THE CONJURING 2 Trailer

James Wan returns to horror and one of his most successful series with The Conjuring 2, which also brings back stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. This time the couple hop across the pond to take a case in England, and if the trailer is any indication, it looks like the sequel is sticking close to what made The Conjuring so successful. I anticipate a slow-building haunter with lots of classic horror imagery (like those upside-down crosses) and a big ending.

Wilson and Farmiga are solid and welcome holdovers, as both have created quite a niche for themselves within the horror genre. It remains to be seen if the rest of the cast will be as strong this time around as Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor were in the first, as the pivotal role seems to fall on Aussie newcomer Lauren Esposito’s shoulders. The accent, effects, and emotional nature of such a role are a lot to ask of a child actor, but the trailer shows her ability to play up the creep factor without overdoing it.

No matter how good or bad the trailer is, what piques my interest the most is Wan himself. It’s easy to make the case that he’s the best genre director out there, not because his films make big profits, but because he consistently delivers what audiences want from horror and action films without tying himself down. His movement between subgenres shows just how deep his understanding of story beats are, and his filmography is an interesting case study on how to apply a signature style to familiar story outlines. Another entry in his interesting career is always welcome.

The Conjuring 2 is directed by James Wan. It stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Simon McBurney, and Lauren Esposito. It will be released in the U.S. on June 10th, 2016 and the U.K. on June 17th, 2016. Other release dates can be found here.

Do you think this sequel will live up to its predecessor or pale in comparison like so many horror series?