Annabelle Comes Home (2019) Review

" I let her out."
-Daniela Rios



One year after bringing Annabelle into their home, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) leave their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace), with a babysitter, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), while investigating a case overnight.  Unfortunately, Mary Ellen's friend, Daniela (Katie Sarife), tags along and releases Annabelle from her case.  Now the girls have to find a way to survive this night of horrors and get Annabelle back where she belongs.


What Works:

It's nice to finally get Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga into the spin-off films.  They are by far the best parts of the Conjuring universe and the only characters I really care about.  They only get about a half-dozen scenes, but that's better than nothing.

There are also a handful of creepy moments throughout the film.  Most of the scares are jump-scares, but there are a few that are more subdued, especially the ones involving a wedding dress and a cursed TV.

The acting of all three of the leads is very good.  I have issues with these characters, but it is not the fault of the actors.  All three do a good job and give believable performances.

Finally, this is probably the funniest film in the Conjuring universe.  It's by no means a comedy, but there are some genuinely funny moments that caught me off-guard.  It was a nice change of pace from the generic scares that fill the rest of the movie.


What Sucks:

Daniela is one of the most frustrating horror movie characters I've seen in a long time.  The entire plot of the movie is her fault and the utter stupidity and lack of common sense she shows is astounding.  I was beyond frustrated with her.  Beyond aggravated.  The motivation they give her isn't enough to make up for her sheer stupidity.  This may be the single most preventable horror film ever made.  

The second act of the movie is incredibly boring and I wanted to just fall asleep.  Nothing of interest was happening, Ed and Lorraine were out of the movies, and the scares hadn't picked up.  The pacing of this movie was just off.

I don't care for jump-scares and that is the vast majority of this movie.  If you're going to do a jump-scare, make it have some bearing on the plot.  Kill a character off if you're gonna do it.  Anything else feels cheap.  

Finally, this movie doesn't really do anything new.  We've seen all this before.  This is the textbook definition of run-of-the-mill.  At this point, I'd be perfectly fine with no more spin-off films.  Let's stick to the main Conjuring series.


Verdict:

While far superior to the original Annabelle, Comes Home isn't as good as Creation, The Nun, or either of the Conjuring films.  I do like the scenes with Wilson and Farmiga, there are some creepy moments, the acting is solid, and there are some really funny bits, but Daniela is incredibly frustrating, there is a long, boring stretch in the middle, and the movie doesn't do anything new.

 4/10: Bad 

   

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