The Conjuring 2

The thing about watching a lot of horror films, you tend to develop a kind of fright threshold not unlike some pharmacological concoctions a person uses to gradually increase the dosage of the drug to get the desired effects. The normal dose just wouldn't cut it anymore. 

Same with horror movies. You get introduced to some novel way of getting spooked, the next time it happens, it almost becomes an afterthought. Maybe that's why the first installments are the most memorable in an established series. There were a couple of these fright-fests I watched at a young age that made it almost impossible for me to take a piss in the middle of the night for fear of what ungodly abomination would grab my ankles from under the bed, or meet face to face in the darkened hallway on the way to the bathroom. Notable among these were The Exorcist, The first installment of Peque Gallaga's Shake Rattle and Roll series, and The Shining. There were others like George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead or John Carpenter's The Thing, but the antagonists on those were physical beings that cannot teleport to a place you consider to be a safe haven. There's just something about a good ghost story that inspires the inner masochist in people via scaring themselves to death. Even the popular Japanese ghosts from The Ring and The Grudge are set for a grand smackdown this month.

And ghosts and a good ghost story is one of director James Wan's many core competencies (The other is fast cars and death defying stunts that will put Looney Tunes characters to shame.).

The first Insidious movie was, and will always be the testament to Wan's exceptional talent in crafting spooky atmospheres, well-placed jolts that follow a cleverly-placed misdirection, and good storytelling. The offshoot film that followed the series, The Conjuring and its sequel, continues in the same vein, this time focusing on the real-life exploits of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. In The Conjuring 2, the couple assists a family in the receiving end of a deadly poltergeist activity in London, 1977.

As before, the beauty of Wan and his writers' execution of the story is not on what is presented onscreen but on the mystery behind what these ghost activities are trying to communicate. My only complaint about it, being a longtime viewer of films of this type, is that there are no more genuine fright that stays with you long after you have left the theater. Maybe its the sleek Hollywood production feel to it or that the main characters are played by well-known actors that makes it feel all the more like any other summer blockbuster you see in your mall cinemas. And I can't help but notice the same actor playing all the main boogeymen in all of Wan's movies. From the Darth Maul-like demon in Insidious to the hanged witch in The Conjuring. This time around the guy is playing a demon garbed in a nun's frock. That took another part out of the fright aspect. At least for me.

Time to go scouting again for obscure titles with no-name actors headlining them. Might be a gamble on potential turkeys (most of the time they really are turkeys) but when you hit paydirt with a good one, you can pat yourself on the back for another sleepless night and the inability to take a piss at the unholy hours just before dawn.