I liked the movie. I personally don't put any stock in the tagline "Based on a true story." I am not sure that there is any one who truly believes it or not. I feel that that is all part of the game. I think it sort of like adding tags to a blog or an article. I must admit that we have seen this film in one form or another over the past forty-years. From the Amityville Horror, to the granddaddy of them all The Exorcist, however, what makes director James Wan's new take on the paranormal horror genre different than the two classic films mentioned, is the execution. I think Wan's vision of horror is superb as he brings all the paranormal horror genre tropes together perfectly. The writers hit every motif in the book, from smells of rotting meat, birds crashing into the house, unexpected other-worldly appearances, to weather that changes from mild to severe in the middle of a scene. We still know that this is stuff from Amityville story, even down to 8 minutes difference in the time that the Perron's witching hour, to Ronald Defeo's and the Lutz's witching time. Also, composer Joseph Bishara creates the creepy, dread-filled atmospheric environment with his deep tones of the brass and the shrill shrieks of the violins. The tension rises as the temperature drops on the set. Together, with the subtle noises, the intense score and the shock images of the dead bring on the primal fear of the characters that transfers directly to the audience. As the film progresses the suspense becomes even more palpable. The tension rises and so does the freaky factor. Done without the use of CGI, Wan goes back to the days before computer graphics and does the effects either in camera or manually. This gives the atmosphere a certain sense of realism that the audience feeds on. The director uses the traditionally cheap jump scare effectively, and in the most sublime way. My wife and I felt this was a frightening fun film. I think the audience did too considering all the short shrieks, gasps and jumps. On the way out, we heard audience members laughing nervously as they were telling each other about their favorite scenes.
Recent Comments