The Conjuring
It scared the living crap out of me. Only at the movies is that a compliment. So kudos to The Conjuring for putting fresh fire into the overworked haunted-house genre. Based on paranormal investigator Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and his clairvoyant wife, Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) – they worked the Amityville Horror case – the movie doesn't let up. The Warrens are skeptical when they first meet Roger Perron (Ron Livingston), his wife, Carolyn (a killer-good Lili Taylor), and their five daughters. It's 1971 and the family has just settled into a lakeside Rhode Island farmhouse. Then hellfire spits all over them. Director James Wan (Saw) works the R rating for hardcore chills. And Farmiga goes movingly beyond the call of scare duty. Know this: You'll scream your head off.