All the movies in the
What began as a modest haunted house story, inspired by the real-life paranormal investigations of controversial figures Ed and Lorraine Warren, has grown into one of the most lucrative horror franchises in years. “The Conjuring” and its sequels, prequels and spin-offs are blockbuster horror movies, but they are not all created equal.
6. “Annabelle” (2014)
The evil doll named Annabelle was introduced in the first “Conjuring” as the most wicked trinket in the Warren Family vault of horrors, but you wouldn’t know it from watching her first solo film. “Annabelle” takes place in the apartment an impossibly boring family, where the struggling housewife (Annabelle Wallis, “The Mummy”) gradually realizes that their newest collectible doll is evil. It’s a film devoid of genuine dread, which relies entirely on predictable “boo” scares to get a rise out of the audience.
5. ‘The Curse of La Llorona” (2019)
Michael Chaves’ film wasn’t advertised as an official “Conjuring” spin-off, but one of the characters from “Annabelle” shows up, and there’s a flashback to that infernal doll, so it counts. Unfortunately, this movie isn’t very good. Linda Cardellini plays a social worker who accidentally picks up an evil Mexican ghost from one of her clients, and has to enlist an unconventional former priest (Raymond Cruz) to expel the invading spirit.
