The name James Wan has become completely synonymous with the horror genre. He directed and created the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time with The Conjuring and has directed or helped to produce countless other popular horror films, all starting with the 2004 movie Saw, which also spawned a franchise.
So which of Wan's films are most worth watching and which can you skip? This list is based solely on films he directed.
Saw (2004)
- Cast: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, and Leigh Whannell
- Where to stream: Rent/purchase from digital retailers
- Verdict: WATCH
The first feature film collaboration of long-time creative partners James Wan and Leigh Whannell holds up as one of the best serial killer horror movies of all time, introducing an all-time horror villain in John Kramer, a.k.a. the Jigsaw Killer, played by Tobin Bell. Nowadays, the Saw movies are nearly synonymous with the ephemeral horror subgenre dubbed "torture porn," but it didn't start that way.
As a fan of the franchise, I've enjoyed most of the films, but there's a clear difference between the gritty simplicity of the first vs. the elaborate traps featured in later entries, designed to disgust and disturb the audience. The first movie was actually not all that bloody, with most of the gore happening off-screen. However, the storyline involving Jigsaw and his twisted morality became the bedrock for a successful franchise still ongoing to this day with an eleventh film in the works.
Dead Silence (2007)
- Cast: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, and Bob Gunton
- Where to stream: Rent/purchase from digital retailers
- Verdict: SKIP
Another Whannell x Wan collaboration, but one that was much more poorly received than Saw, which is saying something because critics basically hate the Saw franchise for the most part (Saw X was the first in the entire series to get something other than a "rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes).
Featuring common horror staples like dark family secrets and a creepy ventriloquist doll, Dead Silence earned a cult following in the years following its release, with many people feeling the film had been unfairly judged at the time, overshadowed by Wan's previous film. Despite appreciation for Dead Silence growing, I still don't think it's a great film. I didn't find any of the "fun" factors its fans enjoy, and instead, only a dull script that made for a tedious watch.
Insidious (2010)
- Cast: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey
- Where to stream: Hulu and Peacock
- Verdict: WATCH
The first—and, in my opinion, only—good film in the Insidious franchise. It's really hard to top the original. But Insidious was one of Wan's first collaborations with Patrick Wilson, who would later star in The Conjuring franchise.
Again, Wan worked on this film with Whannell, who wrote the script. The story follows a family trying to figure out how to save their son after he falls into a mysterious coma and gets transported to an astral plane plagued by demons. The film remains a classic for some of its iconic jump scares and its ominous Lipstick-Face Demon.
The Conjuring (2013)
- Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, and Lili Taylor
- Where to stream: Rent/purchase from digital retailers
- Verdict: WATCH
It is a testament to Wan and Whannell's creative prowess that they were behind a few mega horror franchises like Saw and Insidious, and then Wan would continue with his affinity for terrifying paranormal stories with The Conjuring, the film that started the billion-dollar franchise.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play demonologists Lorraine and Ed Warren, based on the real couple. In the 2013 film, the Warrens are called to investigate the Perron family haunting, and we're also first introduced to Annabelle. After The Conjuring came two more movies in the initial trilogy, with a fourth (and final) on the way, along with multiple spinoff properties like an Annabelle series and The Nun films.
Insidious 2
- Cast:
- Where to stream: Rent/purchase from digital retailers
- Verdict: SKIP
While future Insidious installments would play around with the timeline, venturing forward and back to explore the Lambert family and Lin Shaye's character Elise Rainier, Insidious 2 is a direct follow-up to Insidious. While I marked this one as a skip, it's worth watching at least once.
I don't think it's on par with Wan's other directorial works. Insidious 2 isn't the worst in the franchise, and it steadily went downhill with every subsequent film, but it still lacks the spark the first film had. Where Insidious felt fresh, Insidious 2 retreads too much familiar ground, and even its twists aren't all that surprising.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, and Franka Potente
- Where to stream: Rent/purchase from digital retailers
- Verdict: WATCH
It's not often that a sequel ends up being almost as great as the preceding film, but The Conjuring 2 was downright terrifying. This time, the story follows investigators Ed and Lorraine as they travel to London to attend to a family plagued by a poltergeist.
A few moments from this movie live rent-free in my head, including the initial Crooked Man scene. The sequel helped cement The Conjuring's franchise potential, and unfortunately, the follow-up film, The Conjuring 3, couldn't live up to the lofty expectations. Here's hoping the fourth movie will be better.
Malignant (2021)
- Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, and Michole Briana White
- Where to stream: Max
- Verdict: WATCH
Malignant might be the most polarizing of Wan's films, but it happens to be my favorite, or at least close to the top. It's hard to describe Malignant without going into details that would spoil its plot, but it's a wild, mind-boggling film that leans heavily into camp.
You'll either gel with its chaotic vibe, or you won't. Annabelle Wallis stars as a woman plagued by nightmarish visions of people getting murdered and soon learns that those "visions" might be more frightening and real than she anticipated.