The Babysitter and the 10 best horror movies to watch on Netflix on Halloween 2019
By Carla Davis
2. The Conjuring
Nothing says “Halloween” like a good ol’ ghost story, right? Well, not only is The Conjuring a ghost story, it’s based on a TRUE ghost story involving legendary paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The Warrens (as played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) are asked to help the Perron family, who recently moved into an old farm-house in Rhode Island. With five daughters and a dog, the Perrons have a house full, and it soon turns out that there are additional housemates they didn’t bargain for.
The Conjuring is pretty much a perfect ghost movie. It is intensely scary (the Hide and Clap scene and the exorcism scene are both hair-raising), and you genuinely feel for the family. Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston, as Carolyn and Roger Perron, are definitely sympathetic characters, and how could you not love Ed and Lorraine?
The Conjuring also introduced us to an evil doll named Annabelle, who later appeared in additional horror movies with the launch of her own franchise. It’s worth noting that the real Annabelle has no physical resemblance at all to the terrifying movie version; instead, she is a placid-looking Raggedy Ann doll.
The Conjuring 2 is also very good, and while I didn’t care for Annabelle, I did enjoy Annabelle: Creation. There are, of course, other horror movies within the Conjuring Universe, but I have not seen them yet, so you are on your own there.