Conjurer (2008) Reviews

• Pretty good indie flick

  laffactory2008-11-11

  This is actually a pretty good little indie flick. Yeah there's nothing revelatory or terribly unique about the story framework but they didn't go down the gore road and attempted something of a throwback with creepiness instead of blood, something I can appreciate. I was actually pretty surprised. If you need something scary to happen right away then forget it...better watch something else. This is a gradual, slow burn kind of pacing that I didn't mind. I also didn't really know where the story was going and the ending caught me off guard with a psychological twist that was different. And different is good any day over same old shock or gore or Asian retread.

• Had to comment on horror vs ghost

  lngrnzzz2008-10-17

  This just played at the Illinois International Film Festival and won Best Horror Film. I wanted to see it because ghost stories are my favorite genre and I read the story background so it seemed something I would definitely like. When I read here about it winning Best Horror Film at the other film festival and not really being a horror film I had to agree and wanted to write a comment about what others are probably expecting and not getting. This is not a horror movie with a bit of supernatural, it's a supernatural story with a bit of horror. Horror today means blood and guts and splatter and gore and screaming and yelling and this has none of that. Good ghost stories always are slower paced with unsettling creepy touches that can be moody and Gothic and spooky. I'm not a fan of certain genres so I'm not going to watch them and then get angry that I didn't like it and found it boring. So here's a tip to splatter fans and gorehounds >> AVOID THIS MOVIE << to the rest of you who like slower paced quality spooky movies, this is really worth watching. It's not great, but it's a nice surprise. I'm giving it nine stars because I appreciate the effort to do something that fans like me will enjoy and call attention to it for others of like mind. BTW if you're a ghost fan make sure and check out THE ORPHANAGE and don't be scared off by the subtitles!!!!!!

• A surprisingly good American ghost story....it's about time!

  davyar2008-10-13

  I'm quite wary of American ghost stories since they always seem to have several dozen false scares, loud sound effects and music, shock for shock sake that only shows a lack of imagination and dimwitted characters doing dimwitted things. A few of the exceptions are The Sixth Sense and What Lies Beneath. Spain has the best so far with The Others and The Orphanage. Most supernatural films that dish out the shocks can't or won't attempt unsettling, eerie or creepy moments because they have no faith in the audience who will think it's not scary enough or too slow. So even though this does not have a big budget and its actors are no names, they rose to the challenge. I was genuinely surprised to find the clichés kept to the absolute minimum!!! And thank God it was not a bloody repeat of The Ring! Enough with those films that all feel cut from the same cloth!! Are there things in this story that I would have chosen to do differently? yes, several of the scenes ended with weak transitions and I think the ending raised the question on just how much into the mind a ghost bent on revenge can reach that was a bit of a puzzler. But the pacing held my interest with a good rhythm, built on the suspense well and a spooky climax. So I'm happy to write as a fan of ghost stories that this was quite good.

• Dread Central Review and Dixie Fest Winner

  macstoneheart2008-10-26

  We love independent movies especially spooky ones that don't do the whole gore thing and we saw this review quoted from Dreadcentral.com back in August: "No word on a distro deal for the film yet, but I'm sure it won't take long for someone to snatch this up. Conjurer is a smart, tense ghost story that I'm sure will find its place among fans who are looking to avoid the usual ADD-causing jump scares and work instead on slowly witling away at your nerves." It really made us want to see it but there was no word about a release or anything and there was no follow up news then we saw it was going to play at the Dixie Film Festival a few weeks ago. We went and saw it and it was even better than expected and it even won Best Feature! They announced it was sold to Showtime and gets a national DVD release in late November which is cool because it's really worth watching. This is low budget and a bit slow but a whole lot better than movies like The Return or The Abandoned or The Messengers or Darkness.

• Creepy as hell

  iced_heart72008-10-05

  "Conjurer" starts rather slowly, but once it kicks in full gear, it delivers the scares very effectively and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end. Actually this is one of the best low-budget supernatural horrors I have ever seen, although originality is hardly the case here (haunted cabin, evil witch, malicious raven, etc.). "Conjurer" reminded me of thrillers like "Dark Remains", "The Shining" and "The Amityville Horror". A lot of attention has been paid to the characters, which is always good if you want the viewer to care about them and what is going to happen to them eventually. The cast is great, Andrew Bowen in particular - he delivers a very natural performance and I like the fact that his character doesn't fall into the trap of "having answers for everything", "trying to be a super-hero" or "doing the most irrational things" in the scare-scenes. My one and only negative remark concerns the ending of the film - as one reviewer already mentioned - it doesn't really make much sense, and I think that's because it (the ending) tries to be "supernatural" and "rational" at the same time. It's as if the creators of "Conjurer" couldn't decide between two possible conclusions of the film, so they included both of them as a result. Anyway, if "ghost-horror" movies are your thing and you don't mind low-budget productions, give "Conjurer" a chance. After the first 40 minutes it really succeeds in scaring the living hell out of you.