Review of Annabelle Comes Home (2019) by Davrosdaleks1 — 27 Jun 2019

Annabelle Comes Home has the titular possessed doll causing a ruckus in the Warren's collection of cursed objects unleasing the creatures in the house in what the creators call a scary version of Night at the Museum. What ensues, while not the scariest film in the Conjuring-verse, is a fun experience.

This movie is more upbeat than the last two Annabelle movies (including a few funny lines.) Kind of surprising considering that this is written and directed by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the last two films. The ending to the last film is one of the darkest in the Conjuring franchise, so Dauberman's pivot is surprising. However, since this revolves around the house and daughter (Mckenna Grace) of the stars of the main film line, I can see why Dauberman didn't want to do anything that would really rock the boat and affect them in the long run. Also, it'd just be hard to compete with the tone of the last film, which in my opinon was the best.

Understand that when I say this is more upbeat, I'm not saying this film isn't scary. It just has more of a popcorn/funhouse horror feel. Ever since the Warrens' collection of possessed and cursed objects was introduced, I think everyone has been itching to explore them more, and you definitely get your payoff. There are some pretty creepy ghosts in here, including one inventive being that isn't in the commercials and I won't spoil.

I do wish the other ghosts were given more to do. Annabelle still bears the load. I just wanted to see the ghosts have some more physicality and violence. (Yes, the samurai armor from the earlier films is still in the collection. No, it doesn't unsheathe it's sword. I know, right?!) Also, there is one ghost who mostly tangles with Michael Cimino's character that is mostly done using computer animation and doesn't work as well as the other more practical-looking monsters.

Considering that this is a first time director, this looks pretty nice. There are some nicely shot scares. They don't compete with the best of the series, but they work. A lot of thought must have went into the set design. This really looks like it takes place during the seventies.

The three main leads are pretty likable, especially Katie Sarife's character. At first you worry that she's the stereotypical party friend to the lead who makes bad decisions. Yeah, she kind of does that latter part, but her character goes in a way that is unexpected and fleshes her out.

If you were looking forward to seeing Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick WIlson), be prepared that they really aren't in this that much.

I'd rank this above Annabelle 1, The Nun, and La Llorona, and below the Conjurings and Annabelle Creation. This isn't the scariest or most technically proficient film in the franchise, but this doesn't miss by that much. If you're just looking for something visually interesting that is just trying to entertain, then I recommend this.