The Conjuring (2013)

$20 million budget, $321 million worldwide, and the scariest thing in the whole movie is somebody clapping twice. James Wan knows exactly how little he needs. A wardrobe door. A music box. A long, sneaky camera move through the Perron house that shows you every room before anything goes wrong in it, so you spend the rest of the night staring at corners. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play the Warrens like a sweet married couple who happen to make house calls for demons, and that warmth is the secret weapon. You care about these people, so the jolts land. Problem is the finale. All that patient dread gets traded for screaming, flying furniture and a lot of yelling from a prayer book, and the movie gets louder while it gets less scary. That’s a 7.6, because the first two acts are a haunted house masterclass and the last one forgot to stay quiet. $42.03 says the next time somebody wants to play hide and seek in your house, you suddenly have plans.

What works: Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson give the Warrens a real marriage, and James Wan’s patient camera turns an ordinary farmhouse into a map of places to be afraid of.

What doesn’t: The finale swaps quiet dread for screaming and flying furniture, and the movie gets less scary the louder it gets.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who like a slow build and a jump scare that earns it, and anyone who wants to be scared without being grossed out.