Subtlety is the key

Rating: 7/10 (22 August 2013)

How often do you see movies nowadays that use predictable jump scares to bore you to death? If you've seen 1 you've seen them all but this movie does it right by building atmosphere and tension and being subtle.
It starts of a bit slow but thats how these movies should start. You get familiar with the family, the house and the Warrens. Pretty quickly things get pretty weird and the Warrens come to help.
From the beginning everyone involved believes in the ghosts that haunt the house. (except the sheriff but he gets convinced pretty quickly.) You don't see that in today's horror movies. There are always a few skeptical characters that annoy you to death.
They also don't move because 1) who could help out a family of 7 in the early 70's? and 2) the ghosts would follow them anyway. In a lot of other haunted house movies this important thing just gets left out.
The things that scare you in this movie are the subtle things and the ghosts are not revealed long enough to become not scary anymore and scenes where you think something is going to pop up nothing happens.
Most of the things that happen in this movie have been seen before but this movie does it so well that it seems refreshing.
The characters are likable and the whole thing is well-acted. The camera work is fantastic as well.
This movie is without a doubt the best horror movie of the year. If you haven't seen it go and check it out.