Reviews

"Star Wars," "The Crow" and "Lord of the Rings" artist Busch branches out with this low-budget, independent horror film in which he and his model/actress girlfriend Wilkinson play themselves. After an introduction that probably gives us far more background info on himself than was necessary, we learn that Busch's high profile pop-culture illustration career is starting to sap his personal creativity. He sets out to create a project that's more satisfying to him, and ends up in the local cemetery. There, he finds a photograph of a Spanish-style castle propped up against a tombstone. He brings it home, deciding to paint the castle, and immediately immerses himself in the project. Of course, this means he virtually ignores Sarah, who is a bit too nonchalant over things like water bottles, wine glasses, and candles that suddenly start moving by themselves. Matt starts sketching ghosts that he imagines inhabiting the castle in some remote, South American jungle, and he becomes obsessed with the project's dark, eerie intensity. That night, their burglar alarm's motion detector goes off, and Matt finds his art supplies laid out in a vaguely supernatural pattern -- one he's already sketched -- on the floor. The next day, while working on the painting, he and Sarah are subjected to some poltergeist activity before being somehow transported to the castle in his painting. With no memory of how they got there, or even where the castle actually is, Matt starts exploring the large, seemingly empty house. There are many familiar items from his sketches, which doesn't seem to phase him at all. Sarah, spooked by the house, waits outside, but is soon spooked by what appears to be a mild breeze that has access to a Shaky-cam. She runs back inside, finding a large crate that's making noises. Inside it, she and Matt find what appears to be the wrapped body of a young woman. There's no sign of a phone, a radio, or any communications device, and the house appears to be in the middle of an impenetrable jungle. Plus, Matt shows Sarah the basement, where his painting of the house rests. Matt decides they should just stay put and hope that the owners come home soon. But that night, Sarah is awakened by chanting from the basement, and when they try to leave the house, they find themselves locked inside! They must solve the riddle of the castle -- did Matt somehow create it from his imagination, or did this place connect to his inner darkness? After several encounters with the spirits from Matt's sketches, they come to realize their only way out of the castle is for Matt to finish the painting. As he uses colored pencils found on the basement floor to complete it, the spirits seem to close in. Finished, they are transported back to Matt's studio in their home. But, each now sports a tattoo on their arm of the symbol drawn in blood on the walls of the castle's basement. And, it seems they didn't return home alone, as the spirits from the sketches now inhabit the house, and seem intent on destroying them both. Busch has crafted an ambitious ghost story that's intensely personal, but ultimately suffers from the weakness of his and Wilkinson's performances. The ghostly effects work well, but when they try for even the simplest stunt work, it looks either fake or comical. Plus, you never really get the feeling that either of them is in peril, and Sarah's split-second acceptance that they've somehow been transported through time and space is absurd. Busch borrows elements from "Evil Dead," "The Blair Witch Project," and other, derivative horror films; sometimes effectively, and sometimes not. The castle location is quaint and quite charming, but it never really evokes a true sense of dread, no matter how many skulls or 3-D images of Jesus they toss around the interior. Obviously, a lot of effort went into "Conjure," and there's a few moments of intensity on screen, but nothing that's sustained for its entire length. The pacing is erratic, as scenes either whiz by, or drag on with a numbing ineptitude. Busch should definitely leave the acting to the professionals, as he comes across wooden in some scenes, and whiny in others. Wilkinson would greatly benefit from acting lessons, though, because the camera really loves her, and she has a few effective on-screen moments. Ultimately, you feel that, somewhere in Conjure, there's a really good chiller trying to escape the inexperience of its director. In the DVD extra's "Making of …" featurette, Busch as much as admits that he cobbled the plot together as he went along, taking advantage of a Christmas trip to the castle location … which is actually in North Hollywood, CA. Other bonus features include deleted scenes, an alternate ending, the Conjure premiere, bloopers and outtakes, an interactive sketch book, trailers, and animatics for Busch's next project, "Crisis."