In recent years, James Wan has become a master of delivering thrills (and box-office success) on a small budget. Although he deviated to blockbuster territory briefly with Fast and Furious 7, here he returns to one of his profitable horror franchises, once again proving that he can hit all of the right beats.
Naturally enough, The Conjuring 2 plays fast and loose with the facts. This is a flick designed to deliver frights, not necessarily facts. That said, it is - ostensibly, at least - based in enough documented "proof", be it pictures, or audio, to give you the heebie-jeebies.
Sidestepping from the first Conjuring flick by working around a case that Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated in London in the mid-1970s, we spend a large chunk of time setting up the working class life of a small family in the suburb of Enfield. These are normal kids, with a mother struggling to make ends meet in a modest terraced house - not quite the cliched 'spooky mansion in the woods' somewhere. As a result of the more relatable setting, the scares reverberate that bit more thunderously. Wan takes his time building tension and giving the audience the odd breather, before turning it all on its head when troubled 11-year-old Janet Hodgson spends a sick day from school at home alone.
Those moments nudge conventions of the genre aside and give this sequel a surprisingly fresh feel. Wan also does a solid job with his cast; Madison Wolfe is the stand-out of the bunch and Frances O'Connor is excellent as the put-upon mother attempting to continue as normal amidst the carnage. Irish interest, too, appears in the form of Maria Doyle Kennedy and Simon Delaney, who (somewhat amusingly) play the besieged family's Cockney neighbours.
That said, the anchors of this franchise are Wilson and Farmiga, whose earnest search for the truth instantly propel the film's rating by half a star - and that's before you're even into the plot and set-pieces. Given the amount of cases the Warrens investigated, this series could run for a while - and there's no better pairing to keep it grounded and perversely amiable.
Wan once again proves he is the modern master of this kind of film, which could very well have been by-the-numbers in other, less talented hands. While it can't help but edge into cliched territory from time-to-time, overall it delivers exactly what it promises.
More, please.