The Conjuring Universe: Ranking Every Film
2. The Conjuring 2
This sequel benefits from having luxuries the spin-off films did not; James Wan returning behind the camera and the charismatic pair of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as the Warrens.
It also sees Wan tackling his most ambitious horror project to date, which is both a strength and a weakness. On the one hand, he is able to communicate more in a single shot here than most directors can in entire sequences. The long take of Patrick Wilson speaking with the possessed girl in the background as she literally morphs into the spirit of the old man whose haunting her, is so simple yet so powerful.
However, from a narrative standpoint, Wan's ambition can sometimes get the better of him. Seeing him tackle both the Amityville and Enfield stories in a single film is a thrill, but it stretches the movie thin. Coming in at nearly two-and-half-hours, this film is long. And when it reaches its climax and the Warrens figure out that the old man isn't even the one responsible for the haunting, its Valak the nun, through some tape audio tape falling down on a train, it all gets a bit too convoluted for its own good.