10 Horror Movies That Use Your Imagination Against You

One problem that has become evident with modern horror films is an over-reliance on cheap and unimaginative jump scares. While the anticipation of these scares may cause a moment of tension, when the inevitable loud noise happens all the suspense is instantly lost until the next scare rolls around.

But one filmmaker who knows how to make mainstream horror frightening again is James Wan, and he did just that with his acclaimed haunted house chiller The Conjuring.

While there are still a handful of jump scares in this film (thankfully none of which are cheap), Wan nevertheless illustrates that he doesn’t need to use them to ensure audiences sleep with the lights on.

In one such scene we see Christine (Joey King) awakened from her sleep by some invisible presence. Terrified, she wakes her sister (Hayley McFarland) to tell her that there's something’s in the room with them, standing in the darkened doorway. But to Christine’s horror, only she seems to see the spirit.

As viewers, we expect something to pounce from the blackness to torment the girls. But noting does. Instead, we’re forced to imagine what sort of malevolent presence could be standing right in front of us.