The Conjuring

"Boy James Wan sure does have a thing for dolls. And it's a good thing, as some stuff with a doll is the only really interesting thing that happens in The Conjuring."

"A sensationally entertaining old-school freakout and one of the smartest, most viscerally effective thrillers in recent memory."

"Like the wood-grained farmhouse itself — a beautiful piece of production design by Julie Berghoff — The Conjuring has an analog solidity that makes the terror to come almost unbearable."

"With The Conjuring, [Wan] once more turns the familiar terrifying, making it easy to fear what’s behind that closed door, or under the bed, or just around the corner, making a creaking noise that doesn’t sound quite right."

"The handsomely shot, expertly button-pushing scare-fest has the polish and the cast to draw older audiences who grew up on shockers built from performances rather than CGI."

"The Conjuring manages to place individuals in one isolated situation after another, where the editing and music are perfectly timed to capitalize on the payoff scare moment."

"As an exercise in classical scare tactics, delivered through an escalating series of primo setpieces, The Conjuring is often supremely effective."