Movie Spotlight: The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 movie starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, and Franka Potente. Demonologist Ed (Patrick Wilson) and clairvoyant Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren travel to London to take on the case of the Enfield haunting and try to help a single mother (Frances O'Connor) of four get rid of the evil spirits in their house. Like the first movie in the series, The Conjuring 2 is based on a real case that the Warrens worked on; the Enfield Poltergeist is a well-known case and is known as "England's Amityville." The Hodgson family was terrorized from 1977 to 1979, and the Warrens were called in when the youngest daughter started showing signs of possession.

The Conjuring 2 is pretty creepy and featured great performances from all of the actors. I really liked Vera Farmiga on Bates Motel and Patrick Wilson on Fargo, and they're great together as the Warrens in The Conjuring series. I hope there will be many more movies about the real cases Ed and Lorraine worked on...the scariest book I've ever read is The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren, and there are many cases in the book that would make great (possibly terrifying) movies.

My rating: 8/10




Here's my review of The Conjuring:
http://paranormalcrystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/movie-spotlight-conjuring.html

My review of The Demonologist:
http://paranormalcrystal.blogspot.com/2014/02/book-review-demonologist-by-gerald.html

Paranormal Movie Trailer: The Conjuring 2

I watch lots of paranormal movies, and most of them don't scare me...but The Conjuring is an exception (you can read my review here: http://paranormalcrystal.blogspot.com/2013/11/movie-spotlight-conjuring.html), so I can't wait to see the sequel. The trailer for The Conjuring 2 is out, and it looks like it will be just as scary as the first one:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4089iv_the-conjuring-2-main-trailer-hd_shortfilms

I saw The Conjuring on DVD, but I might have to see the sequel in the theater...luckily, it's coming out pretty soon (June 10th). : )

Horror Movie Month: The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a 2013 movie directed by James Wan and starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, and Ron Livingston.  It is based on a true story involving clairvoyant Lorraine (Farmiga) and demonologist Ed (Wilson) Warren and the haunted house of the Perron family.  The movie begins in 1968 with The Warrens being consulted about a possessed doll...one thing I've noticed about supposedly haunted or possessed dolls is that the dolls are usually pretty creepy-looking and kind of look like they would be haunted (I'm so glad my family never gave me any old, horrifying dolls).  Luckily, the scary doll isn't in the movie too much since I was already creeped-out five minutes into the movie because of that thing.

The movie skips ahead to 1971, when Roger (Livingston) and Carolyn (Taylor) Perron and their five daughters move into a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island.  Their dog refuses to go inside the house, which should've been a pretty big clue that something is off with the place, and paranormal activity starts occurring almost immediately.  After one of the daughters sees a spirit in her sister's room, Carolyn contacts Lorraine and Ed for help.

The Conjuring is one of the scariest movies I've seen in the past few years, and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even scarier.

My rating: 8.5/10

Book Review: The Demonologist by Gerald Brittle

The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed & Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle was a Christmas gift from my brother, and it scared the shit out of me (I guess that's my fault for putting it on my Amazon wish list)!  Vera Farmiga read this book in preparation for her role as Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring and said it scared her so much that she refused to read it in her house.  Ed Warren (who died in 2006) was a demonologist, and Lorraine is a medium and clairvoyant; they founded the New England Society for Psychic Research and are best known for their roles in investigating the cases that inspired The Conjuring and The Amityville Horror.  The Demonologist talks about some of the cases Ed and Lorraine have investigated (including Amityville), and if you don't believe in demons, this book will change your mind.  The Warrens have said that before getting involved in investigating a case, they would often experience odd things happening in their home (phone calls where they only heard growling on the other line, footsteps on the porch or stairway, knocks on the front door, noises in Ed's office, vanishing black cats, etc.)...it's almost as if something were trying to scare them off.

All of the cases in this book creeped me out, but the story of the Beckford family is one of the most terrifying things I've ever read...I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil it for people who might want to read the book, so I'll just say that it's proof that you should never ever use a Ouija board (and if you have one and read this story, you will most likely get rid of it immediately).  Even though this book scared me more than any other book I've read, I really enjoyed it and think the Warrens' work is fascinating (however, I don't want to visit their Occult Museum, which is talked about in the book, because I think I would have a hard time sleeping after seeing the things that are in it).  If you're interested in the paranormal at all, you should definitely read The Demonologist...but don't read it too close to bedtime. ; )

My rating: 10/10

Book Review: Help for the Haunted by John Searles

Help for the Haunted by John Searles was published in September 2013 and is about Sylvie and Rose Mason, sisters whose paranormal investigator parents (Sylvester and Rose) were murdered in a church while young Sylvie waited for them in the car.  I really enjoyed this novel, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think of famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (who were portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in The Conjuring)...Help for the Haunted's Sylvester and Rose even have a creepy doll come into their possession!  On the Amazon page for this book, Searles mentions in an interview with Gillian Flynn that he grew up in the same town as The Warrens, so it makes sense that The Masons have some similarities to The Warrens.

Here's the Amazon description:

"John Searles’s Help for the Haunted is an unforgettable story of a most unusual family, their deep secrets, their harrowing tragedy, and ultimately, a daughter’s discovery of a dark and unexpected mystery.

Sylvie Mason’s parents have an unusual occupation—helping “haunted souls” find peace. After receiving a strange phone call one winter’s night, they leave the house and are later murdered in an old church in a horrifying act of violence.
A year later, Sylvie is living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened to their parents. Now, the inquisitive teenager pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night—and to the truth about her family’s past and the secrets that have haunted them for years.
Capturing the vivid eeriness of Stephen King’s works with the compelling quirkiness of John Irving’s beloved novels, Help for the Haunted is that rare story that brings to life a richly imagined and wholly original world."

I recommend Help for the Haunted to anyone who is interested in the paranormal or anyone who just wants to read a great novel.  I really felt for Sylvie and wanted to her to solve the mystery of her parents' deaths (and the mystery of her parents in general)...and when she found out the truth, I did not see it coming at all!

My rating: 8/10

 

Movie Spotlight: The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a 2013 movie starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, and Ron Livingston.  It is based on a true story involving clairvoyant Lorraine (Farmiga) and demonologist Ed (Wilson) Warren and the haunted house of the Perron family.  The movie begins in 1968 with The Warrens being consulted about a possessed doll...one thing I've noticed about supposedly haunted or possessed dolls is that the dolls are usually pretty creepy-looking and kind of look like they would be haunted (I'm so glad my family never gave me any old, horrifying dolls).  Luckily, the scary doll isn't in the movie too much since I was already creeped-out five minutes into the movie because of that thing.

The movie skips ahead to 1971, when Roger (Livingston) and Carolyn (Taylor) Perron and their five daughters move into a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island.  Their dog refuses to go inside the house, which should've been a pretty big clue that something is off with the place, and paranormal activity starts occurring almost immediately.  After one of the daughters sees a spirit in her sister's room, Carolyn contacts Lorraine and Ed for help.

I won't say too much about the movie because I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that The Conjuring is one of the scariest movies I've seen in awhile, and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even scarier.  If you'd like to know more about the fascinating story that inspired the movie, you can find out about the Perron haunting here:

http://altereddimensions.net/2013/harrisville-haunting-perron-warren-family-conjuring-movie

My rating: 8.5/10

http://theconjuring.warnerbros.com/index.html