By Kurt Jensen | Catholic News Service
NEW YORK — There’s not much magic in “The Conjuring 2” (Warner Bros.). What this possession-themed horror story does have are two principal spirits haunting folks throughout — one of them a demon nun.
The twisted “sister” (Bonnie Aarons) in question may lack a sharp-edged ruler. But she does boast sunken green eyes, pointy yellow teeth and a voice that roars rather than speaks.
There’s no explanation of why a fiend should take such an incongruous form. Yet, this being another episode from the “true files” of the energetically self-promoting demonologists and lay exorcists Ed and Lorraine Warren, an overlay of Catholic imagery is to be expected.
The spectral woman religious is too over the top and redolent of a Halloween party to actually offend people of faith. Then again, she’s too poorly utilized by director James Wan to inspire much fright, either.
At 133 minutes, the film is padded out with — wait for it! — multiple Elvis Presley references. Elvis had died a few months before this tale begins at Christmastime 1977.
The King doesn’t turn up in ghostly form, though. Such a shame. He would have been far more entertaining than the nun.
After the habited demon’s first appearance in one of Lorraine’s visions — she’s supposed to be a harbinger of Ed’s demise — Wan keeps her off the screen for more than an hour, and instead focuses on a grumpy domestic poltergeist named Bill (Bob Adrian).
Speaking of habits, Bill’s sole goal is to have the rundown London dwelling in which he died all to himself so he can keep on sitting in the decaying leather chair upon which he expired. This Archie Bunker-like seating preference proves inconvenient for the house’s current occupants, mom Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her four children.
Which is where the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) come in. Fresh off their famous dealings with a haunted house in Amityville, New York, the couple is struggling with the resulting notoriety — and public skepticism. So a London junket might be just the thing.
Ed, who died in 2006, billed himself as the only American layman permitted by the Catholic Church to perform exorcisms. In 1985, however, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), then head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, banned laypeople from performing the rite.
No exorcism goes on here. Ed and Lorraine make it clear — several times — that they’re on a less specific mission from the church after Father Gordon (Steve Coulter) asks them to go to London out of compassion for the bedeviled family.
As in any Dracula movie, Ed brandishes the crucifix around his neck to keep cantankerous Bill at bay once the latter has occupied the body of Peggy’s 11-year-old daughter, Janet (Madison Wolfe). Ed encourages poor Janet by repeating what a nun once told him in childhood: “God will be there for all who need.”
This caper is based on a real series of events known as the Enfield Poltergeist, involving telekinesis and strange voices. Speculation about what really happened in Enfield became an enjoyable cottage industry and provided fodder for Britain’s tabloid press.
As the script — co-written by Wan, brothers Carey and Chad Hayes and David Johnson — acknowledges, though, pranks by the children of the household may have been responsible for at least some of the busted crockery and bent spoons.
Still, such rational explanations don’t stop Sister Whatshername from taunting sweet Lorraine. Good thing Lorraine makes copious margin notes in her Bible.
The film contains occult themes, a skewed presentation of Catholic faith practices and intense action sequences, some of them involving gun violence. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Jensen is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.