So in this one our knock off Mulder and Scully are off (I do actually enjoy them together though. To be honest I love 'The X Files' so much that "Mulder and Scully rip off" is a compliment.) to merry old England to solve a case involving an extremely cliche working class family and a ghost who likes being a dick just because - until it turns out to be a demon.
The tone here is a little lighter than in the first movie, and the duo seem to having more fun with their roles. It hasn't turned into an 'Evil Dead' style comedy horror yet, but we are increasingly getting the impression that these two can handle it, so we needn't really worry about them. This is fine, for me, as by stint of not caring I rarelyworry about anyone in horror movies. However, the location shift seems like a cheap trick to me (yeah I know that they're basing it off actual events, but there are other events to choose from), kind of like one of the dying Simpson's episodes where they randomly go to some country and make fun of them for an American half hour (20ish minutes). The accents are occasionally a little slathered on too, esecially with the mum's rarely (thank god) seen friend.
Also, I'm not sure I should even bother having this as a point anymore, but, it's not scary. No big deal though, the first one wasn't particularly either.
The historical setting is jammed into the narrative a little more clumsily than it was in the first movie. Though far from being a lowsy effort, this element is no longer noteworthy for it's impressive execution.
The twist on the ghost is somewhat predictable, but I don't usually watch these for the twists anyway, so meh. The design of it all is nice though, and the director continues to play with the camera and lighting in ways that seem almost original at times. I particularly liked the scene where the nun-looking demon is standing in the shadows or... is that just the painting of it? This was the best tension creating scene in the film in my opinion.
This continues to be a fine series, but I can feel it slipping.
The Conjuring 2: 33.5