Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2013

“Inspired,” very loosely, by real-life “demonologists” Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous for that Amityville thing, who are asked by a young couple to have a look at their strangely behaving house. Okay, we’ve all sat through a lot of haunted house flicks. Nice family moves into their rural dream house, things start going bump in the night, one member is targeted for possession, etc. So it’s really quite astounding what James Wan has done here. Despite adhering strictly to the old HH formula (and maybe that’s the point), he has produced arguably the best exorcism movie since, well, The Exorcist. This one is really scary; you may need a seat belt for the “Boo!” moments, none of which feel gimmicky. And it’s all done with an old school, rather classy, analog solidity that utilizes intensity and suspense rather than blood and gore. It also doesn’t hurt to have a cast comprising Lili Taylor, Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga & Ron Livingston. A further surprise is that this is the guy who made the first Saw movie (and then left it before the studio turned it into a disgusting torture porn franchise). Man’s a master. Big screen, please. For the sound.