The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 is a 2016 feature film directed and produced by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, James Wan, David Leslie Johnson, and the sequel to the 2013 James Wan film The Conjuring. It stars and  reprising their roles as Edward "Ed" and Loraine Warren (respectively), paranormal researchers and demonologists that travel the world helping people deal with supernatural threats. The story is based on the true story of the Enfield Incident, where Ed and Loraine travel to Enfeild, Great Britain during Christmastime to aid the Hodgson family, who are experiencing violent paranormal occurances in their home.

Plot Synopsis
The film opens with Ed and Loraine investigating in Amityville, New York, where the infamous Amityville Horror occurred. Loraine, a psychic, looks into the house to find that, the perpetrator of the crime, was indeed under the influence of a demonic presence. When Loraine investigates what this presence could be, she has a run-in with a horrible demon in the form of a nun, which she had encountered seven years before that uses "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" to announce its arrival. The demon shows her a vision of Ed's gruesome death via impalement, causing Loraine to become paranoid and request that they never take another case.

Meanwhile in Enfeild, Great Britain, the Hodgson family is struggling with money and family after the sudden departure of the father. The mother, Peggy, tries to make ends meet, but her four children prove to be a handful. One night, the two daughters Janet and Heather play with a Ouija Board, but are disappointed when it does not work. However, that night, Janet wakes up in another room and Heather hears strange knocking at her door.

Back in America, Ed has visions of the demon nun, and Loraine feels the presence of something demonic. While in her home, she has a nightmarish vision of being attacked by the demon, causing her to thrash around and scribble in the Bible she was reading.

Meanwhile, the paranormal occurrences in Enfeild worsen, as Janet begins seemingly talking to invisible people and speaking in different voices. While Peggy believes it is just paranoia after using the Ouija Board, she sees the activity for herself and rushes the kids to a neighbors house. When the police arrive, they see the activity as well, and recommend seeking help. Things get worse when the activity follows Janet to the neighbors' house, where they are attacked by a creature called the Crooked Man. Paranormal investigators Maurice Grosse and Anita Gregory help with the case, and schedule media coverage of the incidents to try and reach out. This includes an interview with Janet, who, during the interview, is seemingly possessed. The possessor claims it is the deceased Bill Wilkins, and wants its house back and likes basking in the family's fear.

Eventually, as Christmas approaches, the church contacts the Warrens to aid them in determining if it is a hoax or not. Loraine is reluctant based on her visions, but they agree and travel to England to stay with the family. However, while Loraine does not sense anything, the activity worsens as Janet is teleported to a locked room and attacked by Bill. She is saved by Ed's intervention.

The next day, the Warrens attempt to communicate with Bill, who threatens them, but stutters a disjointed message when a crucifix is held up. The Warrens decide that the malevolent entity feeds off of negative emotion, and reunite the family in Christmas celebrations and sing-along sessions to boost their spirits.

However, as the children are setting up a, Janet is suddenly possessed again and attacks her brother Johnny. The Warrens intervene, and the ghost of Bill yells another incoherent message as he leaves Janet's body. However, Anita Gregory was filming the room that the incident took place in, and the video seems to show Janet faking the whole thing. The investigators are disappointed and frustrated, and Peggy sends them away for believing Janet was faking everything. Janet then reveals to her sister Heather that the possessor told her it would kill her family if she did not make the investigators leave.

On the train back to the airport, Ed suddenly has a realization. He plays the recordings of the two messages from Bill at the same time, revealing a call for help. Loraine suddenly breaks through, and has a psychic vision of Bill. Bill reveals that he means the family no harm and only wanted to see his family, but another presence kept him there and enslaved him to do its will. When Loraine asks what the entity is and how to stop it, Bill is only able to give a hint as to stopping it before the entity reveals itself as the demonic nun that had been tormenting her and Ed for so long.

As Ed and Loraine rush to return back to the house, Janet is fully possessed by the demon, who attacks the family and forces them out of the house. Ed and Lorain arrive as Loraine figures out that they need to know the demon's name to have the power to send it back to Hell. Ed is forced to go after Janet, but a lightning bolt strikes a tree next to the house, leaving a jagged stump resembling the object that impaled Ed in Lorraine's vision. When Ed gets into the house, he is attacked by the demon, who uses steam to blind him and blasts "Hark! The Harald Angels Sing" to disorient him, before changing into its Crooked Man form and attacking him. Ed manages to catch up to Janet, who is about to throw herself from the window. He catches her, but is left dangling over the stump below. Loraine realizes that, in her previous vision, she demanded the demon's name it it was forced to give it. She checks her scribbled-in Bible to find that the demon's name is Valak. She rushes up to help Ed, but is attacked by the demon. However, with her newfound knowledge of Valak's name, she is able to condemn the demon back to Hell, saving Janet and Ed.

All the people involved rest after their victory. After returning to America, Ed and Loraine celebrate Christmas with a dance.

Cast

 * as Edward "Ed" Warren
 * as Lorraine Warren
 * as Janet Hodgson
 * as Peggy Hodgson
 * as Margaret Hodgson
 * as Billy Hodgson
 * as Johnny Hodgson
 * as Maurice Grosse
 * as Peggy Nottingham
 * as Vic Nottingham
 * as Anita Gregory
 * Bob Adrian as Bill Wilkins
 * as Judy Warren
 * as Valak (performance)
 * as Valak (voice)

Production
In July 2013, prior to The Conjuring's release, Variety reported that New Line Cinema was already in the early stages of development of a sequel, following the positive test screenings and reviews of the first film. The film deals with the case of the Enfield Poltergeist, which took place in the London Borough of Enfield from 1977 to 1979, and involved the alleged haunting of two sisters, aged 11 and 13, at their mother's council house. The Conjuring 2 also touches on the Warrens' most famous and most documented case, The Amityville Horror.

In July 2013, it was reported that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson had signed on to reprise their roles from The Conjuring.[10] This was confirmed in February 2014. On October 21, 2014, it was announced that James Wan would return to direct the sequel, and production would begin in the summer of 2015. In early July 2015, lead actors Farmiga and Wilson visited Lorraine Warren at the New England Paranormal Research Center in Connecticut in preparation for their roles. On July 28, 2015, Wan officially began pre-production for the film. In August 2015, the film was granted $5.6 million in tax credits from the California Film Commission for bringing the production to the state.

On September 13, 2015, Don Burgess was confirmed as the film's director of photography.[16] In September 2015, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, newcomer Lauren Esposito, and Madison Wolfe joined the cast. Franka Potente, Simon Delaney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and newcomers Patrick McAuley and Benjamin Haigh were also reported to have been cast in late September 2015. In November 2015, it was announced that Abhi Sinha had joined the cast of the film. On December 1, 2015, it was confirmed that Sterling Jerins would reprise her role as the Warrens' daughter Judy.

Principal photography for The Conjuring 2 began on September 21, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Due to an inexplicable series of events during production of the first film, a priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe was brought in to bless the set of the sequel by the film's producers. Production moved to London on November 18, 2015, with filming taking place in and around The Warrington, a pub in the residential district of Maida Vale. On November 22, filming took place at Marylebone station. Filming concluded on December 1, 2015. Production lasted for 50 days, with 40 days filming on sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, and 10 days on location in London.

Release
The Conjuring 2 was originally scheduled to be released on October 23, 2015, but in October 2014, Warner Bros. pulled the film from the schedule and set the film for an unspecified 2016 release date. In November 2014, the release date was pushed back from its original release date of October 23, 2015, to June 10, 2016. The Conjuring 2 had its red carpet world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on June 7, 2016, as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival's program, three days prior to its wide release.

Songs

 * "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

Reception
The Conjuring 2 became a huge financial success like its predecessor, grossing $102.5 million in the United States and Canada and $217.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total gross of $320.4 million. Although it earned less in North America than the first film, it fared better internationally and overall, making 0.5% more than the first film. The film was the highest-grossing horror film of the year and the second-highest-grossing horror film overall of all time, behind only 1973's The Exorcist ($441.3 million). It was partly credited for the success of fellow Warner Bros. horror film Lights Out, which was released a month later. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $98.3 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the 14th-most profitable release of 2016.

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 80% based on 239 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Conjuring 2 can't help but lose a bit of its predecessor's chilly sting through familiarity, but what remains is still a superior ghost story told with spine-tingling skill." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor.

In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, Sheri Linden praised the film, saying, "Three years after The Conjuring rattled the multiplex with old-school horror, director James Wan ups the ante with an excellent sequel." Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing, "On one level, The Conjuring 2 is just a not-bad megaplex funhouse movie, no more and no less, but on another level it offers its potential fans a helping of reassurance to go along with the fear. If there are ghost demons out there, then God must be out there as well. Audiences, it was long ago proven, will pay to see both." TheWrap's Alonso Duralde gave the film a positive review, stating, "Frightening rarely strikes twice in the same place, despite the efforts of so many horror sequels, but even if The Conjuring 2 doesn't deliver the delightful jolts of its predecessor, it maintains a consistent chill throughout, with a slow and steady dread that creeps up on you over time."

In a mixed review, Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B-, writing, "There are some solid scares (Wan is too gifted in the dark art of gotcha manipulation to not make you leap a few times), but there's nothing on par with the first film's brilliant hide-and-clap scene with Lili Taylor." Jacob Wilkins of The Cavalier Daily lauded the film, calling Wan a "master of horror" and remarked that the film was "fresh, original and unsettling". Pete Hammond of Deadline.com wrote that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the sequel and what Wan has accomplished with the film, stating, "Wan knows the tricks of this trade (heightened sound effects, moving furniture, dark corners) but somehow miraculously he really puts a fresh spin on it all here. It's riveting stuff, even if in a familiar cinematic environment." He added, "It is one hell of a movie."

Trivia

 * James Wan confirmed in an interview that he intended for The Conjuring 2 to be a Christmas film, as it plays a part in raising the positivity used to defeat Valak.