Day 5 of the 2025 Halloween Horror Movie Marathon

In honor of the recent release of The Conjuring: Last Rites, I decided to dedicate part of this year's marathon to the franchise. Last night, I rewatched the first installment, The Conjuring. I saw it when it first came out but didn't remember a lot of the details. After this viewing, I think it's a pretty solid film.

There are some genuinely creepy moments and some cool visual effects. Naturally, there are the obligatory hat tips to the OG Exorcist (levitation, sizzling holy water) but nothing egregious. But there is some cringeworthy dialogue that never should have made the cuts. Most notably, Ed Warren saying "Sometimes when you get haunted it's like stepping in gum. It sticks." Ouch.

Some interesting casting choices in this one. Lili Taylor, who will forever be a John Cusack sidekick in my mind, as Carolyn Perron and Ron Livingston (I have a meeting with the Bobs) as her husband. It wasn't enough of a distraction to offset the oppressive mood of the film.

If you haven't seen it, it's worth a watch.