The Conjuring 2 (2016), R, ★★★

The power of Christ compels you. Oh, wait, wrong movie.

Right off the bat, James Wan is the best horror director working today. His transition from a Fast and Furious movie to another horror sequel was impressive. He is versatile. He invests so much in the craftsmanship regarding how to set up a scary scene within a dark location or a very unusual area and he puts a spin on how he will get you with a scare and there are a few jumpy moments. Again, Wan's camera movement and direction symbolizes the hard work that modern and future horror directors have to take note if they want to make a movie to scare people.

It is another "based on a true story" investigation in which paranormal aficionados, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), documenting the Amityville murders in which a demon or a presence of some sort taking over a person killing a mass family in 1974. During a seance, Lorraine has a vision of Ed being impaled and discovering a demonic nun figure as she becomes possessed. She becomes comforted as she breaks out of the seance as she is traumatized for a bit.

In London, 1977, the Hodgson family (Frances O'Connor as the mother) feels some supernatural occurrences within their home. Janet (Madison Wolfe), the youngest daughter, becomes possessed and is sleepwalking as two people takes over her body. When the media attempts to interview Janet, she talks like it is Bill Wilkins, the previous owner of the house. The media news and coverage reaches the Warrens and are requested to assist the local Church in this investigation. Lorraine reluctantly agrees to join Ed to go to England.

A demon is inside her.

Again, no spoilers, but this is again, the rarest of birds, a solid horror sequel that gets you hooked onto the insights of how another paranormal occurrence is getting you involved and how the set-up within the camera movement is presented to set-up the scene in which maybe a jump-scare will occur or it just transitions into another scene with goosebumps and jitters but you're still involved with the investigation. You have to watch closely in some frames of the scene that will justify and elongate the element of surprise that will get people nervous or grab a person's forearm. It's like Where's Waldo? in a horror movie.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga establish their characters with poise and professionalism that you believe them as more than just paranormal investigators but individuals that you care about because maybe their jobs are catching up to them. It becomes a very unusual romance between two married people and it is effective. I want to give a shoutout to Madison Wolfe as the girl who gets possessed. She is about on-par with the performance by Linda Blair from The Exorcist and she is chillingly provoking.

It is a tad overlong and overbearing as it almost reaches a two hour-and-a-half movie and there are a few cliched moments in which jump-scares persuades the audience to get too attached to the experience. It becomes a bit manipulative. But, Wan's presentation of how the paranormal investigation works seem to get a bit too familiar with the material, however, your spine will tingle during the movie because there are a few scenes that got me. It is rare to see lightning strike twice in a horror genre. Its slow dread and consistent pacing delivers with an urge to see another Conjuring movie because there's enough material for another one.

***