverse, but this was was especially odious).

At least, “The Conjuring 2,” like its predecessor — and like its forerunner, “The Exorcist” — takes faith seriously, especially the unique ability of the Catholic Church to battle ultimate evil.

Or, as a review at The A.V. Club put it:

With this installment, the Conjuring movies may have overtaken The Exorcist as the most Christian of horror franchises, taking place in a universe where the Catholic Church is the spiritual S.H.I.E.L.D. and demon hunters Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) its holy roller super-agents.

Well, yeah, of course the Church is the spiritual S.H.I.E.L.D. But while the Warrens of “The Conjuring 2” make good use of their faith to deal with what’s happening in Enfield, they’d be better off with body armor and a tank.

It’s great to see a strong Catholic couple out there, battling the forces of evil, if only these forces didn’t wind up looking like a bad video game. The Enfield Poltergeist was plenty scary enough, and I’m pretty sure a more docudrama-style retelling would have had me on the edge of my seat, not lolling in it, rolling my eyes.

Image: Courtesy New Line Cinema

Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home at CatholicVote and like my Facebook page; also like the Patheos Catholic FB page to see what my colleagues have to say.

Previous Post

June 9, 2016

Report: Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' Has a Sequel in the Works

Next Post

June 11, 2016 'Lesbian Couple' in 'Finding Dory' May Be Just in the Eye of the Beholder

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz