20 Scariest Horror Movie Moments Of The 21st Century
5. The Nun Painting - The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The only film series to appear twice on the list, The Conjuring manages to conjure up even more horrible scares in its sequel, focusing on the awful antics of the demon nun Valak as it terrorises a London family.
Most would run as fast as they could in the opposite direction when faced with a white-faced demonic nun in their home, but apparently Vera Farmiga’s Lorraine is made of stronger stuff. Following a vision of Valak into her study, she encounters her husband’s horrible painting of the nun, leering menacingly out of the stillness.
After Lorraine witnesses a series of spooky tricks straight from the horror movie handbook, including lights turning off and music starting to play by itself, an unnerving shadow of Valak creeps across the wall and into the painting. There, Valak erupts towards Lorraine in a cacophony of noise and sheer fright, blasting her through the opposite wall to the sound of not-so-heavenly choirs.
It’s one of the few moments on this list to make extensive use of advanced CGI effects, but it’s none the weaker for it; the innovative tricks only amplify the thrill of the scare. Although frankly, the painting was frightening enough even before this incident.