Horror Aficionados discussion

So, my best friend and I went to see The Conjuring today and I thought it was just FANTASTIC!

It wasn't campy or particularly gruesome. It allowed the horror to really slowly escalate. I also loved the characterization of the Warrens.

Has anyone else seen this one? What did you think?

Have you seen Insideous? It was directed by the same guy. I guessed it when I watched the Conjuring because both movies incorporate a lot of those old-school horror elements. Have you also seen Sinister? I feel like comparing these three would be a fun way to spend a day.

I did see Insidious and I really disliked it. I loved the beginning, but I hated the last half of the movie. I did see some stylistic similarities between the two. I haven't seen Sinister yet. A good friend gave it a bad review, but I'm sure I'll see it eventually.

Yea Tiffany I find people either liked all 3 or none. And I'm not at all the toughest critic on horror movies I just love them. But you didnt like the clown-like guy at the end of Insidious?

The Conjuring easily the scariest film to come out in a long time.

Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring. Quite an impressive resume Wan has made for himself. I first thought that Wan was maturing from a gory horror director to one of atmosphere, character and shocks; but then I realized he was already there all along. In an interview on the making of Saw, Wan said that after the intial film was over, he realized that he had made an almost unbearably intense PG-13 thriller--not what he had contracted for with the studio. So he had to go back and reshoot some scenes and put more gore in them.

That's a movie I'd love to see.

Tiffany wrote: "I did see Insidious and I really disliked it. I loved the beginning, but I hated the last half of the movie. I did see some stylistic similarities between the two. I haven't seen Sinister yet. A go..."

Nope! I really liked Insidious until the clown guy showed up. I felt it was cheesy and over-the-top. But I really love Wan as a creator of these films. In fact, he's quickly replacing Guillermo del Toro as my favorite.

I saw The Conjuring a few weeks ago with some friends. It certainly scared me but I'm easy to scare at movies. I enjoyed the movie. My friend told me they are making it into a three parter as well with the telling of two more stories that couple investigated.

I'm going to see it this weekend. Anything with ghosts in scares the life out of me. My parents house is like paranormal activity - Creaking, knocking on doors, lights turning on and off - I also had someone lean on me and whisper my name. Although thankfully I was never dragged out of bed in the middle of the night! So these films really hit home for me. I'm nervous already.

I really like the actor director team of James Wan/Patrick Wilson. They seem to bring out the best in each other.

jennbunny wrote: "I saw The Conjuring a few weeks ago with some friends. It certainly scared me but I'm easy to scare at movies. I enjoyed the movie. My friend told me they are making it into a three parter as well ..."

I grew up in a horribly haunted house as well, a crazy old lady fell and died in the bathroom outside my room. And both of my parents are haunted people. Why wouldn't we love horror? :)

Heather wrote: "jennbunny wrote: "I saw The Conjuring a few weeks ago with some friends. It certainly scared me but I'm easy to scare at movies. I enjoyed the movie. My friend told me they are making it into a thr..."

So do ghost films scare you more of less because of your experience? Ghost films freak me out more than any other.

Has anyone seen Dead Silence?

No. Is it new? I'll be honest, I had to turn paranormal activity off because it was too stressful.

no its from i think 07 its also by james wan

no its from i think 07 its also by james wan

There's a cinema really close to my house and I want to see this movie so badly! But nobody to go with. All my friends are wusses lol

I would go with u Farris but I live in Aussie land ha ha :)

I got tickets to an advance screening a few weeks ago. It's very old school horror- not the blood and gore of newer stuff like Saw (although there was some blood and gore- just not overly excessive)... it made me think instead of movies like The Shining (original) or The Exorcist or even Something Wicked this Way Comes.

I screamed more than once in the theater and my oldest son was covering his eyes by the end. We liked it, and intend to own a copy when it comes out on DVD

Heather wrote: "jennbunny wrote: "I saw The Conjuring a few weeks ago with some friends. It certainly scared me but I'm easy to scare at movies. I enjoyed the movie. My friend told me they are making it into a thr..."

No I don't notice that ghost films scare me more necessarily than other horror movies - but I think watching ghost movies makes me more afraid of my mom's house :P

Larry wrote: "Has anyone seen Dead Silence?"

I love Dead Silence. Any horror with dolls, puppets, anything like that I find really incredibly creepy.

Me too Jackie. I think thats y i was more scared of it than The Conjuring lol

Dead silence - tks for the recommendation!

YW Heather

Part of the scare for me I guess is I believe in ghosts and demons. So to see it "based on a true story" scares me. I know most people are like it's all fake but there is truth in fiction.

The Conjuring wasn't the most original movie. It had its moments, but it is a bit overrated. I thought Wan's best horror film was Insidious. It was different.

Carolyn wrote: "I would go with u Farris but I live in Aussie land ha ha :)"

Ah, that's a shame! Guess I'll have to watch it when it comes out on DVD lol

Tiffany wrote: "So, my best friend and I went to see The Conjuring today and I thought it was just FANTASTIC!

It wasn't campy or particularly gruesome. It allowed the horror to really slowly escalate. I also lov..."

Well it deserved it's Rated R rating from the seriousness of it. Like you said, there was nothing cheesy about it, although, the ending was a bit silly and not as scary as some earlier scenes. I thought it was a decent film, but overrated!! Completely unoriginal, and felt like a spoof of films like the Poltergeist and the Exorcist.

I guess we are in a sort of Silver Age for this genre of horror movie. Some really good movies about demons and possessions in the last several years.

Anton wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "So, my best friend and I went to see The Conjuring today and I thought it was just FANTASTIC!

It wasn't campy or particularly gruesome. It allowed the horror to really slowly esca..."

I disagree. I thought that the videography set it far apart from The Exorcist and Poltergeist. As a younger individual, I found both of those films to be incredibly cheesy because of the lame special effects. While The Conjuring didn't add anything new to the genre, I think it is a good example of how to make a good horror movie from all angles: script, videography, sound composition, etc. Also, I think that they tried to stay really true to how the Warrens and Perrons reported the occurrence instead of allowing Hollywood to sensationalize too many of the details.

I enjoyed The Conjuring, but it didn't blow my mind and I preferred Insidious of the two.

I just watched the documentary My Amityville Horror on Netflix which follows the now adult oldest son of the Lutz family who had the ordeal in the house. It was really interesting. Another great recent horror flick was House of the Devil which was a real throwback.

I do admit that the camera work was fantastic. Cinematography was haunting. The use of lighting, the lack of music in some scenes, great stuff. The use of zoom is completely absent from modern film-making and Wan used it well.

Ok, I take it back, it wasn't a spoof, that's a strong word, but the fizzy, static TV? The old school, yellow subtitles and the opening title was deliberately styled to resemble what you'd see in a horror movie from the 70s. And, the film took place in the 70s! Why couldn't it have taken place in the present? Anyways, I'm just nit-picking. TO me, a film like the Amityville Horror bests The Conjuring. In Amityville, the main character was tormented, and I didn't sense the same thing from the mother in The Conjuring. She basically went cookoo overnight.

The only thing I found off about The Conjuring was the casting of Lili Talyor and Ron Livingston. They didn't seem right for their parts, but Taylor was effective. Livingston was just...there.

Does Amityville best The Conjuring? Not for me. I found TAH a bore: 2 hrs of running around and jumping at things that may or may not be there--no interaction at all with anything. I didn't find it very entertaining at all, which is what a movie is supposed to be. The Conjuring covered familiar territory, but did it with style.

I saw The Conjuring the week of release and thought it was very well done. The characters and plot were believable. The acting was great. I know the "true" story took place over a much longer time, but I thought the timeline was well done and the backstory interwoven well.

It had several good creepy moments (although never as many as I'd like). Altogether, one of the best horror movies I've seen in quite a while. I'm usually disappointed with a failure to execute a decent idea.

I saw The Conjuring with my husband and sister and we loooved it! We keep sending each other photos of our clocks stopped at 3:07 am for funsies- I can't wait to get the DVD!