By Melissa Antoinette Garza
When I heard that the sequel to the huge hit THE CONJURING (2013) was going to be about the Enfield, London haunting that occurred in 1977. I found this case very interesting for several reasons. Many of the events were unexplainable. There were a great number of witnesses. Certain things had been proven to be a hoax, while others seem impossible to fake. This haunting was so popular that it inspired the very controversial and outstanding mockumentary GHOSTWATCH that appeared in 1991 on Halloween Night. British viewers were horrified when watching as they thought it was a real news program.
As I thought THE CONJURING (2013) was one of the greatest horror films of the last twenty years, I was happy to see the way in which this story was conveyed. The one aspect of the film version that I found odd was that Ed and Lorraine Warren were shown to be highly involved in the investigation. I had seen quite a few documentaries and news programs and never saw them or heard them mentioned. It seems that their actual involvement in the Enfield case is up for dispute depending on which source you ask and which article you read. That said, there is an actual recording of the actual Ed Warren interviewing the young girl possessed played at the end of the film, confirming the couple were at least present for some rather strange activity.
The film opens with Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) discussing THE AMITYVILLE HORROR case and how difficult it was for her. While sitting in a circle and meditating, Lorraine has a vision. She sees the DeFeo clan get murdered one by one. In fact, she has become Ronnie DeFeo Jr. and pulls the trigger on the imaginary shotgun herself.
A boy with white eyes gets Lorraine to follow him downstairs. Anyone who knows about THE AMITYVILLE HORROR case knows the scariest element to emerge is the single photograph of the unknown boy with white eyes, so kudos to James Wan for getting it right. The first 10 minutes of THE CONJURING 2 does more to invoke fear than the entire 2005 remake of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. Andrew Douglas should watch and take notes before he ventures into “true” horror again
Once, Lorraine follows the boy with the white eyes, she sees the entire family who had been killed. They lead her to a mirror where the reflection of a demonic nun is shown. The demonic nun which is a reoccurring and in many ways the main villain is my single sore spot with the film. Admittedly it’s a nitpick, but the nun looks like Marilyn Manson so with two exceptions where the nun’s appearance changes or is unseen, she doesn’t scare as intended. Many times, I would just say, “damn in Manson. Leave those nice Warrens alone!”
It is during the initial vision that Lorraine has a premonition of Ed’s death. The love story between the two is highlighted more in this movie than in the last. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have amazing chemistry and definitely makes the audience believe their love was fate.
Ed and Lorraine go on a talk show where a skeptic belittles the Warrens and is incredibly rude and condescending. Ed stands up for Lorraine in a very gallant way and afterward explains to his loving wife that they only do the shows to help people. I love this scene. The real event that I believe this is based on was an episode of the SALLY JESSE RAPHEAL SHOW during the 80s where the Haunting in Connecticut was discussed.
It’s hilarious because during the real TV show, Ed is a pompous and arrogant loudmouth and the skeptic though unappreciative of Ed’s tone tries to make his point. Some of the dialogue is verbatim, but the way in which it’s delivered is completely different. No to mention, Ed Warren was not the most attractive man in the world. I won’t discuss his character because I don’t know him, but physically he was, at best, plain. I don’t know what it is, but there is something very appealing about Patrick Wilson. He’s somewhere in-between Tom Hiddleston’s soft gorgeousness and Clint Eastwood’s badass sexiness. Wilson plays Ed as a brave, romantic, kind, gentleman who is strong enough to go to the depths of hell for women, children and especially Lorraine.
Now, albeit the real skeptic Joe Nickell wasn’t the sexiest or most benevolent guest on Sally Jesse Raphael. He was a thin, well-dressed man who looked like a typical science teacher. In the movie, “Skeptic Kaplan” as his character is named was a bit overweight and worse a suit much too tight for him. He was also a complete prick.
This is one of those scenes that is hilarious when one watches what really happened vs the dramatic depiction. I’m not sure if Joe Nickell finds it as funny as I do, but it’s one of my favorite scenes.
Overall and shockingly, THE CONJURING 2 is better than the first. The story really begins when Ed and Lorraine visit Mrs. Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her children. Hodgson is a single parent of Billy (Benjamin Haigh) a cute kid who is picked on for stuttering, Johnny (Patrick McAuley) who though younger than his sisters wants to protect them, Margaret (Lauren Esposito) the eldest sister and Janet (Madison Wolfe) a 12-year-old girl who the demon attaches itself to.
Things get bad for the Hodgson family when after messing with a homemade spirit board, strange things begin to occur. Janet starts talking in demonic voices, items in the house move on their own, Janet levitates and transports against her will, and an old ghost named Billy tries to reclaim the house as his own. Billy was the former owner and comes back looking for his family. He begins terrorizing and speaking through Janet.
Lorraine, worried about Ed, doesn’t want to pursue any new cases, but when the Catholic church asks them to get involved, they relent. Lorraine is still haunted by the Marilyn Manson nun and it starts to contact Ed in his dreams.
Many are skeptical of the Hodgson family, but police who corroborate the story and witnessing the paranormal activity themselves add credence. That combined with reporters, neighbors and investigator Maurice (Simon McBurney) who all saw the activity creates a media firestorm in London.
Anita Gregory (Franka Potente), who also is on site to review the case, doesn’t believe the Hodgsons. She thinks that Peggy is only in it to get different housing and that the children are having fun. Making matters more difficult, Lorraine has difficulty reaching the spirits and can only feel the fear the family is dealing with.
The casting was spectacular. Not only was every adult actor believable in their role, more importantly every child actor was. Much of the focus is on the children. Madison Wolfe, specifically, had a lot of weight on her shoulders. The Enfield case being known worldwide and footage of the actual family on Youtube, made her depiction of Janet all the more important. She did spectacular. She made every moment believable and had a striking resemblance to the real young girl.
In a few of the coolest scenes, the demon manifests into this tall man in a red suit which is based on a toy that the children had played with. It’s almost out of something like THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993). It looks so cool that the fact blatant CGI was used doesn’t take away from how scary it is.
This very well may be Wan’s best. I hope he gets hold of more from the Warren files as these movies are going to go down as classics. They have the old-school 70s horror vibe, deliver genuine scares and are creepy as hell. Wan understands that the cynicism, sarcasm and disbelief that the wave of horror movies following SCREAM (1996) utilized as a means of parodying its own genre is overdone and is actually detrimental to the film industry. Movies like THE PURGE series still attempt to use horror for its own means of delivering a political message, though contritely done and being semi-comedies. Though popular, those films irritate me. They aren’t true horror. They’re not the movies that keep you up at night and stick with you. Wan, however, appeals to real horror moviegoers and they are following his filmography in the droves. Keep doing what you’re doing Wan!
Scared Stiff Rating: 9.5/10
GHOSTWATCH: The TV Movie based on the Enfield Haunting:
