The Conjuring [Blu-Ray]

Director: James Wan

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston

Release Date: Available on Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD & HD Digital Download October 22

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Plot Summary:

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

‘The Conjuring’ is one of the scarier films I’ve seen. Granted I have unfortunately missed out on a number of truly terrifying classics that I do still intend to watch some day, but I have certainly seen my fair share of (supposedly) frightening movies. ‘The Conjuring’ follows a struggling family of seven who start to experience odd occurrences in their new home. Unfortunately due to their financial difficulties they are unable to simply relocate and end up asking The Warren’s for their help. The Warren’s are a married couple that are also one of the most known and respected investigators of paranormal occurrences and this film is based on a case file of the real couple. This is not simply another well written horror movie and I believe that element of truth really contributes to the downright terrifying nature that is this beast of a film.

‘The Conjuring’ is directed by James Wan who is one of my personal favorites of recent years. You may know him as director of a number of great titles. The original ‘Saw’, ‘Dead Silence’ ‘Insidious (1&2)’, ‘Death Sentence’, and has also currently taken on directing duties for the upcoming ‘Fast & Furious 7’. The cast of ‘The Conjuring’ includes Patrick Wilson (Insidious 1&2, Watchmen) Ron Livingston (Office Space, Boardwalk Empire), Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor and more. All of the performances in ‘The Conjuring’ are quite impressive and well portrayed across the board. I am a huge fan of Patrick Wilson these days, and I really enjoy seeing Ron Livingston delve into a wider range of roles because he really is an impressive actor.

If you have seen ‘The Conjuring’ you are certainly going to want to add this masterpiece of modern horror to your collection on Blu-Ray. If you have yet to see it, this one would be a pretty safe blind buy in my opinion, but if you don’t want to go that far, I would highly encourage you to at least rent it and give it a shot because it’s a truly terrifying and amazingly well crafted film.

VIDEO:

The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Conjuring’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.4:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation here looks absolutely gorgeous. The colors are so rich and detailed you can almost believe you are really there. All of the scenes involving darkness and more than clear to the eye what is occurring and every single element of this video transfer looks flawless. Fans of this film should be quite excited with the impressive video transfer presented here on the Blu-Ray.

AUDIO:

The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack that will knock your socks off. Even having previously seen the movie in theaters, I was still finding myself on edge and jumping due in large part to this impressive lossless soundtrack. Creepy background noises are always properly oriented to the right channel, and when things start getting crazy the rear channels start getting a pretty decent workout. The banging on doors really hits and the bass included will cause you to jump out of your seat with unease. The fellow audiophiles out there should be as ecstatic about this lossless 5.1 channel soundtrack as I am.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Conjuring’ features three special features, all of them featurette’s that help to take you deeper into this amazingly well crafted masterpiece of terror. The featurette’s included are: ‘The Conjuring: Face –to-Face with Terror’ ‘A Life In Demonology’ and ‘Scaring The @$*# out of you’ which features James Wan giving you an inside look into his world and what secrets scare the (expletive deleted) out of moviegoers time and time again. There are definitely a few nice goodies to keep you entertained once you finish viewing the film.

Film Rating: 9/10

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Own ‘The Conjuring’ on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and HD Digital Download 10/22 from Warner Bros.