Annabelle Comes Home really caught me off guard when it came out, remember watching this one in theater, I remember going into this movie I was already pretty tired of The Conjuring Universe pumping out sequel after sequel but damn this one kind of won me over with its throwback energy that felt almost like something new compared to the rest. The whole concept is very simple, Ed and Lorraine Warren played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga bring that creepy ass doll to their house and lock it up in what is basically a museum of cursed objects, then they leave their daughter Judy with a babysitter and her nosy friend Daniela who ends up opening Annabelles case because she wants to talk to her dead dad. Once that happens all hell breaks loose and multiple demons start terrorizing these girls throughout the house, you got The Ferryman The Bride some hellhound running around outside and a bunch of other nightmare fuel, what really worked for me was that the movie did not just rely on one demon, they threw several at us so if one did not land there were others to keep things interesting. Sure the first half dragged a bit and some scenes could have been trimmed down because watching someone walk around a room for what feels like forever gets old fast, but once everything ramped up near the end I was actually having a good time, the movie takes itself way too seriously for what it is which is a cliche horror setup about a babysitter in a haunted house, but honestly I had more fun with this than I expected and walked away thinking it was worth the watch, probably a solid 7 out of 10 for me.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8350360/
- Platform: HULU
Rottentomatoes Rating
The thing about this movie is it felt more like a paranormal survival night than your typical Conjuring Franchise horror setup where you know exactly whats coming, you have three young girls stuck in this house with literally every cursed object coming to life at once and its chaos at every corner. Daniela is that friend who you want to slap through the screen because she touches everything she was not supposed to touch but it was hilarious to be honest, she opens a door with multiple locks and warning signs all over them and you sit there thinking girl what the hell are you doing, but then you find out she was grieving her father who died in a car accident and suddenly it all makes sense why she was so desperate to contact him through any means necessary. I get it grief makes you do stupid shit and the movie does a decent job making her sympathetic by the end, even though for most part of the movie I wanted to throw something at her because she kept doing dumb stuff that you know is going to end badly, the babysitter Mary Ellen and Judy both have this sweet dynamic going on where they feel more like sisters than anything else which I really like because it made you care about what happened to them. McKenna Grace who plays Judy absolutely killed it in this role, she has got this thing going on where she can see spirits kind of like the kid from The Sixth Sense and watching her try to go through all this evil stuff while being just a kid was engaging to watch, she brought a level of seriousness to the role that could have easily been over the top but she pulled it off without making it feel forced or annoying. Honestly one of the best young performances I have seen in a horror movie but that is just my opinion, Im no expert.
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Now lets talk about the actual scares because thats where the magic of any horror movie is, in this case some of them worked really well and some of them felt like they were just going through the motions without much payoff which was disappointing. The Ferryman was probably my favorite of all the demons running around because every time you heard those coins rubbing together you knew something bad was about to go down, that background audio alone was more effective than half the jump scares in the movie and I wish they had done more with him instead of just having him pop up a few times and disapear without much explanation. The Bride on the other hand felt underutilized in a big way, theres this whole thing where the wedding dress makes people violent and she stabs Daniela except it turns out to be a fake out and then she vomits blood into her mouth which was gross as hell but then nothing really comes from it like no possession no lasting effects it just moves on like it never happened which felt like a huge missed opportunity to do something actualy scary. The hellhound was cool in concept but again not enough screen time to make it feel like a real threat, same with the samurai armor that just screams at people in Japanese and does basically nothing else besides look creepy in the background, it felt like the movie was trying to cram in as many different demons as possible without giving any of them enough room to breathe and develop into something truly terrifying. By the time the third act rolled around I was getting tired of seeing new threats pop up without any of them getting proper resolution, its like they wanted to set up future spin off movies more than they wanted to tell a cohesive story here which is frustrating when youre trying to enjoy the movie in front of you.
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What I did like the most though was how the movie tried to keep things feeling grounded even with all the supernatural chaos happening around these characters, the 70s setting worked really well, for the most part this is something I really enjoy from the Conjuring Franchise since they nail the era either if its 60s, 70s, for the most part it works out, this time give the whole thing a retro vibe that separated it from modern horror where everyone has a cell phone to call for help or look stuff up. Here these girls are stuck with rotary phones and dim lighting and creepy wallpaper everywhere which just adds to the atmosphere in a way that feels authentic, Gary Doberman who directed this did a solid job with the visuals and keeping the tension up even when the script wasnt doing him any favors. Some of the shots where you could see something lurking in the background while the characters were clueless and unaware, were very creepy and reminded me of why I fell in love with this franchise in the first place, there was this one scene with coins on someones eyes that actually felt the chills without it even doing much. The music was also on point throughout the whole thing, it never overpowered the scenes but it was always there in the background adding just enough dread to make you uncomfortable and just keeps adding to the overall experience. The performances across the board were strong and everyone seemed committed to selling this ridiculous horror story because lets face it, if it wasnt for a girl who wanted to talk to her dad none of this had happen, Madison Iseman as Mary Ellen and Katie Sarife as Daniela both brought their A game and made me care about what happened to them even when Daniela was being an idiot. There is also this boyfriend character Bob who shows up and he was mostly there for comic relief but hes so sweet and genuine that you cant help but root for him to survive the night, the kid literally fights off a hellhound with his guitar which sounds ridiculous on paper but somehow works in the context of the movie.
Lets keep things grounded and realize this is just entertainment and wont be perfect because there are some holes on this movie and Im not going to pretend it doesnt have some serious issues that bothered me, at the end of the day this is a pretty cliche horror setup about a babysitter in a haunted house but it acts like its trying to be this grand epic statement about good versus evil which just doesnt land for me. Its when Annabelle gets locked back in her case everything goes back to normal instantly and all the demons just vanish like they were never there, which felt like a cop out because it didnt really explain why that worked or what the rules were supposed to be in this universe and the only logic I could find is that there is a legion of demons inside Annabelle and not just one, I guess the doll is also like a beacon for spirits so once she was contained they have no anchor but it would have been nice to get a little more clarity on that instead of just hand waving it away. The pacing is also all over the place with the first half moving at a snails pace with long drawn out scenes of people walking around in the dark looking at stuff and then the second half tries to throw everything at you at once and it ends up feeling messy like they ran out of time. I wish they had spread out the action more evenly instead of front loading all the boring parts and then trying to make up for it with chaos at the end, it would have made for a much better viewing experience if things had been balanced out better. Despite all that I still had more fun with this than I expected, its not perfect and its not going to blow anyones mind or reinvent the horror genre but its a solid entry in The Conjuring Universe that does enough right to make it worth watching if you go in with reasonable expectations. If you just want a fun horror movie to kill an evening with you will probably have a good time.
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