Weekly Witch Hunt: The Conjuring 2 & Orange is the New Black season 4

We decide what artistic endeavour passed approval to earn the Scorcher label from the past seven days & what also had the dishonour of being that week's Torture...

So as of late it seems that life has been getting in the way of me performing my duties as The Inquisitor.  I haven't had enough spare time to devote to berating or exonerating my recent visual and aural experiences.

With that in mind I thought it best to create a new category that I hope to release each week (hence the title) where I can quickly and succinctly review the previous weeks entertainment.  This won't be a detailed analysis but a brief rundown of one thing that caught my attention and one thing I wish I hadn't wasted my time on.

So without further ado why did these two nominations have the honour of taking out our Scorcher/Torture places for this week?

The Scorcher

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find The Conjuring 2 just as entertaining as the original movie.  Horror sequels are always a tricky proposition due mainly to the cash grabbing reasons most are churned out.

This franchise is helped immensely by the acting talents and chemistry of its two leads: Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.  Both are very engaging and their characters are further developed from where we left off the first time around.  It also has a good supporting cast too.
The story itself is once again based on a real haunting that was investigated by the Warren's; although not to the extent shown on screen; but we can forgive the storytellers for that minor indiscretion.
James Wan has quite a good record when it comes to horror films that hit the right notes.  In what can be one of the most unforgiving genres, he often has a new angle or interesting twist to keep the audience on their toes.
Don't get me wrong, there are tropes aplenty on display and there aren't as many scares as I would normally hope for; plus there is some cheesy dialogue at the end that made my eyes roll.  Even with these drawbacks he still managed to tell a story that kept me engaged.
I wouldn't put Wan in the same class as Dario Argento or Wes Craven at the moment.  I do feel however that in a few years to come his screen credits will be considered quite impressive.

The Torture

Why did I put myself through this after including season 3 amongst last year's Tortures?  I should have known better but I decided to give Orange is the New Black another go.  There are a couple of things that I did like from the season; such as the murder of the prison guard and the cover up that goes with it.
There is so much fat that could do with being trimmed to allow them to focus more on the interesting storylines.  Sticking to the thirteen episodes a season format I feel is hurting the show.  If they condensed the season by getting rid of the chaff it would be all the better for it.
I also have a hard time believing that the guards, in the majority of cases, can be such despicable people.  I know I haven't actually been incarcerated in a women's prison but in this day and age of political correctness; surely some of the guard's actions would be impossible for them to get away with.  This show paints them as the true villains instead of the criminals which is done deliberately but also doesn't feel realistic in some cases.
There are also a lot of half-baked ideas that only go so far and are then suddenly dropped without any further development.  One example is the branding of Alex which is very traumatic at first but by the next episode is not mentioned again.  I found this aspect of the season infuriating.
Knowing the sucker I am though, I am sure I will come back again next season for even more punishment.  Maybe I am the one who needs flogging...