This week the world will get a chance to check out "Insidious 3," the latest in Hollywood's obsession with paranormal horror movies. Remember the time when slasher moves were all the rage? Remember how that slowly shifted toward the subgenre known as torture porn (movies like "Saw" and "Hostel")?

Those eras, despite taking place in the late 90's through most of the first decade of the 2000's, seems far off with the prominence of the paranormal.

The current trend likely owes a debt to the "Paranormal Activity" franchise which proved that horror films could be made on a lower budget. Moreover, they reminded people that the unknown was actually scarier than psychopathic serial killers.

In preparations for the latest installment of the paranormal horror film we look at some of the best recent films in the subgenre of paranormal horror films.

Blair Witch Project

While technically not a part of the current trend of paranormal films, this one remains a classic that ushered in modern horror filmmaking overall. Its handicam style is visceral and unnerving, creating a distinct sense of claustrophobia that few other films in this style have managed to accomplish since. This is truly where the horror comes from; the lack of omniscience from the viewer and the feeling that anything horrible could happen at any moment. It still holds up well years later.

Paranormal Activity

The spiritual sequel in many ways to "Blair Witch Project" in its minimalist production aspects, the film still manages to scare first time viewers. The plethora of sequels have certainly hurt the original's mettle, making it feel both outdated and tired, but it is still a film worth watching.


Sinister

"Sinister" does little to reinvent the wheel and one might add that it is not particularly scary as much as it is suspenseful. But there are a lot of things to admire in an ambitious film that somewhat falls short of its lofty aspirations. On one hand, the film's mostly restrictive narrative allows the viewer to fully immerse itself in the mind of its slowly unhinged protagonist Ellison Oswalt. As he discovers the world, so does the audience. There are some audacious visual ideas, such as sequences where the whole screen is completely black with only a small flash of light allowing the viewer to access Ellison's world. It mostly works until the story takes an anti-climactic turn in its final half, offering little payoff and clearly setting up a sequel. It is still among the better offerings in the paranormal genre.


Insidious

Obviously anyone going to see the latest edition of the franchise should go back and check out the original, which, for all of its shortcomings, is still a decent film by most horror standards. It helps to have a decent cast as well, something that other films in the horror world do not always boast. The film does feed off of most horror cliché's (the cliffhanger ending that obviously plans to set up more sequels), but it does tap into the fear of the unknown, especially when it inhabits what people hold most precious -- children. The second one is a throwaway, but this one certainly holds up on some level.


The Conjuring

One of Hollywood's best horror films of the last few years, this studio production actually pits the viewer in the world of the Ed and Lorraine Warren as they take on one of the most difficult cases of their lives. It certainly plays up a number of horror clichés, but what makes this film so compelling is how it manages to create strong relationships between its main protagonists, actually making viewers connect with them, something that seldom happens in the horror genre at large. It also helps that editing, pacing and overall script is well-constructed.