Directed by Corin Hardy
Starring Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet
Runtime: 1 hour and 36 minutes
MPAA rating: R for terror, violence, and disturbing/bloody images

by Sandy DeVito

I liked Corin Hardy's sophomore effort about as much as I expected to; that is, more than The Conjuring films that have preceded it (1, 2) and not as much as I was hoping to. James Wan, producer of this film and the director of both Conjuring films, was quoted saying this film was meant to be "inspired by Hammer", the British film studio famous for its cheesy, grotesque, genre-pushing horror films, mostly in the '60s and '70s, all of which I'm a huge fan of, running the gamut of legitimately great Horror of Dracula, The Devil Rides Out to fun exploitation The Vampire Lovers, to contemporary efforts at gothica The Woman in Black. I mean, honestly, the bar was set too high as soon as I heard that. Hammer's special because though many have tried to mimic their particular style and wheelhouse, their films remain one-of-a-kind in atmosphere, performance, and horror credentials. I could see and appreciate the ways this film wanted to be like a Hammer film, but ultimately it falls short, lacking the flair, content to be a sort of cardboard 2D cut-out of Hammer's grand 3D horrors. Still, there were things here I enjoyed.