When it comes to modern horror creators, it’s hard not to put James Wan high on the list. His contributions to the genre have even included kickstarting the Saw franchise. His brand of horror blends classic jumpscares with ideas that aren’t afraid to take supernatural horror to the next level. Two great examples of this are his films Insidious and The Conjuring.
Insidious follows a family as they struggle to find the supernatural root that has caused their son to fall into a coma. However, as they dig deeper for answers, they learn that something is waiting for them. The Conjuring is a retelling of a case conducted by real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The film shows the lengths one couple will go to protect a family. Both films offer top-notch scares and stories, but while they deal with spirits and malevolent entities, which film is truly the most terrifying?
The Conjuring Boasts More Critical Acclaim Than Insidious
When Insidious was released in 2010, it was given moderate to positive reviews. According to Metacritic, the average critic rating puts the film at 52 while audiences gave the movie a 7.3. However, Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 66 percent with critics and 62 percent with audiences, showing less of a divide. Comparatively, The Conjuring fared more positively, with Metacritic’s scores being 68 and 8.2 for critics and audiences, respectively. Rotten Tomatoes has the film at 86 percent with critics and 83 percent with audiences. The small game between audiences and critics shows that The Conjuring is more universally praised from a critical perspective. That being said, a large cause for this could be because The Conjuring came three years after Insidious. At that point, Wan had perfected his craft even more, and the story itself had real-world ties that audiences could latch onto more easily.
The Conjuring Universe Expanded Into Spin-offs
Following the success of the original Insidious, the franchise released a sequel and two more prequels from 2013 to 2018. While this is great for the franchise, it has since been overshadowed in quantity by the universe that The Conjuring spawned. Since the first film, The Conjuring Universe has spawned into multiple films covering The Nun, Annabelle and La Lollorna. With no signs of stopping, the franchise has even released comic prequels to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. There’s also hope that sequels to spin-offs like The Nun will be coming soon.
The Conjuring Might Be Scarier Than Insidious
When it comes to jump scares, both The Conjuring and Insidious are evenly matched. From the Red Demon to Parker Crane, there is no shortage of unsettling characters and moments. However, The Conjuring shows how Wan perfected his narrative style with a camera as he utilizes editing and surprises to create great jump scares. An excellent example of this is when a sheet flies off a clothesline and gets caught by an invisible object, outlining a person before it fades away.
The Conjuring‘s stakes are also more tangible. Insidious does a great job at the themes of a father protecting his son. That being said, The Conjuring excels at taking a real story and bringing to life the family dynamic that mirrors the real victims. By placing them in danger, audiences can feel the terror the parents and children feel as they try to stay together against an enemy they can’t see. Coupled with Ed and Lorraine’s immensely powerful and loving bond as a couple, there’s a surprising amount of relatability and helps raise the stakes even higher.
The Conjuring vs. Insidious: Which Film Wins?
Insidious is undoubtedly terrifying and not for the faint of heart. However, what separates it from The Conjuring is how it deals with its ghostly villains. On its own, it’s a unique twist on possession and haunted house stories that offers unique ideas to the medium. But The Conjuring ultimately surpasses it because of how it handles its content. By making the story a period film, it takes audiences into a familiar world but different. Plus, the film being based on real events makes viewers feel like it could even happen to them. As a result, the fear is more real, and the scares are more effective.
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