In 1971, the Perron family moves into an old house in Rhode Island and it doesn’t take long for unexplainable things to happen there; eventually, they contact the Warrens (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga), paranormal investigators. Echoing Poltergeist, The Exorcist, American Horror Story and the director’s own Insidious, this wildly successful horror movie (which is loosely based on real events) doesn’t get points for originality. But James Wan is so good at building tension and delivers shocks in such a skillful way that it’s hard to resist. The period details are icing on the cake, and the actors make it easy for us to root for their characters.

2013-U.S. 112 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Rob Cowan, Tony DeRosa-Grund, Peter Safran. Directed by James Wan. Screenplay: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes. Cast: Vera Farmiga (Lorraine Warren), Patrick Wilson (Ed Warren), Lili Taylor (Carolyn Perron), Ron Livingston (Roger Perron), Shanley Caswell, Hayley McFarland.

Trivia: Followed by a prequel, Annabelle (2014), and two sequels, starting with The Conjuring 2 (2016).

Last word: “After ‘Insidious’ I didn’t really want to do another haunted house ghost story movie, right? But the opportunity to tell a movie about the Warrens was what made it exciting for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the Warrens and the chance to tell a movie through their point of view was very interesting. Now I know there are skeptics out there of what they do and that’s fine. People can have their own opinion of who these people are, but you know I’m not here to judge them, I’m here to make a scary drama based on their stories and experiences and the experiences of the Perron family as well.” (Wan, Slashfilm)

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