*Warning* There are some spoilers in the following article. Read at your own discretion.

Welcome to The Attic, the closest to hell you’ll ever want to be.

As many of you know, I prefer to wait a while before seeing a new horror movie in the theaters. I prefer a smaller audience around me, and will avoid the ‘teenager’ crowd at any cost. And so, while I sat back and waited the necessary few weeks before seeing The Conjuring 2, I did have a couple of things spoiled for me, including the nun. I was sure that this would take away from my experience, but I was oh so wrong. This movie blew me away. Despite going into this knowing the backstory, and knowing certain details the internet just couldn’t help but spoil, I was thrilled to see that nothing diminished how scary this movie was. I was also happy to see that there were plenty of scares and plot points that at least the early trailers (pre-release date) didn’t ruin. This is either a welcome change happening within the industry as a whole, or something specific to the Conjuring/Annabelle train. But figuring out who is pushing this new direction doesn’t really matter. What matters is that this shift is desperately needed. In the age of trailers functioning more like cliffs notes than teasers to lure people into theater seats, these last few James Wan/Peter Safran films have shown very little in their respective trailers; and it is brilliant.

The Enfield Poltergeist is something that I have covered before, but the basics are worth noting again: In the late 1970s, Janet Hodgson and her family began to experience strange occurrences in their home. Furniture moving on its own, banging in the walls, and Janet herself even levitating and speaking in a deep guttural growl. Numerous people were brought in to investigate, and it seems that to this day, the opinions are split down the middle. Some believed, and still do, that the Hodgsons were dealing with something paranormal, and others see it as a troubled young girl who was looking for attention.

This movie centers on the Warrens’ involvement with the case, and how it affects their lives while they’re trying to save others. In the same way the last film introduced us to Annabelle before launching into its own story, The Conjuring 2 starts off in the infamous Amityville house. Lorraine experiences terrifying visions there, but the worst one is that of the nun, or the demon Valak as it’s revealed to be later. (It is already being rumored that the next spin-off will be centered around this demon.) Lorraine also has premonitions of her husband’s death, and warns him that they should stop their investigations. Ed agrees, and promises his wife that they will at least take a break from accepting cases. However, they are then contacted by the church, asking them for help in determining if the claims are a hoax, or if the family is truly in need of assistance. The Warrens, fearing for the girl and her family, relent and agree to travel to London, but only to help figure out if the claims are legitimate or not.

As you can imagine, the story takes off from there, and the Warrens can’t help but stick around to help free this family from the clutches of numerous horrific events. Some are expected and some blindside you from out of nowhere. I don’t want to give everything away, so I’ll leave it at that. I can’t rave enough about this film. The pacing is sheer brilliance, the score (much like its predecessor) is fantastic and reminiscent of classic horror entries. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are as great as ever, and deliver powerful performances that only make you love this couple more. Young Madison Wolfe did a fantastic job of playing the terrorized Janet without going over-the-top. There is a great combination of jump-scares and building tension that leads you to being on edge at all times. There is no “well, it’s daytime, so it should be less scary during this scene” like some movies have.

The Conjuring 2 delivers from start to finish, and I thoroughly enjoyed being along for the ride. I’ll admit, it really scared me, but I loved that part. I don’t see the point in watching a horror movie if it doesn’t get under your skin a little. While I think everyone is getting burned out on the barrage of endless sequels and spin-offs, I see no sign of The Conjuring/Annabelle/(Nun?) train slowing down any time soon, but I’m ok with that. As long as they continue to deliver high quality horror like this, I’m on board. Choo, choo, motherfuckers.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess