Two years ago, I wrote a short story called ‘Now Seating…'   It was a love letter to the horror genre.  It didn’t get much love 'Wastin’ Away’ did, but the few people that did read it, seemed to enjoy it for its unique spin in a very tired-some genre.   That was my goal and hope.  Even though it’s rare to come up with something new and fresh to a genre that’s been bone-dried as if it’s one of Leatherface’s victims, it is possible to present a homage that’s well-made with love, and is damn good.  Not to say that I think 'Now Seating…’ is a masterpiece by any means.  It’s still one of my favorites, something I would love see expand into a movie someday, and a piece I wrote with a lot of affection, honoring my favorites like 'Psycho,’ 'Dexter,’ and a good handful of Stephen King stories all in one.

Watching 'The Conjuring’ in a sold-out theater on a Friday night reminded me of the efforts I made with 'Now Seating…'   At first glance by the trailer, 'The Conjuring’ has the appearance of being just another redundant movie.  Make no mistake, it is quite redundant.  It’s not original.  It tip-toes around the horror movie cliches as if they were bombs ready to explode.  And it blends signature classic movie moments as if its a cover band of horror hits, such as: 'The Omen,’ 'Poltergeist,’ 'The Exorcist,’ 'The Amityville Horror’ (in fact, there’s a cute little Amityville reference end of the movie I’m sure a majority of the movie audience missed), 'The Changeling,’ and modern hits like 'The Last Exorcism’ and 'Paranormal Activity.'     

Yet, the film is so well-made with the right intentions of love and respect, its only goal of its existence: to scare the shit out of you.    It did just that.   Not a lot of movies actually spook me.  This one did.  Didn’t actually help matters coming home after the movie to a darkened apartment as a result of a power outage.  Every crack and creak the apartment made that night freaked me out from the movie.   If a movie is that effective, you know it’s pretty damn good!   I hold a lot of credit to the director, James Wan, whom had made a name for himself with the first 'Saw,’ 'Dead Silence,’ and 'Insidious.'   He directed 'The Conjuring’ with a lot of admirable shots.  I saw a lot of camera angles/wide and close up shots/zooming in and out/and some upside down sequences that clearly reminisces to the 1960s/1970s filmmaking.

This film has a hard-R rating, not from a whole lot of blood/gore, there isn’t much of swearing, and there isn’t even any sex/nudity.  It’s just a relentless film that slowly but surly plays with your senses.  Sure, there is the occasional 'gottcha’ jump scares.  There’s pay off to it, though.  In fact, every creeping moment in the film has a pay off.   I hate-hate-HATE horror movies that throws in jump scares with no purpose. 

In this movie, you are experiencing a family being haunted at a newly bought house (yet, like all haunted houses, this house is old with a dark history that is learned later on in the film).  That story-line is interconnected (and merged mid-half in the film) to a married couple whom are paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.  The Warren couple in the film are based on the real-life couple of the same name, whom made a career/name for themselves for investigating high-profile cases (like the Amityville case).   In the beginning of the film, they investigate a weird looking doll named Annabelle, in which is possessed by some demon.  This is based on an actual notable case the couple did.  There’s a nice little pay off to this near the tail end of the movie. 

The people in this film are relatable and likable, which is rare in a horror movie these days.  The family depicted in this film are rich with characterization, that it makes their experiences on the screen much more terrifying.  The ghosts and ghouls featured in this don’t play nice.  Like 'Poltergeist,’ things start out slow.  Things pick up quickly, and we enter the intense 'Exorcist’ country where it grabs hold of you, squeezes your insides, and lets you know this isn’t a kiddy-friendly fright film.   The subject matter is dark and gritty.  The ghosts themselves are presented in dark corners, well-preserved as if they are part of a sadistic fun house.

'The Conjuring’ is being labeled with the ever-so-cliche 'based on true events’ stamp.   Like any Hollywood production, there are things that are dramatized a bit (such as the Annabelle doll; in real life, the doll was a Raggedy Anne doll - in the movie, they used a doll that looks like Chucky’s older sister).   The rest of the movie skidded through a ghost/exorcist story that’s difficult to believe as fact.  However, a lot of people do strongly believe in the paranormal, and the ghost-haunters that had made a name for themselves (like the Warren family).

The  night after I saw 'The Conjuring’ in theaters, I went on a 'ghost haunt’ tour with my fiancée’s family to the historical Fort Wayne in downtown Detroit.   Fort Wayne was used during the Civil War period.  Prospering soldiers would come to the fort to get their uniform, guns,  and head off to war.  Land with a lot of history behind it would get its share of haunting.  The tour guides that walked us through majority of the fort, pointed out various haunting(s) they experienced.  I felt like I was on the set of a 'Ghost Adventures’ or 'Ghost Hunters’ episode on TV.  It was neat (and a bit scary) to be walking through old abandon buildings in the dark with flash-lights.  I regret to inform you, though, that I didn’t see any ghosts.  

I can’t say if I believe in any of that or not.  But ghost stories do attract a lot of people.  Movies like 'The Conjuring’ will always get made.  It’s rare, though, to see a movie that is as good as 'The Conjuring.'  Since there was an Amityville hint/reference the end of this film, perhaps the inevitable sequel will focus on Amityville, even giving us a decent film of the subject matter for once since none of the Amityville Horror films have been able to get the story right.   The famous Lutz story never fascinated me (even though it’s one of those captivating ghost haunts that inspired the modern-day ghost frights).  The land that infamous house resided on, does fascinate me.  It was an Indian Burial ground.  The property got turned into a pig slaughterhouse years later.   And just a few years before the so-called haunting the Lutz family experienced, there was a gruesome murder in that house.   Would love to see a film focus on the history of Amityville, and its effect toward the supposed haunting, rather than the haunting itself, which was a missed opportunity with the Amityville remake a few years back. 

To sum up my long-winded review: 'The Conjuring’ was damn good.  This year has been a disappointment for summer movies, I’m sorry to say, but 2013 also provided two very strong horror films: 'Mama’ and 'The Conjuring,'   Not bad at all, considering how tiresome the genre turned into, and how irritated I get with it.