A genuinely scary horror film that entertains despite it being familiar and predictable. Director James Wan succeeded in making a worthy sequel that had great scares and a horrifically tense atmosphere especially in the first act.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga had great chemistry together and the film/franchise really sold the premise based on these two actors. In particular, Farmiga anchored the film with her character's faith, love and strength. Frances O'Connor held her own as the mother-of-the-haunted-child, although she never really allowed herself to be totally immersed into that genre/stereotype - which can be good or bad depending on your attitude towards these films.
Pity the children were not scary. Similarly, neither was the "villain" which came across more Babadook than Puzuzu and lacked the horror that Wan so meticulously built up.
Running at 134 minutes, it was just a tad too long and the finale felt rushed. As effective as the first act was, it could have been shortened, but hey, that was where most of the good bits are - the haunting before the "experts" come to the scene.
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