Geek of Oz

In the spirit of full disclosure I will happily admit I did not watch James Wan’s Insidious back in 2011 because I came down with acute blindness…my car broke down that day…no wait my dog died… alright already it’s cause I’m a scared-y cat when it comes to such films. Luckily with some recent horror classics under my belt I boldly walked in to Insidious: Chapter 2 and only shrieked twice from behind my seat but keep that between you and me. Whilst it’s an entertaining film it all felt a little too familiar, partly because it has so many references to other films of the genre but also because James Wan has already released The Conjuring this year, which Ali reviewed to moderate praise.

Taking its genes from 2011’s Insidious , James Wan’s latest offering The Conjuring favours nerve-stretching tension building to pant-wetting jolts over the torture-porn style pioneered by his first film Saw . While there’s nothing particularly original in the idea or the execution, in this case the usual ingredients are put together well and the overall result is a taut thriller with plenty of atmosphere and the right amount of thrills.