The Conjuring is a “real” Hollywood horror film based on the possession of mankind by demonic figures. There's a dog that ends up doing the usual thing that dogs in horror movies do (act scared and bark constantly or end up dying unknowingly). There's a doll that ends up doing what dolls usually do in horror movies (taunt the human body). There are some slamming doors, some ghost hunters with motion detectors and UV lights, creepy TV static, and some creepy ghosts that suddenly appear when you least expect it, and to top it off they add creepy music and spooky makeup. that all ghosts wear so you can identify or recognize them. When I said "it's real," I mean several things. First, the most obvious thing is that the film is based to some extent on “real” events. It tells the horrific story of the Perron family, who moved to a slightly haunted farmhouse in Rhode Island in the early 1970s. The Perrons reached out to famed ghost hunters Ed and Lorrain Warren to help them rid their home of evil spirits (after which Ed began the long journey through hell to bring the story to the big screen years later ). Some of these qualities of the film are quite fascinating; like the period hairstyles, or the role-playing style and standards of Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston for playing the Perron parents. Other claims of truthfulness, however, are much less entertaining. There are, of course, real photos and newspaper clippings that appear in the credits. And then, on the other side of the film, before we even get to our so-called haunted house, we have scenes of the Warrens (ghost hunters or demonic explorers) working on other cases and answering questions from interested humans in the classrooms to answer their ......middle of paper......n (the director) seems to mistakenly believe he can carry the entire film. By going by “based on a true story,” it eschewed engaging characters, an imaginative plot and unforgettable villains. As a result, everything we're left with at the conclusion is a bit sloppy, and an actual Ed Warren quote warns us that demonic powers are real and that our personal choices matter. Which may or may not be the case for you. But if moral and evil choices were what filmmakers were interested in, I would want them to make a movie about them instead of these so-called “horrible” events. Instead, The Conjuring devotes itself to the completely wasteful task of encouraging its viewers again and again, in various ways, to pretend that the unoriginal nonsense on screen actually happened in real life. It's actually not scary and it's not even surprising. It's just another horror movie!