The Conjuring 2
New Line Cinema | Release Date: June 10, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
CineVue Martyn ConterioJun 15, 2016
Director James Wan has delivered what should rightfully be considered his masterpiece. There is a breadth and scale of ambition at work, which really tops anything he's tried in the genre before. Most importantly: it's a resounding success. Read full review
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyJun 9, 2016
With a rich supporting cast, a smart script, and an ensemble that is put through their paces in some intense physical scenes, The Conjuring 2 is that rare horror sequel that stands toe to toe with the original, possibly even improving on it. Read full review
90
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasJun 7, 2016
Wan's secret weapons are clearly Wilson and Farmiga, both such good actors they're able to sell the audience on everything the Warrens experience. The duo also does a great job selling the romantic bond between the Warrens, which helps you fall in love with them as much as you end up falling for the entire Hodgson family. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJun 13, 2016
The Conjuring 2 proves that, with a sufficient investment of time and energy, sequels don’t have to be unsatisfying cash-grabs. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJun 9, 2016
Wan has a gift for investing even the creakiest cliches with shivery élan. Read full review
80
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJun 9, 2016
The Conjuring 2 does everything you want a sequel to do. It’s as well made as the original, but the location and the story are different enough that it’s not just the same thing all over again. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJun 2, 2016
Wan’s expert deployment of genre jolts is no less in evidence this time around, but as he takes his time — perhaps even a bit too much of it — interweaving the Warrens’ story with that of the Hodgsons, in the London borough of Enfield, he crafts a deep dive into dread. The film builds to a symphonic climax of heaven-and-hell emotion. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJun 10, 2016
A complicated, multi-segmented narrative that's much longer, more elaborate, more dramatic, and more packed with chilling moments and hair-raising visuals than one could anticipate, even from Wan. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJun 9, 2016
A supernatural winner. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJun 9, 2016
This isn’t just a good horror film. It’s a good film, which just happens to fall in the horror genre. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittJun 9, 2016
Wan leans into the real history of the 1977 Enfield poltergeist legend, too, though it’s not like he needs any extra inspiration for his fright fest — when it comes to horror, the man pulls no punches or screams. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 9, 2016
Wan is a humane sort of sadist. His latest offers little that's new, but the movie's finesse is something even non-horror fans can appreciate. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 9, 2016
What makes The Conjuring 2 play deeper and darker than a warmed-over version of The Exorcist is director James Wan (Saw, Insidious, Furious 7). This Malaysian-born filmmaker can make his camera do terrifying tricks that are almost supernatural. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnJun 8, 2016
As scary as it is when something abrupt takes place, The Conjuring 2 generates its deepest sense of dread when nothing does, and anything could. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJun 7, 2016
When The Conjuring 2 focuses its efforts on scaring the audience, it succeeds, wildly. And why wouldn’t it? Wan’s got his horror technique locked down at this point. It’s the parts where it wanders away from the basics of creating and releasing tension that prevent it from outdoing its predecessor. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 7, 2016
The Conjuring 2 doesn’t live up to the films that inspired it (or the original) not because of the filmmaking laziness we so often see in horror (especially sequels), but almost because Wan and company are having too much fun to streamline their film. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJun 2, 2016
This sequel might lack the delightful jolts of its predecessor, but it nonetheless maintains a slow boil of terror that’s consistently unnerving. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 2, 2016
Lacking some of the simplicity and elegance of the first instalment, The Conjuring 2 is nonetheless a smoothly efficient horror movie, building to a powerhouse finale rooted in our emotional connection to the film’s well-drawn main characters. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanJun 2, 2016
Wan has a gift that most slam-bang horror directors today do not: a sense of the audience — of their rhythm and pulse, of how to manipulate a moment so that he’s practically controlling your breathing. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 2, 2016
There are some solid scares (Wan is too gifted in the dark art of gotcha manipulation to not make you leap a few times), but there’s nothing on par with the first film’s brilliant hide-and-clap scene with Lili Taylor. If there’s going to be a Conjuring 3—and this movie is just decent enough to suggest there will be—our heroes should be a little choosier about which case they dust off next. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 10, 2016
The movie is a vexing, patience-testing two and a quarter hours, and takes a full hour to get the Warrens on a plane to the UK. But the few, well-spaced out scares are real spine-tinglers. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJun 9, 2016
Wan knows how to sustain tension through terror, though he could have abbreviated the flabby middle of the movie. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickJun 9, 2016
The Conjuring 2 belongs to Wilson and Farmiga as the sincere, loving, slightly square Warrens, with Wan tightening the screws for a rousing series of cliffhangers that should have audiences screaming. Expect another sequel for sure. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 9, 2016
The Conjuring 2 satisfies more than it disappoints. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 9, 2016
Wan retains his touch for ratcheting up the tension, providing doses of comic relief and then BOOM!, delivering another gotcha moment that will leave audiences jumping in their seats and then giggling at the visceral thrill ride — but the scary moments aren’t as fresh this time around, and with a running time of 2 hours, 13 minutes, The Conjuring 2 is at least a half hour too long. At least. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 9, 2016
The Conjuring 2 won't make anyone forget the first film, but it's good enough that you'll hope they make another. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonJun 2, 2016
Director James Wan has his method down. The scares are effective and the camerawork is superb, all lurking long shots and short sharp shocks. Wan is fully aware of the austerity-era parallels in his story, and the period detail is surprisingly authentic.... But there’s little here we haven’t seen before. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJun 9, 2016
The Conjuring 2 is serviceable horror, heavy on the audio stings yet smarter than the average gorefest. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRuss FischerJun 2, 2016
As it fritters away character work and ideas about faith and devotion, this is a film clever enough to scare us but not smart enough to accomplish anything more. Read full review
50
The Film StageDaniel SchindelJun 9, 2016
While The Conjuring 2 smoothly goes through the motions of setup, building anticipation, and payoff in myriad ways, the slickness of the production interferes with any proper sense of dread. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChristopher GrayJun 8, 2016
The Conjuring 2 is a model of heightened tension and uneasy release, but the tropes propelling these night terrors grow stale pretty quickly. Read full review
50
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJun 7, 2016
Wan is coming off the world-conquering success of his wildly entertaining automotive action sequel Furious Seven, and he sometimes seems to be trying to bring the splashy cacophony of that movie into a world that thrives on sparseness and focus. It doesn’t work. Read full review
46
The VergeTasha RobinsonJun 3, 2016
The film doesn't lack nerve-racking sequences or well-tuned jump scares. But it stitches them all together with a profound lack of character consistency. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJun 8, 2016
Refreshingly, there’s nary a cheap scare manifested in this Conjuring, although the unspoken corollary to that is that The Conjuring 2 just isn’t very scary, or even unnerving. Read full review
40
Total FilmMatt GlasbyJun 6, 2016
This furiously bizarre follow-up deserves full marks for throw-everything-at-the-screen entertainment value, but none for execution. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJun 9, 2016
You loved “The Conjuring” in 2013. Now here’s “2,” with more, more, more of what you adored the first time around. Read full review
33
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanJun 2, 2016
It’s slick and stylish to the point of distraction. This isn’t horror; this is exaggerated carnival fare. Read full review
30
ScreenCrushE. Oliver WhitneyJun 9, 2016
If The Conjuring is an example of the haunted house movie done right, The Conjuring 2 is an example of everything gone wrong. You can only retread old tropes so many times. Read full review
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