Gotta be just jealousy, since these movies have just been so hugely successful at the box-office.
For me 2 is a better film, have always felt that way. 1 is really good, but it gets hung up on some silly cliches and the end was the weakest part. 2 is really disturbing and eerie but also restrained in some ways, and generates horror in unexpected, quiet moments. Characters are fully developed, I didn't think the run time was a problem at all and it was never dull. Just some great work by Wan and fine performances from everyone.
Tough act to follow here but I'll check it out (on HBO Max)
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT - June 4th
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AndyDursin
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Monterey Jack
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Re: THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT - June 4th
This seems to be a pattern with any horror franchise (or any franchise, really) which atains this level of mainstream success..."If it's popular, that means there's something wrong with it". The Scorsese-style old-man grousing about the MCU comes to mind. With the exception of two or three movies, they have been remarkably consistent for nearly 15 years straight, and while they aren't high art, there are far worse things to complain about.AndyDursin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:37 pm Gotta be just jealousy, since these movies have just been so hugely successful at the box-office.
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Monterey Jack
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Re: THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT - June 4th
Just like Quiet Place II, this is getting very positive early reactions. Looks like a good, scary summer ahead. 
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AndyDursin
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Re: THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT - June 4th
5/10
Perfunctory 3rd installment is a massive comedown after "The Conjuring 2."
I didn't mind this attempt at a "change of pace" for the formula but instead of actually embracing a real case that occurred in Connecticut during the early '80s, director Michael Chaves and writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (the truly guilty party here) mostly relegate it to the backdrop, thereby eliminating any suspense, tension or, more so, emotion that you could generate from the premise. This is surprising because both of this sequel's predecessors -- the second film especially -- invested in their respective protagonists' supernatural plights and patiently laid out their plots.
That's not the case this time around, as there's scant interest on the part of the filmmakers to focus in on a young, possessed man (Ruairi O'Connor) who's on trial for murder, or his girlfriend or family -- they're just stock players in the backdrop for the Warrens to do their supernatural sleuthing, which here revolves around a totally fabricated -- and idiotic -- movie plot involving a curse whose origins, at least, are more earth-bound than ghostly.
More than anything "The Devil Made Me Do It" comes off like a disposable "episode" of a dependable TV series -- yes, it's reasonably competent, and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are appealing still, but the picture is appreciably diminished on both the character front as well as the shock meter. There's nothing really scary about most of this sequel, and after the opening exorcism set-piece (it's never good when the highlights are the first 10 minutes), you can feel the pattern of "silence...shock moment...silence...rinse, repeat" settle in, all minus the elegantly creepy imagery of producer James Wan's predecessors -- or a compelling reason to care about it all.
Perfunctory 3rd installment is a massive comedown after "The Conjuring 2."
I didn't mind this attempt at a "change of pace" for the formula but instead of actually embracing a real case that occurred in Connecticut during the early '80s, director Michael Chaves and writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (the truly guilty party here) mostly relegate it to the backdrop, thereby eliminating any suspense, tension or, more so, emotion that you could generate from the premise. This is surprising because both of this sequel's predecessors -- the second film especially -- invested in their respective protagonists' supernatural plights and patiently laid out their plots.
That's not the case this time around, as there's scant interest on the part of the filmmakers to focus in on a young, possessed man (Ruairi O'Connor) who's on trial for murder, or his girlfriend or family -- they're just stock players in the backdrop for the Warrens to do their supernatural sleuthing, which here revolves around a totally fabricated -- and idiotic -- movie plot involving a curse whose origins, at least, are more earth-bound than ghostly.
More than anything "The Devil Made Me Do It" comes off like a disposable "episode" of a dependable TV series -- yes, it's reasonably competent, and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are appealing still, but the picture is appreciably diminished on both the character front as well as the shock meter. There's nothing really scary about most of this sequel, and after the opening exorcism set-piece (it's never good when the highlights are the first 10 minutes), you can feel the pattern of "silence...shock moment...silence...rinse, repeat" settle in, all minus the elegantly creepy imagery of producer James Wan's predecessors -- or a compelling reason to care about it all.