ring (1998)
Almost flawless.
Drops you into an ocean of tension and dread, not letting up until its runtime (a tight 96min) is up. The scares in this are pound-for-pound probably the best of any film I’ve ever seen, in terms of balancing subtlety with terror. It feels just grounded enough. Nakata trains on the expression of a character’s face as they react to some otherworldly horror for just long enough before letting you dare to look for yourself.
I think the paranormal slow burn and tension of this are in a way an antithesis to your The Conjuring’s of the world. Though both are important.
This first film, isolated from any later entries in the series to come (which, to be fair, are fun in their own way) is pretty much perfect. Our two protagonists are portrayed believably. And, that ending needs no introduction.