The Conjuring 2 - Sometimes Seeing the Monsters is Terrifying Too #MonsterMondays 40

Welcome to a new week, let's hope it's better than the last one. Now the other week I talked about how the hidden monster can be much more frightening than the seen one, but The Conjuring 2 has a monster you definitely see and it's terrifying :).

The Conjuring 2 - Sometimes Seeing the Monsters is Terrifying Too

It's somewhat ironic that I am talking about monsters that are seen when The Conjuring 2 is actually based on The Enfield Poltergeist, a phenomenon which is inherently not seen.

The film is focused on Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren, who are/were real people. They really were at the Enfield incident for a few days in the 1970s, although the ending to the real thing is nowhere near as exciting as the ending to the film.

Patrick Wilson as Ed and Vera Fermiga as Lorraine

The film starts at Amityville, where Lorraine has a vision of a demonic entity dressed as a nun. You can see her in the trailer above. Now revealing one of the monsters so soon into the film could have been something of a let down, but, in this case, it is done so well. The vision is somewhat prophetic in nature and the way the camera angles are done is shocking and scary enough that the demonic nun is in no way diminished.

In fact the nun is in what I thought was the best scene of the entire film. The scene involves a painting and the Warren's study at home and it is so brilliantly done. It's all shadows and tricks of the eye and really it's mostly a quiet scene that builds and builds to the thrilling climax. The writers (James Wan, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes, David Leslie Johnson) and director (James Wan) of The Conjuring 2, really knew what they were doing.

Vera Fermiga as Lorraine Warren

Then we have the Enfield part of the plot. Again it is handled so well because it keeps us on the edge of our seats. It's done with lighting and shadows and the camera just catching something until, suddenly it's not, and it scares the bejezus out of everyone watching.

The Enfield Poltergeist was focused on Janet Hodgson, age 11, who is played by Madison Wolfe and she brings everything to life. We feel her terror through the screen and her reaction to things that are not always there it what has us believing.

Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson

Many believe that the real haunting may have started as a prank, and then become a fully fledged hoax once the press became involved. The film deals with this really well too, using it to build tension because we, the audience, know it's a real haunting even when the characters in the film are doubting.

The ghost in Enfield is Bill Wilkins, the man who supposedly lived in the house before the Hodgsons. He is just as well done as the demonic nun. I thought the scene where Ed Warren talks to Bill through Janet (something that he did actually do in reality) was another of the best in the film. It's done with forward focus, leaving the background blurred, only giving hints of what may or may not really be there. It is so effective in bringing the monster to life.

I'm not going to say any more about the monsters because I don't want to spoil the film. Suffice to say this is a film that builds tension and gives some really good scares all the way through. It's not a gory horror movie, just a spooky one. I think it's a superior film to The Conjuring, which I liked as well, and it kept me hooked right through the closing credits. If you like a good scare, this is the film for you.

Have you seen The Conjuring 2 or The Conjuring? What did you think? Have you heard of the Enfield Poltergeist? Do you think it was a hoax?