With “Conjuring”, James Wan delivered a modern horror classic in 2013. But the sequel, made three years later, is also worth watching – and is now available again on Amazon Prime Video.
With “Conjuring”, James Wan has once again proven that he is a master at launching franchises. After he had already laid the foundations for two more than extensive horror series with “Saw” (Part 10 will be released this year) and “Insidious” (Part 5 was recently released in German cinemas), “Conjuring” was also to become a mega hit in 2013. Accordingly, a sequel was quickly decided.
For “Conjuring 2”, James Wan once again took a seat in the director’s chair himself and based his work on the incidents that became known as “Enfield Poltergeist”. “Conjuring 2” is available now in the Amazon Prime Video subscription. By the way: “Conjuring “* and “Conjuring 3″* can also currently be streamed on Prime Video. So nothing stands in the way of a scary movie night.
WHAT “CONJURING 2” IS ABOUT
The demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) have become real celebrities thanks to their spectacular cases. But the ghosts and demons of this world are not at all deterred by the couple. So the Warrens are summoned to England to the London district of Enfield.
There lives single mother Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) with her four children Margaret (Lauren Esposito), Janet (Madison Wolfe), Johnny (Patrick McAuley) and Billy (Benjamin Haigh). Things don’t go right for them. Janet in particular falls victim several times to a demon that possesses her and speaks to people through her. For the Warrens, a new case begins that will demand everything of them.
AN EXCELLENT SEQUEL
The official FILMSTARTS review gave “Conjuring 2” a really strong 4 out of 5 stars. Our author writes in his conclusion: “The highly emotional, effectively staged and very well acted horror thriller is a successful continuation of the original despite small lengths. “
Like its 2013 predecessor, “Conjuring 2” is eerily virtuosic, effective and elegantly staged. In the process, Wan once again seems to take a thieving pleasure in scaring the audience out of their seats with the much-cited jump scares. There is a method to this, however, because away from the slamming doors, shrill strings and panicked screams, “Conjuring 2” is thus able to unleash a very special horror from the silence.
The fact that “Conjuring 2” knows how to captivate throughout its running time of 135 minutes, which is particularly long for a horror film, is also due to the fact that Wan consistently gives his horror scenario an emotional underpinning. It often seems as if Wan is harmonising classic Haunted House horror with the social realism of a Ken Loach (“Sorry We Missed You”). This is not only original, but also immensely engaging. So it’s only a minor annoyance that some of the story lines get a bit too out of hand.
