James Wan’s newest horror flick, “The Conjuring,” is mostly what I would have expected from the man who gave us “Insidious,” which holds a spot as one my favorite horror movies of all time.

“The Conjuring” follows a family that recently moved into a house where evil forces reside and a married couple that deals in the paranormal and specializes in religious practices.

Like “Insidious,” this movie doesn’t necessarily feel like an entirely new idea as much as it does  a new take on an old idea. But I’m not saying that is a bad thing.

On the contrary, I think what we are left with is a movie that succeeds in doing what every other  horror movie like it attempts to do: keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.

As a movie primarily about evil forces and demonic possession, this movie blends into the plethora of movies that tackle the same topics – not even the name of the movie really helps to distinguish it from its predecessors.

However, I would argue that the style of the movie most certainly does set it apart from many others. Modern horror movies typically rely on a very formulaic approach to making horror movies.

This approach usually involves building up suspense over the course of the entire movie, slowly giving the viewer what they came to see. This style is what the “Paranormal Activity” series operates on, as the first half of most of those movies tends to be lackluster and building towards something.

There is also a lot of empty space and time put into those movies that creates a sense of suspense, but I would argue that it is only successful due to the context of the movies.

I feel Wan creates real suspense with “The Conjuring” and manages to stretch that suspense throughout the course of the movie, which runs for almost two hours – and it doesn’t even feel like overkill.

-Jake Tapley