Today, I’ve analyzed the movie opening from The Conjuring 2. Just like my other blogs, I have analyzed editing, camera shots/angles, lighting, mise-en-scene, and the meaning behind repetitive items that continue to show up.
Background of Movie
The Conjuring was made in 2016, directed by James Wan. The star actors in this movie are Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, and Madison Wolfe. This movie is a genre of horror, thriller, and mystery. This movie is also connected to Insidious, (which I analyzed in blog #11), as they are the same world and timeline. The Conjuring 2 has four wins and 13 nominations in awards. The movie is 2 hours and 14 minutes long, rated - R. (Hayes et al., 2016). This movie is based on a true story, about the 1977-1979 Enfield Poltergeist case in London. (Rooms, n.d.)
Opening Scene
The conjuring opening scene is about 2 and a half minutes long. The movie starts with Ed and Lorraine, gathered around a table with others to do a séance to contact the spirits of the DeFeo House. This shows the viewers that Lorraine is opening herself to the evil entity. The opening scene continues with Lorraine, coming down the stairs as she is in a state of clairvoyance and using her psychic abilities to see the visions spirits were trying to show her. The mise-en- scene is in a house, decorated with 1970s decor. During this scene, she is walking around and following the spirits. The camera is following her at a canted angle to show the disorientation and confusion that she is feeling. It is revealed that the antagonist of the movie is The Nun, also known as Valak. (Oliver, 2025)
In the opening scene, there are close-ups of Lorraine's face to show panic and distress, and the small, almost unnoticed movements on her face. The camera is mostly using a handheld shot, as it is following Lorraine throughout this scene. The camera moves, using slow, deliberate movements in the character and surroundings, like a mirror, (which is very important). This movement creates suspense by focusing the audience’s attention on certain things and not everything at once. The director chose to use many shots of reflections and mirrors to show what is unseen and/or invisible to the characters' foreground, as this allows a jump-scare to form. There is low-key lighting with the only light being moonshine and small lamps around the house. The scene has low-key yellow-orange lighting, from lamps and candles, contrasted with shadows in hallways and corners. This creates a sense of dread and claustrophobia because it makes the viewer feel that they are in a small space and plays with human fear of the unknown in the dark. Towards the end of the scene, they use old-time features and text to resemble a newspaper. (Oliver, 2025)
The old time, newspaper scene
(Laurent, 2025)
The sound in the opening scene is generally tense and eerie with intensified noises of doors creaking, footsteps, and heavy breathing. The score of the opening scene is very tense with the use of high-pitched strings and dissonant, minor chords that rise in volume during the vision to show the stress of the action. This musical cue lets the audience know that there is a supernatural danger and acts as an alarm bell that signals the approach of demons. The scene also has moments of silence and sudden noise to allow the best jump-scare reaction from the audience to happen. The diegetic sounds that are used in the scene are eerie, sustained and whispers/voices that Lorrain hears during her trance. This creates a tension and allows the audience to immerse themselves in the scene with the characters. (Oliver, 2025)
Scene Analysis
Reflection
This analysis of The Conjuring 2's opening scene was very entertaining to do because it was great fun to do, because there was a lot of information to play with that makes the movie better than it already was. The opening scene of The Conjuring 2 is on point with the horror vibe as it is based on the case in 1977-1979, which made the movie more scary as something similar happened in real life. James Wan, the director, puts the audience on edge by focusing on Lorraine’s abilities through intense camera movements, like slow close-ups and first person views during her visions. The use of the dark cluttered house setting and dim lighting makes the place feel unsafe. The sudden loud noises mixed with the quiet moments make the jump scares hit better and harder, making the scene more suspenseful and high stakes. Doing this analysis makes me want to watch the movie again, especially since it is Halloween season right now. This movie is scary and fun to watch and experience every jump scare even if I know they’re coming or there.
My personal Hand Written Notes
(The word count of this blog is 825 words, including this sentence.)
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