Granted, I wasn't really harboring much of any expectations to this 2022 horror movie titled "Conjuring: The Beyond" from writer and director Calvin Morie McCarthy. Why? Well, it just seemed like it was a dubious horror movie cashing in on the success of "The Conjuring" franchise.

But still, I opted to watch "Conjuring: The Beyond" on the account of it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen. And I should have taken heed of the low rating that the movie had bagged here on IMDb, as it was a very clear indicator of what to expect.

Well, the storyline told in "Conjuring: The Beyond" was adequate enough, however the narrative was just too mundane, slow-paced and uneventful. I mean, you have to go 43 minutes into the movie before anything of even the slightest interest starts to happen, and by then it was just too little, too late. So yeah, don't get your hopes up for "Conjuring: The Beyond", because this was not a gem in the horror cinema.

The acting performances in "Conjuring: The Beyond" were somewhat fair enough, taking into consideration that the actors and actresses had very little to work with in terms of a properly written script, or even an interesting storyline.

Visually then you're not in for a grand cinematic experience, should you opt to sit down and watch "Conjuring: The Beyond". It was okay enough for a movie of this caliber and magnitude, I guess. But this wasn't something that impressed me.

I gave up on the movie with just 53 minutes into the ordeal. By then I just couldn't take any more of this slow-paced nonsense. "Conjuring: The Beyond" failed to entertain me, and this is not a movie that I will ever return to attempt finish watching. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror fans to waste their time, money or effort on. Some of us suffered through this in greater or smaller length, so you don't have to.

My rating of "Conjuring: The Beyond" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

What an insult to the Conjuring franchise. A bunch of acting noobs let loose on a dreadful script. The "horror" is laughable but the acting, editing, and effects are horrific.

This is a cookie cutter script but the name recognition drags you in, unfortunately. A small budget doesn't need to be a barrier to a good movie but that's not the case here. At least the cinematography isn't bad. It does look like a more expensive movie; good colour saturation, nice focus, good angles. I really can't be angry about that aspect. Everything is "zum kotzen".

Who greenlit this? Who cast it? Who watched it?

No, this is not connected to "the Conjuring", I think that was a given, but I have to say this is at least different. I chuckle a little at all of the nods to classic films like "the Haunting", "bride of Frankenstein", and "nightmare on elm street". But you can tell that it was done in good fun.

If you can look past the obvious marketing tactic of using popular franchise word association, than I think you'll find this slow burn entertaining and at times a little hypnotic.

The acting is solid, the special effects punch above their weight class, and for the love of god at least we got something at least TRYING something different.