Dir: James Wan (15, 94 mins)
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren return in a British set sequel that riffs on the recent Enfield Haunting on British TV. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the real life husband and wife team, picking up six years after the first film, this time exploring the case of a single mother (Frances O’Connor) in North London with four daughters, one of whom has gone a bit low voiced and possessed. Furniture is also flying around rooms, crosses are turning upside down, and it’s not long before there are creepy nuns appearing in mirrors, weird nosebleeds and red eyed demons. The Warrens did really investigate what was one of the longest paranormal cases in history, but of course the scares and ‘facts’ have been amped up for pant soiling effect on celluloid. Madison Wolfe who plays the possessed Janet Hodgson does her best Linda Blair, all funny voices and malevolence, and there’s stalwart support from Brit thesps David Thewlis and Simon McBurney. This, like the first film, benefits from a period setting, tightly controlled tension and genuinely unsettling moments. Wilson and Farming ground the film and James Wan, five times a horror director knows not to miss a trick. Scarily enjoyable. Opens June 17
words KEIRON SELF