Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren are back as the paranormal duo to investigate a haunted house in England. This time, a grumpy old man refuses to leave the home where he died and torments the single mother and four children who live there.

While there is plenty of evidence that this old geezer spirit is attempting to overtake the body of Janet, one of the children, there are other paranormal investigators who are skeptical about it all being a hoax.

As in the first movie, it uses methodical setup and plot development to limit the scares early, but ramp up the fear toward the end. It’s an effective strategy and the only real misstep was when Ed and Lorraine are pushed into the hoax believer category, before realizing that something more sinister was at play. This part slowed down the 2-hour runtime in an unnecessary way, because it made the normally smart characters seem like dopes. 

This movie also has the introduction of the Nun and Crooked Man characters who leave you wanting less in the good kind of awful way. Both the characters are truly frightening and I really like how these movies plant seeds for other possible threads down the line, as I’m aware there are two Nun movies. I am also aware that I will need to buy more underwear before watching those movies.

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