Writer: Jillian Cheong

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Watch this if you liked: "Insidious"

Be prepared to be scared out of your wits as we delve into the lives of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a couple who are also paranormal investigators. Based on a true story, the couple is best known for their involvement with The Amityville Horror case, until now, as another one of their cases, as seen in "The Conjuring", is unlocked.

The film which is set in the early 70's, where bell bottoms are the "in" trend, shows us that paranormal investigation has long been an interest of the citizens of America. The couple are somewhat of celebrities who give small scale lectures in various cities in the United States to share their insights on their most popular investigations. With each lecture, the couple never fails to intrigue and interest the crowd, considering the amount of raised hands.

But the main focus of the film centres on the hauntings of the Perron family as they move into their new countryside farmhouse in Harrisville. The roles have turned this time around, Patrick Wilson who plays the role of Ed Warren is no longer the prey of being demonically possessed as previously seen in "Insidious", but instead performs paranormal investigations.

Malaysian-born director James Wan, who is widely known for his "Saw" franchise, really steps up his game in the horror genre with this film as he successfully captures the essence of the true story to be made into this spine-chilling movie. The shaky camera scenes accompanied with the exaggerated zooms really makes the audience feel that they are one with the film. Wan's take on the horror film is rather different to the usual built-up suspense scenes that we are accustomed to, as they are more of in-your-face kind of scare scenes. What you see is what you get.

After watching so many horror films, most of us should have learnt by now to always do thorough research before moving into a house as you wouldn't want you or your family to be caught in the midst of a demonic presence. Leaving the theatre, the reviewer felt pretty shaken up from the movie but still very much impressed with the film. This comes to show that even a Malaysian is capable of producing such a good horror film as it had such an effect on the audience based on the OMG's and screams heard throughout the movie.

Cinema Online, 25 July 2013