The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is easily one of the scariest films of the last 10 years. The film has is the complete horror package: great effects, lots of scares and great acting. The Conjuring reminds me of the great 70's horrors The Exorcist and The Omen, which weren't just good horror films, but good films in general - which made them more appealing to a broader audience.

The script is a classic haunted house story in which Paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

Ed Warren, collects haunted artifacts from the couples many paranormal investigations, and keeps them lock away in a specially blessed room in the their home. In the case of this house, the haunted artifact is a little girls doll.

The dark, unsettling atmosphere and constant suspense kept me on the edge of my seat in expectation of the next big scare, especially during the moments when the Warrens venture down into dark basement of the house. The scares in the film are perfectly timed to give the maximum effect.

The acting was great from all the cast with Vera Farmigi's performance standing out  for me. The majority of haunted house films tend to get a little boring, but The Conjuring was non stop thrills and scares all the way. The subtle way the story and unfolded set the perfect pace, and the final twenty minutes were truly thrilling.

The Conjuring is a breath of fresh in a stagnated horror genre, and I would highly recommend it to seasoned horror fans and others alike. Five skulls, enough said.