Director: James Wan Stars: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, Michole Brianna White Throughout an already significant tenure in popular horror cinema, James Wan has been most commonly creeped out by the idea of losing control. Be it succumbing to Jigsaw's traps or getting possessed by whatever malevolent ills stalk the shadows of Insidious and The Conjuring, …
Review: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Director: Michael Chaves Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, John Noble The eighth film to emerge in this franchise since James Wan kicked it off in 2013, the laboriously titled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It goes hard embracing the hoariest tropes that make popcorn horror movies easy pickings for criticism, and catnip for punters after …
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Ranked: The Saw Films
After months of lying dormant, biding their time, the nation's cinemas are poised to reopen. And while the awards season giants are queuing up to draw extra revenue following their spurious streaming debuts, there's also a scant smattering of new releases hotting up the listings. Among the most wryly amusing (hopefully) to arrive on opening …
Review: The Conjuring 2
Director: James Wan Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O'Connor Longtime readers may remember that I wasn't overly generous to The Conjuring - James Wan's first venture into the supernatural tales of God-fearing paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren - criticising it for coming across like a shrewd, generic, confused and plagiaristic endeavour. I've rewatched the film …
Review: Insidious Chapter 3
Director: Leigh Whannell Stars: Lin Shaye, Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney With James Wan trading carnivalesque bumps in The Further for the ludicrous spinning wheels of the Fast & Furious franchise, it's up to prior writer/co-star Leigh Whannell to take the reigns of the Insidious franchise for this third instalment, faithfully subtitled Chapter 3 yet a prequel to …
Review: Fast & Furious 7
Director: James Wan Stars: Nathalie Emmanuel, Jason Statham, Paul Walker It may have taken prior directorial mainstay Justin Lin a few goes to truly nail down the formula, but let's approach Fast & Furious 7 as what it is; the latest entry in a franchise that bears as much resemblance to real life as Guardians Of The …
Review: Annabelle
Director: John R. Leonetti Stars: Anabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Ward Horton Last year James Wan had a spectacular hit with derivative horror The Conjuring, one of the finest examples in recent times of marketing and hype boosting the reputation of a distinctly average film. The Conjuring falls down largely thanks to the feeling throughout that it is …
Review: Insidious Chapter 2
Director: James Wan Stars: Barbara Hershey, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne One of the most shocking things about James Wan's Insidious was just how much fun it was. It popped up a couple of years ago amid the usual glut of also-ran horror movies offered by Hollywood and became something of an instant hit. A large …
Review: The Conjuring
Director: James Wan Stars: Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Patrick Wilson Putting aside for a minute the barrel-scraping title (which sounds like the name of a filler episode of Angel), the new movie from James Wan offers little inspiration up front. From the trailer, which has been doing the rounds rather heavily, it looks like a predictable …