The Conjuring 2 Review: 6 Ups And 2 Downs

2. It's Meticulously Directed

So much of The Conjuring 2's success is down to James Wan. His camera floats around the characters like a ghoul, constantly moving at a creepy pace, and the whole movie is constructed with audience enjoyment in mind. He's a trope-loving horror director who takes conventions you know and twists them into something fresh.

I'm not going to lie, it can be quite obvious at points. When a dog is shown using a bell to ask to go outside you know the ghost is going to use that to trick someone the next night. And what happens? Exactly that. Everything is set up with the clear promise it'll be important later and, especially near the end, it's painfully in your face.

But that is the style he's going for. The film knows we're two cinematic generations on from the likes of Amityville and that audiences are weaned to all the clichs. You can have Scream-like knowing modernism, but what's wrong with having a bit of fun with them instead?