![]() I realize this is criticism of the movie’s worldview–though it’s also, I think, criticism of what the moviemakers think would be dramatic and emotional for the audience, have we learned nothing from The Exorcist, even Americans are perfectly capable of being moved by actual Christ-centered Christianity–but conveniently the back half of the movie is also more formulaic and less interesting in every other way. It’s hard to think of a better analogy for our secular celebration of the Feast of St Valentine, Bishop and Martyr, than the replacement of a celibate priest with a lay married couple, and the replacement of Jesus Christ with a family vacation. Lorraine Warren gets the possessed person to remember a happy family memory and that’s what gives her the strength to kick the demon out. American practicality versus pointless Vatican rules! (DO NOT DO THIS, come on.) And then what actually makes the exorcism work, what restores the possessed person to herself, is not the power of Jesus’ name but the power of bourgeois family happiness. At the film’s climax, we’re told that we can’t wait for a priest to get there and perform the exorcism, so Ed Warren will have to do it himself. Bracketing any controversy over the real-life Warrens, their characters here are the vehicle for a nominally extremely Catholic film to express its Protestant prejudices. In the second half the Warrens take over and things start getting obnoxious. The tree which plays such a big role in the house’s backstory is amazing, this huge three-fingered hand thrusting out of the earth. ![]() The initial scares work well, especially when that hide-and-go-seek game gets a frightening new player the house itself feels solid, and, as with Oculus, you can always tell where things are happening even when they’re off-screen. I’m going to yowl and hiss a bit about Valentine’s Day in a moment, but of course marital love is wonderful, and this movie gives you a lovely tribute to what’s good about heterosexuality before, you know, totally turning it into an idol. I loved this family–their casual, comfortable conflicts as they move in, their odd and dangerous variation on hide and go seek. There’s nothing wrong with a formula done well, and the first half of The Conjuring does the haunted-house formula quite well. The exorcism works but there’s a creepy doll to set up the sequel. There’s a huge showdown and everybody goes flying around the room courtesy of DEMON POWER. ANYWAY the Perrons’ house is super haunted and the scares escalate in the usual order (although man, they kill the dog with a quickness).
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