The Conjuring 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 3¾/5

Plot Synopsis: In 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologists Lorraine (VERA FARMIGA) and Ed (PATRICK WILSON) Warren are summoned to the home of Carolyn (LILI TAYLOR) and Roger (RON LIVINGSTON) Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have recently moved into a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. Though the manifestations are relatively benign at first, events soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house’s macabre history.

Quick Hit Review: The Conjuring was a financial, and critical, success upon its release way back in 2013 spawning three sequels (Conjuring: Last Rites to be released in September 2025), a few spin-offs (Annabelle and The Nun), not to mention loosely connected movies with characters reprising their roles (Wolves at the Door and The Curse of La Llorona). I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been a big fan of most of the Conjuring Universe films, aside from the first two Conjuring movies.

Directed by James Wan, who made a splash with Saw in 2004, The Conjuring is a well made and polished supernatural horror movie that certainly has plenty of creepy moments, so much you can ignore some of the more questionable scenes, one of which finds the demonic spirit wrecking all sorts of crashing and noises throughout the house yet children never wake up. Its minor quibble I suppose but one that’s always bugged me in each of my (now several) viewings of the film… Taking that aside, though, this is one I genuinely enjoy re-watching and I absolutely love the chemistry Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have between one another to the point they are one of the saving graces of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

The film is filled with plenty of trickery you expect from these supernatural-horror films with your usual jump scares but when the film hits its peak, James Wan’s expert direction takes hold and even kept me on the edge of my seat, which says something as I’m normally not a fan of the genre (mainly because the in-universe rules tend to bend to whatever the filmmaker wants). Going on 12 years after its original release, The Conjuring stills holds up really well even if the “inspired/based on true events” aspect is loose at best, I still found it highly entertaining.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5

This release comes with a matted slip cover and a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.

• Scariest of Them All (7:47) — The cast and creators take a look back at some of the greatest scares of the series, uncovering what made these films so iconic.
• Reflections on The Conjuring (6:45) — The cast and crew of reflect on their experiences creating one of the most legendary horror series in history.
• The Conjuring: Face to Face with Terror (6:37) — Relive the real-life horror as the Perron family comes together to reflect back on the farmhouse they shared with diabolical spirits for nearly a decade.
• A Life in Demonology (15:37) — The real demonologist and paranormal experts you inside their life’s work and into their personal occult cellar, where they keep haunted and unholy relics from their many cases.
• Scaring the “@$*%” Out of You (8:02) — Director James Wan welcomes you into his world and gives an inside look at the at the scenes that scare the “@$*%” out of moviegoers time and time again.

VIDEO – 4½/5

The Conjuring haunts us debuting on 4K Ultra HD where it’s presented in the original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer. As with any of these releases there’s no mention on where the 4K was sourced from but looking at this transfer I wasn’t especially impressed. That’s not to say it looks bad but this is a dark movie even the daylight scenes so colors are muted while detail I felt was decent and the natural grain was still intact. In addition, the movement of the camera resulted in a smooth motion without any noticeable jittering, and there were no apparent artifacts or aliasing. I would say it’s a modest upgrade over its Blu-ray counterpart.

AUDIO – 4¾/5

The disc comes with a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and there’s nothing to suggest this isn’t the same codec as the older 2014 Blu-ray. Even so, it’s quite good with nice use of the front and rear channels especially when the demons wreck havoc on the family and home.

OVERALL — 3¾/5

The Conjuring is one of the better supernatural-horror-thriller in spite of a few plot holes (or conveniences). Under the skilled direction of James Wan, this is an all-around entertaining movie especially with the chemistry shared between Farmiga and Wilson.