Dramatizing a case of demonic possession that was chronicled by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the 1970s, James Wan’s massively popular horror movie The Conjuring started its own cinematic universe with sequels and spinoffs still being produced today.
With a 4th Conjuring movie in development and a sequel to the spin-off film The Nun currently filming, the future of the horror universe looks as bright as ever. But there’s no need for fans to starve themselves of scares in the meantime as the best horror movies like The Conjuring deliver both the horrifying thrills and mysterious chills that the first film is famous for.
Oculus (2013)
Both The Conjuring and many of the best horror movies like The Conjuring revolve around the classic horror concept of cursed objects. There is a uniquely chilling quality to a story about an evil house or a demonic item as sinister inanimate objects have the power to take on menacing personalities of their own.
One of the best modern examples of this in film is Mike Flanagan’s Oculus, which sees two siblings grapple with the mind-bending powers of a mirror which appears to have caused traumatic events throughout history, including their childhoods. Conjuring fans are sure to be hooked by the sharp scares but will find that the family drama cuts much deeper.
The Innocents (1961)
Available to stream on ScreenPix
Few horror films are as institutional as The Innocents, which achieves a haunting atmosphere through what it chooses to not show the audience, forcing the viewer to question what they see and to find dread in every detail.
Adapted from Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, this tale of a young governess and her ordeal in a supposedly haunted country estate formed the foundation of the vast majority of haunted house movies that followed it, making it essential viewing for Conjuring fans.
The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016)
Available to stream on AMC+
Mystery is one of the biggest elements driving the scares in the Conjuring franchise, as the viewer uncovers a series of dark truths and hidden histories along with the main characters.
Though The Autopsy of Jane Doe is set almost entirely in one location, the twists and reveals of the story that are uncovered by two coroners as they examine the titular cadaver form an engrossing puzzle that’s as sprawling as it is sinister.
The Night House (2020)
Available to stream on HBO Max
Though the series is famous for its supernatural horror elements, one of the Conjuring franchise’s most integral aspects is its focus on domestic drama, as they depict everyday people struggling with real-life emotional issues. The Night House is another example of how these two storytelling mediums can be seamlessly woven together.
Rebecca Hall leads the film as a newly widowed school teacher struggling to come to terms with her husband’s sudden death as she begins to sense an otherworldly presence within their lakeside home. Naturally, this force is revealed to not be as benign as she hopes but the most disquieting ideas within the plot are as powerful as they are because they’re left formless and abstract.
Verónica (2017)
Available to stream on Netflix and Pluto TV
Some of the best horror movies like The Conjuring, including films that are set within the Conjuring universe, revolve around stories of families struggling to cope in the aftermath of a loss or some other kind of large-scale change to their daily lives. Verónica, which is also based on a real-life incident, attaches these facets to a story set in Spain in the early 1990s.
The eponymous school girl finds her already fractured life upended further when, after attempting to contact her recently deceased father through a Ouija board, she is tormented by a demon. Though fans may think the similarities to The Conjuring are mostly superficial here, both demonic possession and familial strife are explored to their extremes.
The Haunting (1963)
Available to stream on TCM
Many fans of The Conjuring appreciate the movie’s relative restraint and there is no more restrained a horror movie than Robert Wise’s original adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House.
The Haunting is not only a hugely influential landmark in the genre, but it remains today as one of the most flawlessly stylish movies about a haunted house and the story’s subversive subtext can occupy a horror fan’s thoughts for days on end.
The Legend Of Hell House (1973)
Conjuring fans who may want the story of The Haunting but without the subtlety and ambiguity should know that they can have it with minimal impact to the atmosphere through this more colorful take on the core ideas.
While the story of The Legend of Hell House was taken by writer Richard Matheson from his novel of the same name, the similarities between Hell House and Hill House are plain to see. The key difference being that the group of researchers in Matheson’s version take a much more direct and Conjuring-like approach to grappling with the paranormal.
As Above, So Below (2014)
Available to stream on Hulu
Set primarily in a series of hidden caves beneath the Catacombs of Paris, this paranormal found footage film follows a quest to locate the philosopher’s stone which derails into a hellish fight for survival against supernatural forces.
Whether its because of the informative historical aspects or the adrenaline jolts given by the ghoulish horror, Conjuring fans won’t be disappointed by this often visceral and sometimes emotional ride.
Insidious (2010)
Available to stream on Peacock
Conjuring figurehead James Wan is far from a one-trick pony and has directed a number of very well-liked horror movies and action-thrillers over the course of his career so far, creating a number of successful franchises in the process.
Next to The Conjuring, the director has the gory Saw franchise with creative partner Leigh Whannell but a more fitting creation from the two for this list would be the supernaturally-themed Insidious franchise, chiefly the first installment and its sequel which both also star Patrick Wilson in the lead role (who plays Ed Warren in the Conjuring movies).
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Part demonic horror movie and part courtroom legal drama, Scott Derrickson’s exorcism movie isn’t short on loud and shocking frights but is still fundamentally based around quieter theological discussions.
Laura Linney plays a headstrong lawyer tasked with defending Tom Wilkinson’s priest, charged with the death of a young girl during an exorcism. Conjuring fans will recognize both the religious elements at play in the story and the high caliber of performances from the ensemble.
The Babadook (2014)
Available to stream on Pluto TV
Jennifer Kent’s psychological horror movie tackles the idea of a woman being terrorized by an otherworldly force but much less from a demonic perspective and more from an emotional one.
The titular Babadook is creepy enough to be ripped straight from the Conjuring universe, but it’s the dramatic weight behind the relationships of the movie that really sell it.
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Not just one of the most successful independent movies ever made, Oren Peli’s original Paranormal Activity holds a significant place in the history of the found footage genre.
The story of demonic possession was snapped up by prolific horror movie producer Jason Blum and spawned a long-lasting franchise. Both Peli and Blum would also go on to collaborate with James Wan and co-produce Insidious.
The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
Another found footage take on the demonic possession movie, though often thought of as much more of a hidden gem than the considerably more successful Paranormal Activity, The Taking of Deborah Logan uses a fictional documentary of the hard-hitting effects of Alzheimer’s disease as a backdrop for a terrifying tale about a horrific transformation.
As a result of its subject matter, the movie places as much emphasis on drama as it does on horror, and the mixture of the two should be satisfying for many fans of The Conjuring.
The Skeleton Key (2005)
Quite a unique take on the classic creepy old house setup, The Skeleton Key sees Kate Hudson’s carer move into a secluded home in the Louisiana swamps to look after an elderly paralyzed man and his strictly old-fashioned wife.
Her observations of odd goings-on lead her to unravel a dark history involving southern Hoodoo ritualism, and there’s plenty of atmosphere in the visuals of the setting that Conjuring fans will love. But the real horror of the story is in the movie’s historical subtext and its final twist. Make sure to watch it twice.
The Exorcist (1973)
William Friedkin’s adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s religious horror story has a legendary reputation that may seem overblown by today’s standards, but The Exorcist remains a deeply unsettling movie experience.
Though so ingrained in popular culture that it’s been a staple of parody within the horror genre for close to half a century, few demonic possession movies could ever hope to lay claim to its crown.
It (2017)
Available to stream on Netflix and HBO Max
The first half of Andy Muschietti’s two-part tackling of Stephen King’s iconic novel is bursting with enough creative scares to satisfy any Conjuring fan.
Taking place entirely in the 1980s, a detailed period setting adds a lot of personality to the story, as it does in The Conjuring, whilst still feeling entirely new-school in terms of horror.
Mama (2013)
Before the smash-hit success of It, Andy Muschietti made a name for himself in the horror genre with this strange and scary tale of two orphaned sisters who are found living ferally in the woods, appearing to have been raised by a nurturing but darkly dangerous and supernatural spirit that they dub “Mama”.
Mixing unorthodox family drama with Tim Burton-esque lyricism and ghostly frights, Mama would feel right at home in the Conjuring universe’s back catalog.
The Shining (1980)
Master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick took a number of liberties with his acclaimed adaptation of Stephen King’s novel but it produced arguably the most horrifying movie based on the author’s work ever.
Fans still unpack and reexamine the uncanny horrors of this supernatural story even today but the haunting music, and Jack Nicholson’s terrifying lead performance, scare fans just as intensely now as they did 40 years ago.
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Indisputably being one of the greatest and most revered horror movies of all time, Kubrick’s The Shining is one tough act to follow. King did, in fact, write a sequel, and, considering how much Kubrick’s movie deviated from King’s first novel, it made the prospect of a cinematic adaptation of that followup seem all the more impossible.
Despite having to find a way to be a sequel to Kubrick’s The Shining, an adaptation of King’s novel, and its own movie, writer and director Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep provides a thrilling and emotional continuation of the iconic story.
Sinister (2012)
Director Scott Derrickson found even greater mainstream success with Sinister, which, whilst set in the modern-day, has plenty of eerie retro frights thanks to its premise.
Following a writer who discovers a box of 8mm film reels that show gruesome murders, the movie delves into the history of its unsettling ‘Bughuul’ figure and their unique spin on possession, which Conjuring fans will appreciate the ingenuity of.
Dead Silence (2007)
The first movie from James Wan and Leigh Whannell after the success of Saw, Dead Silence began the director down the road of supernatural horror that would lead to Insidious and The Conjuring.
Delivering some of the many scary dolls that would become somewhat of a motif for the director, the movie isn’t quite as memorable as some of his bigger hits but is a fun and macabre detour from the duo into a story of the vengeful spirit of a ventriloquist.
Lights Out (2016)
Produced by James Wan and directed by fellow future DCEU director David F. Sandberg, Lights Out is another high concept horror movie that keeps the focus on its dramatic elements.
Like The Babadook, the movie was adapted from an earlier short film by the director with Sandberg going on to direct the second Annabelle movie within the Conjuring universe.
Poltergeist (1982)
The original Poltergeist from director Tobe Hooper and producer Steven Spielberg brought out so much of the best of each filmmaker that fans still debate today which of them should really be credited as the actual director.
Packed with timeless atmosphere and occasionally gruesome frights that never go too far over the edge, the movie is one of the most seminal in the supernatural horror genre and its fightback against the evil of the spirit world is undoubtedly one of the Conjuring franchise’s biggest influences.
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002)
After several short and direct-to-video films building up his now iconic horror concepts, writer and director Takashi Shimizu finally fleshed his story of a haunted house in Tokyo out into a full-length theatrical feature and the world of J-horror was never quite the same again.
Ju-On: The Grudge remains a masterclass in creating a pervading sense of doom that seems as inescapable as the story’s terrifying ghostly forces. Shimizu would remake the film himself for American audiences, losing little of what makes the original film as successful as it is, but there are few excuses for skipping the Japanese version.
The Ring (2002)
Available to stream on Paramount+
Though taken on by a different director and transplanting the story from its native Japan to the US, Gore Verbinski’s remake of Hideo Nakata’s Ringu, which is debatably the most internationally famous Japanese horror movie of all time, was not only faithful but masterful in its own right.
The story of a haunted videotape that curses all those who watch it to die with 7 days of doing so will certainly remind Conjuring fans of the many demonic objects that litter the cinematic universe, and they certainly won’t be left wanting for intense and visceral scares despite its PG-13 rating.
