Conjuring vs Conjuring 2, Annabelle vs Annabelle 2.
So I just saw Annabelle Creation and since everyone is talking about The Conjuring and the Universe I might as well give my thoughts on the Films.
Funny, I vastly prefer Conjuring to Conjuring II, although I love both.
It's actually vice-versa for me.
The Conjuring -
See The Conjuring is a good horror film but it's not anything that I think is a A+ Horror Film or the Best Horror Film of the Century. Ultimately... I was never scared by the Conjuring. There is a Good 5 Seconds that I find unsettling (That's in the Final Act) but it just doesn't scare me. I have issues with the Film. Like at the beginning of the film and the Mother tells the Girls to not play around in the House and then the Next day she plays "Hide and Clap" with the Youngest Child. The False Jump Scare when the Mother plays with the Music Box also bugged me. And I found myself making comparisons to stuff in The Conjuring to stuff in Insidious (I don't know maybe it's just because Patrick Wilson is in both films). But overall the Film is good. The Final act is pretty great. And I felt I could connect with the Family (I could also connect with the Family in The Conjuring 2 as well) The Opening is also pretty great. Good stuff. (7/10)
Annabelle -
I have the same Opinon as most of you it's a pretty horrible film. Had potential but if you have seen the trailer, you have seen the Film. The Scares are predictable. I don't care about the Characters or the Story as both are trash. The Only Things I like is that the Opening is good and the Basement Scene felt like what should have been the Film. But I never felt as though there was anything at Stake. With The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and now Annabelle Creation I felt like Characters were at Stake of dying and I was concerned for them, but in this film there are no stakes and we don't care about the Characters. Overall terrible stuff. (3/10) *Am I being too nice might bump it to a 2.5*
The Conjuring 2 -
Okay I can talk about the Film or Sequel I generally really love. The Conjuring 2. So... there's a lot to discuss about this film. The film starts with this pretty opening that I thought was well done and was great foreshadowing. The Characters and the Family were also great. While a lot more Jump Scares the Film knows how to use them. Ultimately the Scares are to more fun and better than the Scares in the Original. I don't know maybe it's because I saw this film on Opening Night with a Full Packed House. But it was a lot of fun. So the quote in the Conjuring that I need to bring up is "God brought us together for a reason". In the First Film we see this us God brought ED and Lorraine together to help people. In this film they take that add more to it. They go into why ED and Lorraine love each other. We are given more of a reason as to why we should care about this people. It's called Good Screenwriting. We are given a reason at the START OF THE FILM to constantly be on guard for the lives of our Characters. So there are stakes and the Film really sells that. Also the Film challenges the audience. There is a famous Hitchcock Quote saying "The Audience is gonna predict what happens next in your film but you have to challenge them and ask Do you!?" and The Conjuring 2 does this. The First Film while I think the 3rd act is the best part I think it's pretty predictable. This film has totally shifts in the Story (That I won't spoil) and turns and twists in the film that Challenge people who see the Film. The Demons are also fantastic. The Crooked Man was a nice addition to the Film and was very creepy. Valek was actually pretty stellar and Scary. The Final Act is absolutely tense and really lets Vera Farmiga show her acting abilities as she is incredible. The Ending wraps up pretty nicely and I just ate it up. So yeah I love this film. (10/10)
I also found it great that in the First Film ED is worried about Lorraine and how he is concerned for her safety and in the Conjuring 2 Lorraine is concerned for ED and for his safety.
Annabelle: Creation -
So it's already been said but it basically is everything I think the Original should have been. And it didn't need to be as good as it was but IT WAS. The Opening grabs and doesn't let go. We at the start immediately connect with the Characters. The Story is really strong and it's pretty great. Oh and the Scares... JESUS CHRIST. So this is probably what I consider to be the Scariest of the Films in the Universe. There are Jump Scares that land pretty hard and just some really... unsettling imagery accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. The Visuals are just really haunting actually. The Characters are all great and the Story is actually pretty good as well. The Film like the Conjuring 2 likes to have fun with the Scares. There is a lot of Foreshadowing of the Scares in this film and it's pretty fantastic how they do. You expect them to be a Scare later on but you somehow forget and then "BOO!". The Film also has some pretty great Easter Eggs as well and a solid ending. Had like one issue with the Film but aside from that Fantastic stuff. (9/10)
(Also to Note: There is a Mid Credit Scene and After Credit Scene)
*PS if you Annabelle Creation you get a Clip from IT before the Movie starts and the Clip is actually pretty stellar
So my Ranking is
1. The Conjuring 2
2. Annabelle: Creation
3. The Conjuring
4. Annabelle
So yeah I love almost all of the films and they are good fun stuff. They are Scary films with really great Demons, Characters, and Storytelling. Hopefully next year we can see The Conjuring at HHN! (Also looking forward to the Nun!)