Does claiming to be based on a true story really benefit a horror film? That's the first question this well-crafted ghost tale poses by wasting no time going straight from on-screen claims of genuine veracity to the blatantly supernatural.
The claims relate to real-life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators/ghost hunters/Scooby gang prospects played in the film by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
When we first meet them they're dealing with a ghostly entanglement involving an antique doll, but that compelling thread is dropped so they can investigate a young family plagued by some very familiar domestic horrors.
Soon the Warrens find themselves up against a force the likes of which they have never reckoned with.
The Conjuring is directed by James Wan, the talented Malaysian/Australian horror wunderkind behind the original (good) Saw film, as well as 2010's minor horror breakout, Insidious, which shares a lot of DNA with this film.
