The Conjuring 4K 2013

Surprisingly intense cinema, captivating from the very first second.

We are promised a terrifying story, so terrifying that for a long time no one dared to tell it—it was kept secret. And now we have the opportunity to find out what was happening behind the scenes. A family moves into a new house—mom, dad, and five daughters. And immediately, something incredible begins to happen in the house: someone pulls the girls' legs at night, makes the closet doors slam—something dark and evil lives there. It would seem that everything begins as an ordinary horror thriller about exorcising demons. What could be appealing about such a hackneyed and overused plot? Something unusual.

And what is unusual here is that the creators approached the film quite seriously - The Conjuring is a kind of parable, a lesson to all the fools of this world, however cruel and perhaps strange it may be. Like The Six Demons of Emily Rose, the film tries to convince us of one idea. It just needs us to understand it. Unobtrusively, but to the point, they try to set us on the right path. And a horror film with meaning is a rare phenomenon.

Yes, there are things here to make you shudder. And there are moments to relax—a seemingly incompatible combination. But the director managed to add a few moments of humor to the intense and frightening story, which alleviated the tension. Although, it did return.

The jokes were genuinely amusing, the “dark deeds” were frightening, giving one goosebumps; and the acting is superb. And even though there seems to be nothing unusual at the heart of the plot—no serious twists—what sets The Conjuring apart from everything else is its soul. The film was not made just for the sake of it, not just for money. You can feel that. And that's wonderful.