I would love to sit down and have a dinner conversation with her, if you know what I mean. I have only seen Vera Farmiga in a few films now (The Departed, Orphan, Up in the Air, Source Code, Safe House, and The Conjuring), and with every scene she is in, she just encapsulates me. Patrick Wilson is silently one of my favorite actors, often taking the non-blockbuster role but still holding his own in a natural way. The characters aren't just pieces to tell a larger story, they are the story. Nothing slapstick at all, just the perfect blend of realism like "This is how a person acts in real life," something that Christopher Nolan has never been able to do himself. James Wan has a terrific eye for the horror genre, and likes to display an array of emotions in his films, especially comedy where needed. I was only slightly fatigued by the end of it all. That's okay I guess, but I'm sure this film ran over two hours long, and I think the most appropriate cut would have been about right at two hours. I was fine with what they did by creating more of a slow-burn effect to build up to a large climax, but considering there wasn't much to be considered scary in the second hour, it kind of felt like we got slow-burn for nothing (the end punch was fine, just not nearly as frightening as anything in the first hour is all).
Pacing-wise, the second hour took a strange turn.
The crowd interacted with the film appropriately, and the actors on screen did their due diligence to make you fearful for their well-being. I mean look, what am I supposed to say about a film that is supposedly based on a true story? Sure, they will take their liberties here and there regarding what to make happen and how, but if they say it happened what am I to do in telling them they're doing what happened wrong or overly much? It was the right amount of "more done." In my opinion alone (which will not be consistent with everybody here), the first hour was terrifying (depends on what one considers scary). Sequels have this innate ability to overdo what the previous installment did, and one might say this did it in some sense, but for the most part it played with a dialed-back approach. Production-wise, I thought it was exceptionally well done, and coming off the original one I can definitely say this held its own very well.
For the most part, I came out with a positive vibe with the film.