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Movie review: ‘The Conjuring 2' creates suspense, then fades

The supernatural thriller "The Conjuring 2" is comprised of the same "gotcha" scare playing on a loop. You'll fall for it once, maybe twice, but then it fades fast. And the so-called chills and thrills are so obvious you can predict what — or who — is going to pop up and where and when. "The Exorcist" it ain't.

Again directed by James Wan, working from a script he co-wrote with three others (not a good sign — ever), the sequel to his 2013 hit is again based-on-fact. This time, real-life ghost-whisperers Lorraine and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) venture to the north of London to help a single mother (Frances O'Connor) purge the demons terrorizing her four children. The action centers on a shy 11-year-old schoolgirl, Janet (Madison Wolfe). A ghost with a grudge suddenly inhabits her body and wreaks havoc on her family's lives.

But do the Hodgsons ever move out of their haunted abode? No. Instead, after a series of creepy after-dark events, in waltz the Warrens, the legendary demonologists, to find out what's making things go bump in the night. There's random furniture moving across the room, a TV that goes on fritz, loud knocks and the possessed girl. Wolfe does a nice job of oscillating between Janet's preteen vulnerability and demonic danger.

Wan ("Furious 7") opens with a good, effective scare. It's 1976 in Amityville, New York, where nothing good ever happens. The Warrens are tapped to connect with a mass murderer who slayed his parents and siblings. And, oh boy, do they ever connect. So much so that Lorraine says it's as "close to Hell" as they've ever gotten, and vows to halt any further investigations.

That's until the Hodgson case proves too enticing.

The script then leaps a year ahead and moves across the pond to the dark-and-drab Enfield flat where the Hodgson's live. There's certainly something ominous in the air. And, while Wan succeeds in setting the retro 1970s vibe and building a fair amount of suspense and apprehension, it all goes downhill. Somehow, the suspense is lessened because it's all the same eerie stuff we've seen before. Wan's camera tracks an empty seat swaying on a swing. A faucet drips forebodingly. A door creaks. A child's firetruck turns itself on. Shadowy figures lurk in the darkness. And, naturally, there's an Ouija board.

A good hour passes before the Warrens and the Hodgson's actually meet. The script leads up to this by telling parallel stories. Creepy stuff happens in England and Lorraine has fearful premonitions.

Of course, there is a reason for the spirit's presence and persistence, and no spoilers here, but by the time it's over, it's all rather underwhelming. Sequels often struggle to measure up. That's the case here. It feels like Wan, a reliable genre director ("Saw," "Insidious"), put forth his greatest hits from those previous efforts and the redundancy haunts "The Conjuring 2."

— Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.

"The Conjuring 2"

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Madison Wolfe.

(R for terror and horror violence.)

Grade: B-