[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb-jRz7HWqs]
Before the Pacific Rim panel at Wonder Con last weekend, Warner Bros. took the opportunity to plug it’s upcoming horror film The Conjuring. Before this I had never once even heard of the film. I’m glad that they did sneak this little preview in, though, because damn. I don’t think I have ever been quite as terrified by a series of clips before. Horror films are sort of my guilty pleasure. I like horror and cheap scares a lot. Gore? Not so much. I just saw Evil Dead and while it had it’s moments I wasn’t that into it. Similarly, I really liked the Collector but not it’s sequel the Collection.
Anyway.
I like horror films. (Therese does not.)
The Conjuring is an upcoming horror film based on the true story of a New England family that moved into a new home that happened to be haunted. It’s set in the 1970s – when the real incidents allegedly occured – and follows an investigation by Ed and Lorraine Warren. The two were very well known paranormal investigators whose exploits have been featured in a number of other films including Amityville Horror and a Haunting in Connecticut.
The clips they showed at Wonder Con were actually quite similar to the ones in the trailer above. They were just extended, full scenes of the mother and the girls playing and then of the last scene in the trailer. But I’ll discuss what’s going on in them regardless. In the first scene, the mother and one of the younger girls are playing a sort of game that’s similar to Marco Polo out of water. They blindfold the mom and the little girl went off to hide. The person looking for the person gets three claps. Whoever she is looking for has to clap when she asks. So the mom would say ‘clap.’ And the little girl would clap. She does that once. Then, the wardrobe behind her creaks open and the mom thinks, “Hey, that’ where the kid went.” So she said clap. And something claps. But it’s not the little girl. It’s something ghostly and terrifying. The mom hears it, hears the breathing and then starts fishing around in the clothes – and then her daughter pops up in the door frame behind her.
What was she playing tag with!?!?!? Dun dun dun….
The second clip was pretty much what you see at the end, actually. There wasn’t a whole lot more too it. It’s late at night. The mom wakes up and thinks she hears the girls playing. She goes into their room and finds them sleeping and then there’s a crash before all of the picture frames fall off the wall. She goes down stairs, follows the clapping, and then gets trapped by a ghost in the basement.
My only question: why didn’t the picture frames and the house like shaking not wake up anyone else? There are like six other members of this family and at least two others – the girls – are home.
Anyway. I really look forward to this movie. I like a good scare and this movie is going to have all kinds of terrifying moments. And it’s based on a true story! It’s even set as a It was actually kind of an interesting way of doing a panel because at Wonder Con they actually brought Lorraine Warren and two members of the actual family the story is based on to talk and promote the story. It was really kind of neat to hear them talk about their story and seeing it adapted into a movie. I mean, it doesn’t matter what you think about their claims and whether you believe in ghosts or evil spirits. It was a really cool way to do a panel. All three of them were very positive about the way the movie was made and how well the relationships between the Warrens and between the Perrons were depicted. It was kind of cute to see them talking about it all and being so pleased with it.
The best thing to come out of the panel though? James Wan telling everyone that the film got it’s R rating not for any reason other than the fact that it was just too scary. It was supposed to be a PG-13 film, apparently. But the ratings people were just like, “Lawl, no.” They didn’t even give him any scenes or anything that he could change to drop the rating back down. Across the board it was just too damn scary.
I mean, c’mon. That’s just awesome.
It doesn’t come out until July 19, 2013 and in the grander scheme of films coming out in July it’s not necessarily going to be the shining gem of the month. But it is one of only like four horror films coming out this summer so it’s sure to hold it’s own just on that fact alone. If anything I’ll see it.
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