‘The Conjuring 2’: One of the Best Christmas Horror Movies Ever Made
The Conjuring 2 is the perfect Christmas movie. It’s also the perfect haunted house movie, the perfect showcase for James Wan’s distinct brand of terror, and the perfect encapsulation of why Ed and Lorraine Warren (despite their less-than-savory history) endure as modern horror icons. The Conjuring 2 is far and away the best entry in the now gargantuan Conjuring Cinematic Universe, and I’d reckon it’s James Wan’s most accomplished directorial feat to date. The best of the 2010s horror scene is refracted through Wan’s perfection of the formula, and if you’re itching to revisit, the holiday season is the perfect time.
Per Prime Video: In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to north London to help a single mother of four and her possessed daughter.
James Wan himself has conceded that, yes, The Conjuring 2 is a Christmas movie. It’s less a concession and more a matter of fact—by design, the sequel to the behemoth hit The Conjuring was intentionally festive. Beyond the obvious setting—the London Borough of Enfield in December—the thematic heft of the holiday season (good and bad) is imbued into every frame. Most obviously, The Conjuring films have always been firmly, unapologetically faith-based. That might seem obvious to some, and pernicious to others, but the drive of the franchise is an unassuming belief in God and the perennial conflict between good (Christians) and evil (non-believers and devils).
For Christians, the Christmas season is (ideally) a time of gratitude and remembrance, namely for the birth of Jesus Christ and his subsequent death on the cross for our sins. Jesus is everywhere in The Conjuring 2, be it Lorraine Warren’s (Vera Farmiga) rosary or the omnipresent Power of Christ ™ to combat the many devils and spirits seeping out of the frame. In that context, The Conjuring 2 isn’t just set at Christmas—it’s practically about it. Faith, family, and strong values ultimately triumph over evil. The movie discards skeptics (Franka Potente’s Anita Gregory, for instance) and renders them villainous simply for doubting the veracity of Valak’s grip on the Hodgson family.
Yet, despite my personal misgivings with the franchise’s unadulterated faith-based values, there’s still something both agnostic and worthwhile at the core. Yes, the Warrens in real life were certainly not movie stars, and their controversial behavior over the years should have precluded them from ever being so, but there’s no denying the deified versions, as played by Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, are among the most notable (and exceptional) horror protagonists of the century. They haven’t grossed a cumulative $2.2 billion for nothing.
Stripping away the spirituality of it all, there is no denying the fuzzies instilled watching Ed and Lorraine throw themselves in harm’s way to care for a family otherwise excised from public support. It’s community care by way of The Conjuring. Ed Warren’s ballad midway through the film, in which he sits down and performs “Can’t Help Falling in Love” to the beleaguered, frightened Hodgson family, ranks among the purest moments in movie history. The movie earns that sentimentality.
There’s an earnestness to the film that most modern horror movies reject. Irony and self-awareness are well and good, but it’s just as worthwhile to feel with your whole chest. Imbued with the Christmas spirit, The Conjuring 2 does just that. None of that would matter much if The Conjuring 2 was less The Changeling, and more (well) The Devil Made Me Do It, though luckily, The Conjuring 2 remains one of the scariest movies of the century.
Valak was a sensational new addition to the universe, one the shareholders have had no problem deploying time and time again. James Wan’s horror films have always been good with their monsters, and even the most steadfast among us would have to concede that Valak’s visage is pretty damn scary. Additionally, Wan doubled down on the tactility of his world, shattering dressers, tents, and even walls with abandon. His ghosts hurt. Sure, they rarely kill anyone, but there’s a refreshing tangibility to how often his baddies tango with the actors themselves.
It helps considerably that James Raleigh and his entire special effects team put real actors beneath the prosthetics. Bonnie Aarons continues to impress, though Javier Botet’s Crooked Man is a real standout. Appearing only twice, the Crooked Man—achieved practically for the most part—is a terrifying monster whose fantastical elements shouldn’t, in theory, mesh with the more grounded scares of The Conjuring 2’s world. That they do, regularly augmenting the terror, is a testament to how assured the entire haunted house is.
Of course, Wan’s infamous jump scares—regularly mimicked, never quite as successful elsewhere—are top-notch. Even upon a rewatch, the movie makes me jump at least once, whether from a blaring children’s toy or a ghostly apparition appearing behind a television set. Seriously, the work here is among the best of the best, and for the past eight years, filmmakers have tried to replicate the visceral magic of Wan’s scares.
The Conjuring might be more haunting, but The Conjuring 2 is unequivocally scarier. The world is larger than ever before, and with the Christmas spirit imbued in every scare and ounce of worldbuilding, it ascends to the realm of seasonal repeat watch. I’m certainly not the first person to posit The Conjuring 2 is a Christmas movie—Wan himself has said as much, after all. I would argue, however, that it ranks among the very best.
I’m talking Top 3 material. Black Christmas is the best of all time, and nothing is ever going to dethrone that, but The Conjuring 2 is a close second. It not only feels like a Christmas movie but simultaneously uses those feelings to subvert expectations and scare us silly. The franchise as a whole hasn’t come close to matching the high of Wan’s expertly assembled sequel, though year after year, The Conjuring 2 continues to give. It’s that good.
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