The Conjuring franchise has been rather surprising in the past few years with what it’s capable of. Not only was the first Conjuring a critical and financial success, but it also spawned an entire cinematic universe consisting of witches, demons, and ghouls any horror aficionado can dream of. One such ghoul is the Annabelle doll, which spawned its own series of horror films that seem to get better with each installment, and Annabelle Comes Homes cements that notion. It doesn’t live up to the horror expertise of The Conjuring, but it smartly doesn’t try to do so. Instead, director Gary Dauberman conjures up a twisted funhouse of terror filled with every demon and tortured soul imaginable while still keeping the characters at the heart of all the dread and horror.
Set after the events of The Conjuring, renowned yet controversial demonologists Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren have locked away the demonic doll Annabelle in their special artifact room filled with haunted or cursed memorabilia and antiquities. At the same time, their reputation all over begins to grow, but not in the way they prefer. With their status as exorcists called into question, many claiming them to be hoaxes, pressure is placed on their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace), who somewhat shares her mother’s empathic abilities.
On the night before her birthday, Ed and Lorraine decide to leave the house for a bit, leaving Judy to be babysat by her favorite babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), who attempts to give her a great night after many of her classmates don’t want to attend her birthday party. Mary Ellen’s friend Daniela (Katie Sarife) decides to come along as well, but after being the victim of a violent tragedy in her family, she makes the rebellious decision to break into the Warrens’ artifact room in an attempt to contact her deceased father. Unfortunately, she winds up releasing the Annabelle doll, resulting in a multitude of demonic creatures being released across the Warren household, which leads to an all-out supernatural torment of the three girls as they try to once again contain the evil.
Dauberman ensures that Annabelle Comes Home is essentially a carnival ride of pure dread and anguish, and he doesn’t hold anything back. From start to finish, the film has a zany, colorful energy to it that doesn’t slow down. More than the other entries in the franchise, this film feels like it’s having the most fun with its story, scares, and characters. It doesn’t have the added weight and drama of The Conjuring or even the previously released Annabelle Creation, but that’s why it works. It makes use of its ever-expanding universe and fills the screen with as many spinoff potentialities as possible to create a fast-paced household adventure for any horror fan.
Much of that fun and care for the series and genre as a whole comes through with how Dauberman utilizes the ingenuity at his disposal with all the various demons, ghouls, monsters, and creatures the Warrens keep locked up in their artifact room. It’s more like a giant toy chest for Dauberman to poke around and choose which devilish delights he’ll use to torture our would-be victims of the night.
These delights come in the form of such entities as a Ferryman whose toll you must pay, a hellhound who possesses people and turns them into werewolves, a murderous bride, and an ancient piece of samurai armor, with a couple other spirits thrown in there as well. All of these spirits come together to create a thrilling experience where you don’t know which one will pop right out of the corner. Dauberman even incorporates a few extra treats into the mix such as an old-timey television that predicts the near future. It’s that kind of creativity and expression of passion that makes this film that much more fun.
While that makes for plenty of fun scares, there are often times where that build-up of dread can become a great weakness of the film. In a few scenes in particular, Dauberman relies a little too heavily on the slow build-up to a payoff or jump scare. It goes from anticipating a great big scare to wishing for something to happen. It results in a rather slow pace occurring sometime in the middle of the film and it can feel like a few of the scares are lingering on a little too long.
With that fun also comes atmospheric dread thanks in part to a great use of cinematography, provided by The Curse of La Llorona DP Michael Burgess. He upends a regular suburban home into a labyrinth of trepidation where you don’t know who you’ll end up with and in what room of the house. It becomes a maze where every corner could be harboring some demonic presence. You constantly shift your focus towards every shadow, every mirror, and every window until you find some entity lumbering about. The cinematography ensure you never take your eyes off-screen.
But underneath all the scares and fun you’ll also find a well-serviced and well-acted cast of characters in our three lead heroines. It’s no secret that these characters make some of the same familiar decisions other horror protagonists make in most horror films. But in this instance, they are given enough charm, emotion, heart, and inner turmoil that their actions feel justified and warranted. Everything they confront together and the actions they take upon themselves all originate from their inner struggles and the strong bonds they have with one another.
For instance, in the trailers, the character of Daniela breaks into the artifact room and basically touches everything in the room, later confessing to it to Judy and Mary Ellen. You the viewer were obviously right to call her out on such a reckless and ignorant decision at the time. But in the context of the movie, her actions stem completely from a personal tragedy and inner conflict she feels with herself, rationalizing and making sense of what she ends up doing in the film. Much like with most other entries in the Conjuring franchise, the biggest strength with the film is the tenderness and priority given to its characters. They remain at the core of what makes these films special and stand out from the rest of the horror pack. While the scares are great and the monsters are fun, the characters make up the heart of the story at hand.
Overall, Annabelle Comes Home is a downgraded but much more adventurous entry in the Conjuring franchise. It takes all the strengths of the franchise and converts them into a downgraded but nonetheless easygoing chilling adventure within a madhouse filled to the brim with ghouls and ghosts the likes of which any horror fan will get a kick out of. It doesn’t stop for a beat when it comes to its scares while also balancing it with the authenticity and humanity of its leading trio of heroines. It doesn’t reinvent the horror wheel or anything of the sort, but it still shows that there still something to be had out of this franchise, especially since we are now in the possession of a boat load of spinoffs just waiting to keep you from sleeping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMa-KFfatT0&t=1s&w=585