Film

The Conjuring

Name: The Conjuring
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2013
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, Hayley McFarland

A slow-build, expertly engineered haunted-house film that trades gore for dread — creaking stairs, hidden closets, a hand-clapping game that turns unbearable. James Wan resurrects old-school scare craft with real technical control, anchored by Farmiga and Wilson's warm, believable Warrens. Great for anyone who wants to be genuinely unsettled without wading through torture-porn excess.

TMDb rating

7.5

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Wan's earlier haunted-house film, and arguably his most purely frightening — a family besieged by something that follows them, built on the same patient dread and jump-scare craftsmanship.

But The astral-projection mythology gets busier and weirder as it goes, and some find the tonal swerve into that lore silly.

The Conjuring 22016no page yet

The direct sequel, and genuinely the rare follow-up that matches the original — the Enfield case gives Wan an even bigger, more theatrical set piece to stage.

But Longer and more sprawling, with a subplot villain that some found more gimmicky than scary.

Sinister2012

A different flavour of dread — a true-crime writer discovers cursed home-movie footage — but the same commitment to sound design and slow-dawning horror over jump-scare spam.

But Bleaker and nastier by the end; it doesn't offer the Warrens' comforting sense that good will win.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Ghost Adventures2008no page yet

Same premise — professional paranormal investigators walking into a haunted building — stripped of Hollywood polish and played disarmingly straight, which is its own kind of eerie.

This is what Ed and Lorraine's actual job looks like without the orchestra and the lighting rig — real investigators, real EVP recorders, wandering real abandoned buildings at 2am.

But It's unscripted reality TV, cheaply shot and often unintentionally funny rather than frightening.

The Exorcist1973

The foundational text this whole genre is quoting — clinical, patient, and still disturbing fifty years on, with a sense of religious dread The Conjuring borrows wholesale.

But Slower and more clinical than modern horror; some viewers find its pacing a real test.

Paranormal Activity2007

Strips the formula down to its bones — a fixed camera, an empty room, a door that moves an inch too far. Proof the scares don't need a budget.

But Found-footage shakiness and low production values will grate on anyone who wants polish.

Poltergeist1982

A gleeful, big-budget classic about a suburban family and the thing living in their television — more theme-park thrill ride than slow dread, but hugely influential.

But The effects and pace show their eighties age, and it leans more spectacle than genuine terror.

Hereditary2018

Takes the family-under-supernatural-siege premise and pushes it somewhere far darker and stranger, trading jump scares for accumulating grief and dread.

But Considerably heavier and more disturbing; this is not comfort horror, and the ending divides people.

The Amityville Horror1979

Another supposedly-true haunted-house case, another family fleeing a house that won't let them go quietly — the genre's other big real-crime touchstone.

But Dated effects and a slower burn than modern audiences may expect from the setup.

The Babadook2014

A mother and son besieged by something that may be a monster or may be grief itself — a haunted-house film with real psychological teeth.

But Ambiguous by design; if you want a monster that's definitely just a monster, this will frustrate you.

The Haunting1963

A direct ancestor of Wan's whole aesthetic: the belief that suggestion and sound design terrify harder than anything CGI can show you.

Robert Wise's black-and-white haunted-house film that scares you with sound, camera angles and a house's crooked geometry — never once showing you the thing itself.

But No jump scares, no gore, nothing overtly supernatural on screen — patience is the entire deal here.

Beetlejuice1988

Same bones as the Conjuring formula — a haunted house, a family, an outside expert called in to deal with the entity — inverted into gleeful, anarchic comedy instead of dread.

A young couple dies, becomes ghosts, and hires a demon to exorcise the horrible living family who's moved into their house — the exact Conjuring skeleton, played entirely for laughs.

But It's a manic, cartoonish comedy — if you want another scary night, this will actively undercut it.