WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It is interesting to see that the stories for each of the films featured below, excluding Conjuring 1 and 2, were either of James Wan’s own creation or in collaboration with Leigh Whinnell. Additionally, apart from Saw all these films have a hint of the occult about them. Clearly, Wan has a niche…
Malignant
I don’t know if it’s me, but the music used for this during the opening credits reminds me a lot of Saw. Speaking of which, I feel like the intense instrumental is used at the wrong times – why is it needed after Madison admits she’s adopted? Also, I’m not too impressed by the ‘time to cut out the cancer’ cheesy one liner at the start. Cinematically, this is a very good film – the transition from Madison’s house to Dr Weaver’s during her vision looks brilliant but unfortunately the typical use of jump scares were so predictable they didn’t work and I’m slightly let down that we see the antagonist so early! Well, at first I was disappointed – then the big reveal happened!
Insidious 1&2
You want to talk about two films about the unluckiest family ever….well this would be them! What I like however is the fact that, outside of a flashback, the second film picks directly from where the first one finished up. I actually think the second film is better than the first – it just feels so much darker than the original. Now, don’t get me wrong, the first film is definitely better than I remember it being but I just can’t take the main demon seriously because it just reminds me too much of Darth Maul from A Phantom Menace. I’ve mentioned ‘easter eggs’ in other articles but it took the second watching of the second film for me to notice the drawing of Billy, the puppet from Saw,drawn on the chalkboard behind Josh Lambert’s head. He has actually returned to the Insidious franchise this year as he directed Insidious Red Door which to me, feels like the concluding part to this family’s story.
Conjuring 1&2
What I love about these two films is that they are both based on true stories! Also, I like the fact that, even though it was Amityville that actually made the Warren’s famous – they don’t focus on that for very long. Instead these are two of their bigger cases – the Perron family in 1971 and the Enfield Haunting in 1977. Even more importantly, I’m glad they didn’t try to Americanise the Enfield Haunting in the second film – they actually stayed true to the fact that the Warrens actually came over to the UK. The one thing I will say is that the Warrens aren’t really needed in the films….if Amityville could be made without them, why couldn’t these films as well?
Saw
This has been, and probably always will be, my favourite film in the whole Saw franchise. Jigsaw comes close but this will always be number one for me. As mentioned above, this another brain-child of Wan’s but it is possibly the second darkest, but definitely the smartest film in this whole article. I always stayed away from Saw in the beginning because I thought it was going to be a lot of gore and no substance but I’m so glad I was wrong. The plot is clever, and I enjoy it every time I watch it even though I remember exactly how it ends!
Dead Silence
I referenced in a previous article that the makers of Saw must have taken a liking to Donnie Wahlberg as they asked him to play a role in this film but clearly they felt the same way about James Wan as they asked him to direct this for them – but then would ask anyone other than the writer of the story? I actually find this film the creepiest of the lot but that’s probably because of my aversion to dolls. Annoyingly, just like Saw I remember the twist to this film but it doesn’t ruin the film for me and it will definitely take first time watchers by surprise. However, I wondered this time around if it is Lisa reciting the poem about Mary Shaw that awakens the dummy in the first place.
