The Bottom Line
Pros
- Well acted
- Strong writing
- Creepy atmosphere
Cons
- A bit predictable
Description
- Starring Andrew Bowen, Maxine Bahns, John Schneider, Tom Nowicki, Brett Rice, Edith Ivey, Liz McGeever
- Directed by Clint Hutchison
- Rated R
- DVD Release Date: November 25, 2008
Guide Review - 'Conjurer' DVD Review
Conjurer is a movie that should be shown to every independent horror filmmaker whose lazy efforts clog Blockbuster aisles and Netflix queues across the country. It serves as vivid evidence that it doesn't take a big budget, big names or big special effects to create an engaging, intelligent film that pushes the right buttons for supernatural thrill-seekers.
In the movie, a young couple, Helen and Shawn, moves to a secluded farmhouse after suffering a tragic miscarriage. There's an abandoned cabin in the backyard that Shawn explores, discovering a jar of teeth that belonged to a "conjurer" (a witch) who lived there in the 19th century. Legend has it that she was impregnated by the man who owned the land, but since he was already married, he killed the child, and the witch proceeded to curse the land, vowing never to leave until she got her baby back.
For some, that would be reason enough to pack up and move, but not Shawn. He suffers nightmares, sees lights in the cabin, hears voices, has visions of a ghostly woman, is tormented by a demonic crow and has a wound that just won't heal. Helen, meanwhile, is oblivious to it all.
When Helen becomes pregnant again, Shawn realizes that the ghost has set her sights on the baby, and he has to protect his child while convincing Helen that he's not crazy -- no easy task.
Conjurer succeeds, quite simply, because it has obvious talent behind it. The acting is strong all around, the direction is solid -- eliciting a sense of old-fashioned haunted house storytelling -- and the writing is excellent, managing to pull of the lost art of natural conversation, turning the characters into real people in whom we can invest our energy. The story isn't wholly original and occasionally buys into horror conventions, but overall it's smart and smartly put together.
The DVD
No special features.
Movie: B-
DVD: F
