I have seen a great many horror films, far more than is probably healthy. I have seen some excellent ones, many good ones, a great many terrible ones, but remarkably few boring ones.
This, most definitely, falls into that last category.
After rewatching the excellent Conjuring again I decided to go through the whole series in release order, and what a fall from grace!
The characters are so two dimensional even the familiarity of cliché is largely lost. The father basically doesn't need to be in the movie, he brings so little to the proceedings. The mother never feels desperate to save her family. The priest held so much potential but again was effectively pointless. Of them all, I wanted to see more of the bookshop owner, but again, too little too late.
The effects, such as there were, were OK. The lift scene was pretty good, and the girl running through the door scene (if you've seen it, you know it) was very well done, but everything else was... boring. Long, lingering shots of a doll (that doesn't move). Occasional glimpses of a demon\devil\monster (that was unthreatening). The occasional child giggling far off, because why not; babies are known to giggle like 5 year olds.
Even the setting was lacking. The Conjuring *felt* like the 1970s. This film just proves you need more than a few old background cars and a knackered radio to give that vibe.
Overall, this felt like two films: The first 40mins is a haunted house movie, the next 50mins is a monster movie, and neither of them are scary or particularly well done. I could have excused a great deal if I'd been given characters I could root for or sympathise with, an antagonist to fear or hate, or even effects to be impressed by if I was really desperate. This gave none of that.
Have I seen worse horror movies? Yes, absolutely. But it's a rare thing to find one that made me seriously consider giving up half way through.
This, most definitely, falls into that last category.
After rewatching the excellent Conjuring again I decided to go through the whole series in release order, and what a fall from grace!
The characters are so two dimensional even the familiarity of cliché is largely lost. The father basically doesn't need to be in the movie, he brings so little to the proceedings. The mother never feels desperate to save her family. The priest held so much potential but again was effectively pointless. Of them all, I wanted to see more of the bookshop owner, but again, too little too late.
The effects, such as there were, were OK. The lift scene was pretty good, and the girl running through the door scene (if you've seen it, you know it) was very well done, but everything else was... boring. Long, lingering shots of a doll (that doesn't move). Occasional glimpses of a demon\devil\monster (that was unthreatening). The occasional child giggling far off, because why not; babies are known to giggle like 5 year olds.
Even the setting was lacking. The Conjuring *felt* like the 1970s. This film just proves you need more than a few old background cars and a knackered radio to give that vibe.
Overall, this felt like two films: The first 40mins is a haunted house movie, the next 50mins is a monster movie, and neither of them are scary or particularly well done. I could have excused a great deal if I'd been given characters I could root for or sympathise with, an antagonist to fear or hate, or even effects to be impressed by if I was really desperate. This gave none of that.
Have I seen worse horror movies? Yes, absolutely. But it's a rare thing to find one that made me seriously consider giving up half way through.
Tell Your Friends