Annabelle Comes Home has no business being as utterly enjoyable and hauntingly horrific as it is and as a result, could easily become the surprise smash of summer 2019.
Folks love The Conjuring universe, started by filmmaker James Wan. The Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) made a compelling real-life screen couple whose exploits exorcising demons and their ilk has been deftly chronicled in six films since The Conjuring spooked us in 2013. The first Annabelle (2014) gave that devilish doll her first film and the spin-off would go on to bank $257 million, showing all involved in this Warren-centered world that there was an audience appetite for more from The Conjuring landscape. It may have been wickedly welcomed by fans, via box office, but critics found it clunker and a gross misstep (with its 29-percent score). Annabelle: Creation (2017) took us back to the beginning to illustrate how this demonic doll even came to be. The prequel to the spin-off scored a 70-percent critic rating and banked a whopping $306.5 million in box office loot.
To say anticipation is high for Annabelle Comes Home is a gross understatement. In short, for those who adore this seven-flick film series, I can say without any hesitation, that this is the most enjoyable and lapel-grabbing of the Annabelle spin-offs. Now, it might not be as scary as some of the Conjuring films. But it is pure joy to behold and does contain some serious scares along the way.
I truly appreciate how the film just commences without any filler, set-ups or anything of that manner. Now that’s not to say that someone who has never seen a Conjuring or Annabelle film will be lost—they won’t. Our film commences with Lorraine (Farmiga) and Ed (Wilson) getting the famed doll in their possession after a trio of ladies have had enough of her nefarious shenanigans. They’re driving home with the doll stoically in the backseat and come across an accident. Ever omnipresent, Lorraine knows immediately that someone has perished. They have to go another direction and, in the process, end up quite lost. Lucky for them, their car has broken down next to a cemetery. Yeah, that. What occurs next only further enhances the Warrens’ belief that this thing needs to be put away in their famed room that contains artifacts, items and any number of other descriptors to describe things that have brought hellish misery to people. We’ve all seen our lady of not-so-good vibes, aka Annabelle, in that glassed in box—whether from the Annabelle Comes Home trailer or those stunning stills.
Fast forward one year …
Mom and dad are heading out for an overnight business trip, and we’re introduced to the couple’s daughter, Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace). Her babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) promises her charge a fun night with pizza delivery and maybe even a little early birthday celebration. Joining them is Mary Ellen’s BFF, Daniela Rios (Katie Sarife)—who has her reasons, but let’s just say she wants into that notorious room that nobody should visit. As is the case with so many horror flicks, she does something she shouldn’t have, and our trio of unlucky ladies spend the rest of their evening fighting for their lives.
The setup is rather simple and that is what makes Annabella Comes Home so entertaining and compelling. Wan provides the story and Gary Dauberman penned the screenplay and then makes his directorial debut in what is a brilliant bow for a first-timer. Dauberman is no stranger to crafting terror tales that not only rivet while you’re watching, but also stick to your bones for not just weeks, but years later. He co-wrote It, The Nun, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation and he provided the screenplay for It: Chapter 2. He has a talent, and not only is it a treasure to witness his progression as a writer of the scary stuff, but with his directorial debut he has shown an innate command of pace and those all-important horror genre ratio of emotional pull scenes to jump out of your seat moments. There’s an ebb and flow to the film that is beautifully laid out by someone who has put together a cinematic experience that feels as if someone with ten-times his experience was behind the camera.
Dauberman clearly has a love of the horror milieu and so often that is the “secret” ingredient to an artist who is hell bent on scaring us to pieces. Other than maybe science fiction, no other genre truly requires that its crafters be fans first and artists second. As such, they keenly know what works and most importantly, what doesn’t. That’s why Wan has been so successful, and beloved. Look for Dauberman to join him on that list of filmmakers whose name alone gets fans in those theater seats.
With truly only three actresses serving as those charged with executing the story that yes, involves a lifeless doll who seems to conjure nothing but bad juju. We must feel their fear. It has to be palpable. Otherwise the jarring jolts will instead be more laugh-out-loud, the death knoll of a horror flick. Between what Wan and Dauberman have given Grace, Sarife and Iseman, and their deep talent vat, this intimate film pops off the screen. Grace is merely 13 (her birthday is even the film’s release date!) and does something extraordinary with her turn as the Warrens’ child. One thing that permeates her entire performance and she does so with such aplomb, is the fact that she needs to firmly be her parents’ daughter. She comes off as a little Lauren mini-me in the most terrific of ways. What it is about the onscreen Warrens that keeps audiences coming back to see their scary stories is there in spades with the character of Judy Warren. Though this flick—at least dramatically—truly never leaves the confines of the Warren home, it is as if Farmiga and Wilson’s characters are not far behind. Those veteran actors’ triumphant turns as the Warrens leaves a sizzling shadow over the landscape of this film. That and the pitch perfect performance that Grace delivers, Annabelle Comes Home is the most creative of Warren-centric cinema.
Iseman has an interesting arc to tackle with her character. She’s part sister, part kindred spirit, part child psychologist and above all else, someone who has not ever given what her “bosses” do for a living much of a thought. On this fateful night, Mary Ellen comes face-to-face with that field. Witnessing the actress’ journey from basic babysitter to one who goes over and beyond what is required of a sitter is a study in character development that is achieved through a priceless combination of what’s on the page and what the performer brings to the set. Meanwhile, Sarife is the key to this entire endeavor. It is her backstory that drives the devilish drama that surges through Annabelle Comes Home. She handles it amazingly well and thankfully so, given that if there is even a hint of something “off” from her characterization, the entire effort would be faulty.
Each person charged with a part in bringing the seventh Conjuring universe flick to screens should be lauded. It’s a fun ride that never forgets its roots, while simultaneously not forgetting to branch out and take us places that surprisingly sear our scared souls.
Grade: B+