LogFAQs > #965169176

19. The Conjuring (254 points, loses tiebreaker with an adjusted 221 points)

Why I Chose It: Remember when James Wan directed Insidious, influencing countless films & helping usher in a new breed of blockbuster horror for the decade to come? Well, this motherfucker did it again with The Conjuring, an even MORE successful blockbuster horror film, taking it to its logical conclusion - the massive cinematic universe, with each sequel and spin-off grossing high and influencing their own sub-set of films in their own right. Wan built The Conjuring into a franchise that you could call the "horror MCU", and is the second-highest grossing horror franchise of all time, and could be the first depending on how you categorize Godzilla. The Conjuring also brought higher and newfound attention to real-life paranormal cases, particularly those of relation to Ed and Lorraine Warren (the main protagonists of The Conjuring) and the doll Annabelle.

Tom Nook: 5
BetrayedTangy: 6
fortybelowsummer: 8
Inviso: 10
rockus: 13
PrinceKaro: 17
Snake: 17
red13n: 18
Suprak: 19
FFDragon: 20
jcgamer107: 21
Lightning Strikes: 21
thesmark: 24
Plasmabeam: 27
Johnbobb: 28

Tom Nook - This is the highest ranking film of the ones I hadn't seen prior to this project, and very a pleasant surprise! I know this is a very popular film, but I just never got around to it because supernatural haunting films are usually among my least favorite types of horror films. This avoided all the junk that I normally dislike in them, especially the situation where the supernatural can do anything and everything with unclear rules. In this, Patrick Wilson's character was an expert who knew all the ins and outs, and the supernatural didn't break the established film rules; there weren't vague powers that could do anything. The evil's strategy is to break down people with fear, then possess them once they are weak--Great! Of course overcoming the pitfall that many supernatural films fall into is only one aspect of this being good. This also had very nice pacing and buildup, where the escalation felt natural, and not blowing its momentum on stupid things like dream sequences just so they have an excuse for early jump scares. The movie also made the transition where the characters accept paranormal at a good pace too, without going through the song and dance of "that can't be real", which, while realistic, has made it a tiring mandatory part of these films a lot of times. I think by introducing "the experts" as leads at the beginning, it allowed us to get into that transition more seamlessly, rather than sometimes taking well over an hour before they'd show up. And speaking of them, I also liked ALL the characters, which made me feel more invested. The whole family was likable, and Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were a great duo. My only real gripe with this movie is that the exorcism scene near the end felt too over the top. I think if that had been toned down, just even a bit, I'd probably have put this movie 1 or 2 spots higher! But it was a really great one!

BetrayedTangy - To me The Conjuring is James Wans best movie. Sure, it might not have the insanity of Malignant or the sheer brutality of Saw, but it manages to be an incredible thrill ride from start to finish. The scares are all incredibly paced, well thought out and even implement a cool use of Chekovs Gun here and there. Things like Cindys sleepwalking, the clapping game, even the Warrens trophy room are all used to great effect later in the movie and it just enhances the scares. I also enjoy the Warrens overall story arc here. Theyre established as pretty likable, but still have that sense of arrogance about them. Which makes it hit even harder when we get to see what theyre up against and how Lorraine reacts to it. The technical aspects are also a ton of fun. I love how during the night, when the ghosts start coming out, the camera wastes no time jumping from one scare to another. It creates such a great sense of panic and really puts you in the shoes of the characters. Then the static shots add to it even more, the way the camera lingers on an unnerving shot before hitting you with the jump scare. Its classic horror bread and butter, but its done so well and so frequently that it just doesnt lose its luster and keeps you engaged until the credits roll. One of my favorites for sure.

Fortybelowsummer - I was aware of the Warrens well before The Conjuring came out and their stories single-handedly made me believe in at least the possibility of ghosts being real. Thats why this film is so effective because it really is based on a true story. Of course, it has its Hollywood embellishments, but you cant deny the power it has being rooted in reality. James Wan proves how badass he really is by evolving beyond the torture-porn of Saw and providing a lot of old school chills. While it takes a while to get going and the ending is fairly weak, this is still one of the most important horror movies of all time. It spawned a whole universe (with not always great entries, but still) and remains highly influential.

Inviso - So early in the list, and Ive already had several house possessed by demonic entity movies. But for what it is (and for the fact that I remember the early 2010s, when all those movies came out), the Conjuring does an extremely good job of setting up suspense and really keeping the fear elements going right away in the film. The film has some jump scares (namely the basement clapping scene and the leap from atop the wardrobe), but overall, theres just more tension and spookiness than anything. Its hard to describe; I just think the pacing is solid in this film, and it builds the fear in a solid way. The Annabelle stuff feels a bit tacked on in this film, but whatever. Overall, the film just works for what its going for.

Rockus - I think this largely works because of how much it commits to being a pretty traditional haunted house style horror movie. Even when it delivers some jump scares that tend to be undeserved in this kind of thing it establishes itself through a tried and true setup and payoff method. It kind of loses me a little in the over the top CG heavy finale but I was mostly won over by the time that rolls around anyway. Established a pretty decent mid-tier franchise, the kind of thing that delivers pretty regularly but never one of the best films of the year or anything.

PrinceKaro - A family is haunted by the spirit of a vengeful witch in a decent enough haunted house/possession film that plays it incredibly safe and hits all the marks that have been hit a million times before.

Things go bump in the night. Paranormal investigators are called in. An exorcism is performed. The story is always interesting, but the plot is paint by numbers and had weirdness like this thing with the evil doll that they kept pushing but ultimately went nowhere and I am like what is even the point of this being in the movie? Did somebody think they didn't have nearly enough overused horror elements in their film as is?

The only thing that needs to be conjured up here is some originality.