I’ll be honest, I get tired pretty much every time I see the lazy ‘From the makers of…’ marketing ploy whenever a new trailer rolls around.

In fact, it seems a high-profile studio horror flick rarely gets a release these days without some connection to Saw, Insidious or Paranormal Activity.

Once again that is the case with The Conjuring, although considering director James Wan helmed both Saw and Insidious I suppose we can let them off the hook.

As for the trailer? Well, it seems fairly routine haunted house stuff, with a creepy kid thrown in for good measure.

It doesn’t strike me as anything groundbreaking but, as I said to a colleague recently after we both checked out The Possession, there is still a spot in the market for a solid, by-the-numbers horror flick – if done well.

It certainly has talent on its side, with a solid cast including the likes of Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor (who must surely want to get risible remake The Haunting out of her system) and there are a couple of neat moments in the trailer, so let’s hope for positive stuff come July 19.

About The Author

Simon Fitzjohn

Simon is a journalism tutor in London, who also just happens to be a movie fanatic, with a craving for the darker side of cinema. He has written two books, one on the horror films of director Bob Clark (2014) and the other on the history of the character Norman Bates (2015). His third book, on the work of British exploitation director Pete Walker, is due in 2017.