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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Driver dead in single-vehicle crash near Ashland ... Old buildings, new buildings and public art on agendas ... Ticket availability ... Driver dead in single-vehicle crash near Ashland ... Old buildings, new buildings and public art on agendas ... Ticket availability ... MOVIE REVIEW 'The Conjuring 2' hits all the usual scare buttons Comment By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News The Conjuring 2; 133 min; Rated R “The Conjuring 2” reminds the audience from the get-go that the film you are about to see is based on a true story. The purpose of the film is to be so tightly wound that there will be no doubt regarding the word, “true.” Suspending your disbelief is not a requirement, meaning the premise of the film is that audiences are already on board regarding the belief that there is something beyond the evidence. In the case of “The Conjuring 2” (like “1”) that would involve demonic possession, paranormal activity, poltergeists, malevolent spirits, and a series of occurrences that defy all the known laws of physics and the natural world. Actually, what takes place in a house in Enfield, a suburb of northern London, follows your standard horror script in the best tradition of “The Exorcist.” But instead of the Catholic Church being called in to perform the standard grip-the-cross exorcism, a priest appeals to two ghost hunters, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). They travel from their New England home (not far from Amityville) to England where they are tasked with providing empirical evidence to the church before a man of the cloth with his Bible and a liter of holy water was called in. Could it all be a hoax is the question? Prompting this investigation, called by the media “The Enfield Haunting,” is a bevy of unexplained phenomena. There’s banging on doors; chairs and dressers move; battery-powered toys start up, such as a kinetoscope featuring a crooked old man; doors slowly open; and television channels change. A sweet 11-year-old, Janet (Madison Wolfe), begins to speak in the crusty voice of one Bill Wilkins, long-ago dead, but caught in a purgatory of anger and pain. Apparently he died sitting in a leather over-stuffed chair that looks like it was found under a freeway. It rocks back and forth when no one is sitting in it. Why it wasn’t instantly donated to Goodwill is never explained. What’s more interesting than the film per se, is the fact that films of this genre possess such a deep well of sustained interest. Hollywood has been making them for almost a century (“Nosferatu,” 1922). Screenwriters long ago figured out that there is, in the farthest recesses of our psyches, a nudging belief in the paranormal. We are enamored with the idea of jeepers creepers (think of it as approach-avoidance). All those who want to spend the night in a cemetery, raise your hand. Does anyone seriously dispute that we fear things that go bump in the night? Right. Hence, with massive amounts of CGI, it doesn’t take very long to create in an audience a rising sense of dread. But then the reason the audience is there is to have confirmed that there is stuff just beyond our experience, things that are inexplicable but still feel real. Why else would so many people embrace these films or own Ouija boards — which is how the film opens: kids playing with their board and opening a door to a netherworld that will torment them and their single mom (Frances O’Connor) to the breaking point. Is “The Conjuring 2,” like its predecessor, a jump-scare movie that fulfills the expectations of its audience? Sure. Does it start slow — sheets being pulled off the kids’ beds in the dead of night? Indeed. Does it escalate into a series of punishing occurrences? Absolutely. You, the reader, will likely not be seated in a theater surrounded by teens (and tweens if they can sneak in) watching “The Conjuring 2.” But you have to admit it’s interesting that the goosebump-inducing films that revel in the inexplicable have had such a long shelf life. By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Jun. 16, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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