I'm not that easy to scare. Horror films have effectively been ripping off other horror films for decades and bringing in some serious cash; creating a firestorm of unoriginal and uninspired films that fails to bring the true scares. It's either too much gore or just a parade of obvious jump scare moments that are cheap and boring. We've had a surge of some truly original horror films in the indie circle, like "The Babadook," "It Follows," "The Witch" and most recently (and a very good film which I highly recommend you go see) "Green Room" starring Sir Patrick Stewart (the only time you'll ever see him as a Neo-Nazi, so that's an opportunity not to miss.) But all were mood driven with great plots, not enough room for some genuinely great scares.

"The Conjuring," the 2013 original, was probably the only movie in recent memory to get an R rating for being scary. No gore, no excessive nudity, just pure un-nerving atmosphere, great characters we care about and truly great horror set pieces (The Lilly Taylor "Hide And Clap" scene still sends shivers down my spine). Now, take that and multiply it by a hundred, and you get "The Conjuring 2".

First of all, this film is what a true sequel should be: same core characters in a brand new situation that requires their strengths to reach an end goal. Not a continuation, not a retread, but a brand new story. It's not often we see things like this, we usually only get films that set up other films or just do the same exact thing they did in the previous entry without so much as a lick of something new. It's tiresome, and I'm glad James Wan has the chutzpah and the pull in Hollywood to be able to get some leverage into what the sequel would look like. He's horror's best working director and "The Conjuring 2" only cements that claim.

"The Conjuring 2" tells the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by the wonderful Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) who get a call from the church to go look into this iffy case of this young girl in Enfield, London who maybe possessed by a malicious spirit. The Warrens first investigate the Amityville Horror case, their most popular, but it's merely only an intro to the horror shit show that they're about to embark on, showing us the Demonic Nun and a piece of her plan for the Warrens. While The Warrens do that and agree to take a sabbatical, Peggy Hodgson (Frances O'Connor) and her children begin to see some weird things happen around their house. It turns for the worse when Janet (played perfectly by Madison Wolfe, who's acting chops in this film will make her a star) starts talking as Bill Wilkins, an old man who died in the house and who's spirit still lingers. When the Warrens finally arrive, they discover not everything is as they seem.

[SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT. PLEASE SEE THE MOVIE FIRST THEN FINISH READING THIS.]

All I can say about this film is, and excuse my language but it's seriously warranted in this case: Holy. Crap. Never in my life have I ever been so shaken up by a film. There are set pieces that still freak me out when I think about them. The scene where The Crooked Man makes his grand appearance is downright one of the scariest moments committed to film. Seeing the shadow of him move down the hall towards the family to reveal its Janet, possessed, really singing the nursery rhyme and adding her own horrifying conclusion was earth shattering and A+ horror filmmaking. The other scene that had my eyes hid behind my hands was Lorraine's encounter with the Demonic Nurse in her home. Noted, it was a jump scare, but the set up to the scare was so intense, the jump was a legitimate reaction of fear. Probably the best jump scare since the one in "Mullholland Drive" by David Lynch. The third one is at the very end, when the Warrens leave to return to the US and everyone thinks it'll be ok...until its not. (The picture above is the outcome of such an event.) Valak, the Demonic Nurse, takes full possession of Janet and begins throwing her sister around the room. Only BEAMING at them with the scariest death stare I've ever seen. (Again, HUGE kudos to Madison Wolfe.)

There were plenty of other effective moments too. For example, when Ed talks to Bill Wilkins in person, the camera focuses solely on him and leaves "Bill" out of focus, leaving our imaginations to run wild with how Janet looks at that moment (though the first interview with Janet/Bill could have given us a clue.) This is what sets Wan apart from every other horror filmmaker; he's so comfortable in his own skin as a horror filmmaker he is willing to take more artistic risks, and with the help of Robert Zemeckis' cinematographer Don Burgess (who shot Forrest Gump), they achieve exactly what they were intended too. A jump scare moment that is so typical in horror movies were made fresh by the idea to show the POV of Bill coming closer to the bed of Janet, creating such tension so when he ripped the covers off of her, it was actually terrifying. Of course, continuing for there by having the beds shake and practically levitate off the ground adds to the already established terror.

Another effective and not done as much technique is allowing the ghost's actions actually be seen. Like when the police officers come to inspect the wrong doing. You first think "Pfft, nothing is gonna happen and they are going to look crazy." But then, one of the officers takes a kitchen chair and brings it into the next room and the chair slides across the room and back into the kitchen. Or when Peggy screams at Janet and her sister that ghosts don't exist, and the freaking dresser flies across the room and barricades them inside. The look on Peggy's face is the exact face the entire audience made when it happened: "Did that seriously just happen?" That's when you know it just got real.

What shouldn't be normally applauded, but in today's cinema its so scarce that it's so wonderful when it happens, is the fact that I care about all of these characters and makes the plight of horror so much better. Wilson and Farmiga are so good together, their chemistry so in sync, that the sparks fly off the screen. In a "could have been really corny" moment, Ed sings Elvis' "Can't Help Falling in Love" on the guitar to the Hodgson's to boost morale, but it was also confessing his love to his wife. It works so well because of the way they look at each other. It works so well and felt genuine, a rare occurrence in film today, but a testament to Wan's directing and the powerhouse acting abilities of Wilson and Farmiga.

My only reservation about this film is the evil plot of Valak, the Demonic Nurse. Her plan was to show Lorraine a premonition of her husbands death, send them all the way to London, and then be foiled in killing him because Valak told her its name in another dream (the painting scene), which is the apparent weakness of a demonic demon of that caliber. When you think about it, it sounds like an elaborate set up to do all of that. What I was hoping for, since it was so easy to defeat a demon so powerful that could hide its presence from Lorraine, is that the whole name thing was a red herring and that she would be the cause of Ed's demise. When he died, the third film could be about her getting revenge on Valak with the help of Ed in the after like (since she's a clairvoyant, she can communicate to him.) It was such a sweet set up, but the screenwriters ended up with going something safe and a little silly in the grand scheme of things (especially since Valak could visit Lorraine in their own home, why go through all of this nonsense?)

If you disregard the demon's plans and focus on the plot of the Hodgson's (which is much more prevalent anyway), you'll be in for a scary good time. It's just as scary as the original, though the plot of the original was a better. But it was a treat to actually be scared like that for the first time in all of my years of watching films. Prepare for hell, because that's where you'll be going.