The Conjuring (2013)

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

The first James Wan movie to appear on the list, and the first of like a thousand movies in the greater "Conjuring universe."  Most of them tend to not be very good.  But they came from a solid foundation.

I wouldn't say this movie brings a ton of new ideas to the table.  Even for a Wan movie - Insidious predates it by a few years.  What it does do, is take 40 years worth of horror tropes, and deliver them at a high level. 

Especially the jump scare.  This movie has a ton of them.  If I dared watch it with my wife she'd probably scream loud enough to get the police called.

But it doesn't lean entirely on that, as the entire movie fosters a creepy atmosphere that leaves you constantly uneasy.

Finally, shout out to a stellar cast, led by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

The Babadook (2014)

A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.

This is one of those movies that people seem to either love, or not care for so much.

I don't know why people don't like it.  Maybe there's too much subtext for them.  Not that it matters, because even if you're just looking for a straightforward horror movie, it delivers.  It is creepy as all fuck, with some of the most tense scenes in the last couple decades of horror, a great monster, and, again, a great cast, with a child lead who more than holds his own.

It Follows (2015)

A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.

Speaking of... this is yet another movie that people either rave about, or abhor. 

In fact, I saw it in the theaters with a group of buddies (something I usually avoid at all costs, as I find it much scarier to watch movies by yourself in the dark), and afterwards we were basically split down right down the middle.  Some of us absolutely loved it, and some of thought it was one of the worst movies they had ever seen.  Browsing the internet later, turns out those sentiments are not unusual for this movie.

I'm obviously in the former group.  Watching this movie is a trip, and unnerves you in the simplest, yet highly effective way.  I adore it for that.

This is also yet another movie where subtext reigns supreme.  Luckily, it works without it too.  You can take the plot entirely at face value and still have a great time.