THE CONJURING
Cert 15
111 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong horror
This has been a surprisingly good week for all genres at the movies, ranging from comedies to horror.
Mind you, I shouldn't have been too shocked that a Vera Farmiga picture should be top class. She rarely lets the side down.
Here she plays the clairvoyant Lorraine Warren who, in real life, investigated paranormal happenings with her husband Ed (here played by Patrick Wilson).
The Warrens are most famous for their involvement in the Amityville Horror case but apparently the one which affected them the most was that of the Perron family in the 1970s.
Things start to go bump in the night pretty soon after Carolyn and Roger Perron (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston) arrive in their new home in Rhode Island with their five daughters.
One of the girls is particular spooked by the house but this is initially put down to her vivid imagination.However, the otherworldly activity grows in intensity to the point that all of the family are affected and are desperate for help.
Thus, the Warrens are enlisted and, with a cross between science and ritual, aim to rid the property of its demons.
If this seems easy it certainly isn't. The spirits give everyone the run around for pretty much the entire film and they are cunning as well as frightening.
The Conjuring preys on everyday fears such as those of the dark and physical shocks and with it director James Wan resumes where he left off with Insidious.
It is another movie which proves that Wan has moved on from the more obvious bloody horrors shown in the likes of Saw which he helmed in 2004 and this time the extra dimension is that it is based on a true story.
Farmiga and Wilson make a fine double act - one minute pious and rather square-looking church-goers, the next highly determined spirit hunters.
But Taylor is possibly the pick of the cast - however, I cannot explain why without risk of spoilers.
Wan has created a horror which made me leap from my seat in Nottingham Cineworld five times - and there was plenty of squirming too.
I can't think of anyone around who directs this genre better than he does.
Laughs: none
Jumps: four
Vomit: not sure about vomit but lots of gunge
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10