THE CONJURING (2013) Review

James Wan’s The Conjuring attempts to overcome the stereotypical “female victimization” in horror cinema, while also navigating the molds of this tradition. However, when I watched the film as a female critic, I discovered a different narrative hidden between the lines: the fragility of motherhood, the power of intuition, and the historical role of women in spiritual experiences.

The film, which tells the story of the paranormal events experienced by the Perron family in the 1970s, places two female characters at its center: Carolyn Perron and Lorraine Warren. One is a mother, the other a paranormal investigator. Both go beyond the “screaming woman” image that the horror genre has presented to us for years. While Carolyn is a figure who pushes her physical and spiritual limits to protect her children, Lorraine demonstrates a leadership that sures her male colleagues with her intuitive wisdom.

Horror cinema often uses the woman’s body as a battlefield the devil enters, spirits are haunted, madness ensues. The Conjuring continues this tradition. However, this time, the devil attacks not only the woman’s body, but also her motherhood. As the entity that haunts Carolyn’s body tries to transform her into a tool that will harm her children, this story actually reveals the historically sanctified and yet repressed nature of motherhood. The myth of the “sacred mother” is not refuted here; on the contrary, it reveals how defenseless and alone she is left.

The character of Lorraine Warren opens up a different area: a woman who acts with a silent intuition, far from showmanship but who rules with her knowledge. The intuitive power of women is confirmed repeatedly throughout the film. The importance of empathy, spiritual connection and emotional intelligence, rather than physical strength, is emphasized in paranormal investigations.

In this respect, Lorraine represents a form of knowledge that is excluded by the male understanding of science. The discourse of feminist epistemologies that “the personal is political” is embodied in Lorraine’s intuitive power.

Of course, the film is not a completely redeemed narrative. The power of the female characters is still ed and sanctified by a male figure (Ed Warren). In addition, the fact that the evil being is depicted as a "woman" (Bathsheba) reproduces the cliché of the female body being used as both a victim and a perpetrator. This duality shows that we have still not fully emerged from the shadow of patriarchal fears.

However, the most striking aspect of The Conjuring is that it creates a space where women can be not only the object of fear but also its subject. Motherhood, intuition, resilience, and empathy all these emotions that give meaning to fear and confront it throughout the film belong to the experiential world of women. And perhaps for this reason alone, The Conjuring is much more than a horror film to be watched and forgotten.

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My Score 8.5/10

Fin