In 1977, in London, Peggy Hodgson (Frances O'Connor) has financial difficulties to raise her children Margaret (Lauren Esposito),Janet (Madison Wolfe),Johnny (Patrick McAuley) and Billy (Benjamin Haigh) since her husband has left her to live with a neighbor. When her daughter Janet sleepwalks and claims to talk to the spirit of an old man, Peggy does not believe in the beginning. But soon she witnesses supernatural phenomena in the house and concludes that Janet is possessed by a demon. Her neighbor and friends call the police and the officers also see the mysterious event. One of them tells the local priest and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are invited to travel to London by the church to team up with the paranormal investigators Maurice Grosse (Simon McBurney) and the skeptical Anita Gregory (Franka Potente) to see whether it would be a hoax. They witness weird events but they do not conclude it is true. What is happening in the Hodgson house?

"The Conjuring 2" is another great supernatural film directed by James Wan. The film keeps the creepy atmosphere with great performances, highlighting the girl Madison Wolfe. The explanation that the spirit of Bill Wilkins is a pawn of the evil Demon Nun is confused and hard to be understood. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Invocação do Mal 2" ("Conjuring of the Evil 2")

Decided to re-watch both 'The Conjuring' films, with memories of really liking both, after watching, and not liking all that much, 'The Nun' (which was watched as part of my watching as many films of 2018 as possible quest) very recently. Just to see whether they held up, as good as remembered and whether they succeeded where 'The Nun' didn't and didn't make that film's mistakes.

On re-watch, 'The Conjuring 2', like its very good predecessor, does hold up very well and actually just as good as remembered. It succeeds splendidly in where 'The Nun' failed and has none of its mistakes. 'The Conjuring 2', like its predecessor, is not a perfect film, but it is very atmospheric, well made and genuinely scary, or at least to me it was. It is a very familiar premise, done to death actually, but the atmosphere stops it from being too predictable and there is enough freshness. As a sequel, it fares very well and one of not many to actually be on the same level as its predecessor.

'The Conjuring 2' is overlong, which is its biggest issue. This would have been rectified by 20 minutes being trimmed and the pace of the first act, with a beginning that doesn't attention-grab or unsettle as it should have done, tightened up.

Other than those, 'The Conjuring 2' is very good. It looks great, especially for horror films released in recent years (too many of which have looked like they were made on the schlocky cheap). It looks slick and stylish while having a spooky setting and suitably nightmarish lighting. The music is haunting and not over-bearing, recorded in a way that is not overly loud or obvious that it spoils the atmosphere (which was great because many horror films seen recently failed in this regard).

Script is not too awkward and is structured coherently, with nothing cheapening it like sluggish exposition or cheesy misplaced humour. The direction is meticulous in detail and clearly shows an engagement and ease with the material. The story takes time to unfold but doesn't get dull once it gets going, while the ending is leagues better, much more momentum and the resolution didn't feel rushed. As said too, 'The Conjuring 2' yet again is genuinely scary, with actual tension, suspense and dread, in a palm-sweating and heart-pounding sense at its best, while not relying too much on jump scares (they are there but have build up and were surprising).

Found myself liking the characters more than expected. The leads were ones worth caring for, didn't get frustrated with them, wish for more personality or annoyed by them. The antagonist was frightening, was neither over-used or under-utilised and didn't look cheap. The acting also comes off well, especially Vera Farmiga who is superb, Patrick Wilson is even better here, while also impressed with how Frances O'Connor coped with a role that on paper seemed limited.

Summarising, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

THE CONJURING 2 is a follow up to the surprise haunted house hit and another outing for psychic investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, as played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Sadly, I'm no fan of these films, finding the direction overblown and the reliance on cliches and pedestrian plotting to be completely off-putting. This unconvincing sequel transports the action to England, where the investigators are shoehorned into the famous Enfield Poltergeist case. They end up bringing their old baggage with them, so this is more about evil nuns and stupid spirits than any attempts at realism. The over-the-top fantasy hauntings involving Farmiga's character never gel with the icy chills of the poltergeist case, and it's one of those Hollywood films that manages to make all of the British accents ring hollow and false. By the end, it's devolved into yet another chased-around-by-CGI climax, just like in the INSIDIOUS trilogy, and my interest had long since waned.