Valak is Still Scary AF But That’s About It

I was personally invested into seeing The Nun as The Conjuring 2 is one of my favorite horror movie ever. Valak scared the living wits out of me when I first saw the now classic horror icon, it still does, but the origin story about this demon is nothing but a cash grab.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, since Anabelle Creation was a complete hit, critically and revenue-wise, so much that The Conjuring Universe officially became a thing. The Nun however, though not a complete disaster, still manages to provide a backstory for what is to come in this growing movie franchise.

The bad points of the movies were the cliches, bad dialogue, predictable story, gore and absolute disregard for logic. In retrospect, it made sense to me now as to why there were completely absurd moments in the film but hey, Valak is a deciever: so human logic will fail. Good points I must say, is the crisp cinematography, gorgeous colors and impressive sound mixing. I read somewhere James Wan was involved to the point the he did some re-shoots, but I was absolutely impressed with one scene where Valak was staring at the Nun and the camera goes upside slowly; it was clever and rather beautiful but in the moment of course that was horrifying.

I love how we only see Valak a few times. We saw a lot of nuns, but mostly we see nuns with covered faces but Valak we saw like 3 times only and of course in the climax. The blood of christ thing in this movie is absurd. I have so many questions regarding that but I’d rather not go into it.

I am in love with Taissa Farmiga, on how amazing she is on this film, it was her that was being referred to as The Nun. She was phenomenal and her acting was so good. She gave innocence with strength. She also wasn’t that type of horror movie protagonist who screams a lot.

The Nun is a necessary entry to the growing Conjuring Universe, but not very well thought of and ultimately not as scary as the others. Definitely the darkest chapter, and Valak is still scary AF. Do you watch it? Yes. Who doesn’t love a horror movie, even when it’s bad?

Grade: 3/5 Stars

It Shouldn’t Work But It Did. Anabelle Continues The Scare Streak.

I did roll my eyes upon hearing that WB will yet again produce another Anabelle movie after the abysmally catastrophic original Anabelle movie. Months before release we find the movie generating buzz after it got 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and my interest came back. I did watch this with half my face covered with my two hands. 

Anabelle Creation is surprisingly violent, and that’s my only critic to it. I alway say that when a film uses gore, I lose all patience because there are more horrific ways to show death than guts and blood everywhere. It settles on cheap tricks, and some pretty good ones actually, the one with the blanket scared the shit out of me. 

I love the Conjuring universe. It’s a horror universe that lingers and frankly I can say at this point, they’re already classics. But like the original Anabelle movie, this one doesn’t linger. You will not take it with you. It’s fun to watch this friends though, it’s scary but not scary enough. 

I just love how this movie connects to the original Anabelle movie and to the Conjuring. At this point, it’s an established universe and it can go on an on. 

Anabelle Creation is a decent horror movie and a reliable addition to the Conjuring universe. Scary and unnerving, you really don’t know what a creepy old doll can do. 

Grade: 3.5 / 5 Stars

Can’t Wait For The Lights To Turn Back On

I understand that most reviews for Lights Out are positive and that made me watch it in the first place but I guess that raised my expectations so high that when I watch it and it wasn’t as good, it caused havoc as it crashed. 

It’s not really that bad, it’s just so simple. Everything is straightforward, even Teresa Palmer’s acting is decent enough but at the end of it, you can’t help feel the dullness and you scratch your head on why you gave in to the hype. 

As the title suggests, yes, shit happens when the lights are out, and this is literal. Literally the ghost can’t handle the light, so the movie drags into cheap tricks of flickering lights and flashlights running out of batteries in the most convenient of times.
Very forgettable but nice effort though. 

Grade: 2 Stars

The Conjuring 2 = You Will Crap Your Pants

It will be impossible not to compare this film to its predecessor, as The Conjuring was a massive success and scared the hell out of people. You’ll be pleased to know that this one is 10x more terrifying and much more intense. 

The story continues with the famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and we are taken to Enfield, London where horror takes a whole new level. Everything is familiar; same cast and formula but it doesn’t feel that it’s the same. We are simply taken into a new case and James Wan took it up a notch. I don’t know what’s more terrifying: the sadistic camera works or just the mere atmosphere of the movie itself. It nevertheless worked together superbly. 

I cannot be more impressed with the acting on this one. Surprisingly, the movie focused more on Vera Farmiga and though Patrick Wilson was there, we tend to focus more on her and her reservations about their chosen profession. The core of this film, much like the previous one, is on what it means to be family. It provides a dramatic feel in which we can all relate to and that makes this movie even more effective. 

Although the film offered no new tricks that we haven’t seen yet, Wan made each scare more intense which goes to prove that this is all about execution. Again, I don’t know if this just Dolby Atmos but the sound effects are as scary as what we’re seeing on the screen. 

The Conjuring 2 just proved that James Wan is not just any other director on the Horror genre but is actually an outstanding director in general that gave Horror Films a new standard. We can expect great things from him, he will be directing DC’s Aquaman and we just hope we’ll get more Conjurings. 
Masterfully directed and great acting, The Conjuring 2 has all the makings of a classic horror film that will stand the test of time. Conjuring 2 brought real scare that will linger for you for a long time. Don’t watch it alone. 

Grade: 5/5 Stars

Insidious Chapter 3: James Wan screwed us over. Hard.

Although he didn’t direct this movie, it feels appropriate to blame him for this movie’s demise. Insidious was good. Insidious 2 was somehow okay but sloppy. He passed the torch to someone else then boom. Disaster. 
I didn’t expect it to be good anyhow but a part of me hoped it will surprise me, or shock me at least. Nope. James Wan, the blockbuster director, somehow made sure it disappoints, and it did. So much like how he screwed us over too for Anabelle. 
Set as a prequel for all the “Insidiouses,” we find Elise pretty much alive, with a predictable back story, and of how she met the two sidekick she had for the first two movies. The main character Quinn, with the most predictable back story too, managed to summon a violent spirit and quite frankly, she deserved what happened to her. 
You see, you just don’t talk alone to yourself and call out to the dead.  And the most disastrous thing of all here is how she became the most abused protagonist on a horror movie  ever. She should be filing a lawsuit. She got herself ran over by a car, break both legs and break her neck all in 24 hours. Instead of rooting for her, you’d feel bad for her. 
You’ve seen all the scares here. Nothing new. The only thing you can get out from this is if you watched it with friends, you’ll have fun. Something to mock with them after. 
The story is confused. And cheesy. Confused because it is shoving the eerie atmosphere down your throat then put in something funny out of the blue. It managed to become a comedy when Elise and co goes in. Then cheesy because the grieving father of Quinn who suffered a loss too, doesn’t want to lose his child to some vengeful ghost. This the “I am not gonna lose you” moment. 

  
Everything was okay at the end of course. But the most infuriating thing here is the tease of the fourth Insidious movie and you will be like “come on!” 
Unscary, inconsistent and honestly quite pathetic, Insidious Chapter 3 might be the end game for the series if the producers will not wise up, or unless James Wan will come back and save it. A good popcorn movie for friends, but if you’re looking for horror, you can get more from Fifty Shades of Grey. 

Grade: 1 star