At this point, the Conjuring franchise is really starting to show its clichés. If you gave me efficient pacing, creative scares, or some form of thoughtful storytelling, I’d still recommend it in a heartbeat. The second Annabelle, titled Annabelle: Creation, was the perfect example of a film that may have been average in writing but was at least exceptional in pacing, scene setups, directing, and thrills. Unfortunately, the two most recent installments in the Conjuring franchise have missed the mark. I found The Nun to be quite dull, with occasional moments of silly nonsensical entertainment. The Curse of La Llorona, on the other hand, did little for me.
I am sorry to report that Annabelle Comes Home continues this trend of mediocre mainstream horror. Even though it’s definitely better than La Llorona, this is still miles away from the bar that James Wan has set in his Conjuring films.
The Story? Too Simple.
The story of Annabelle Comes Home is so thinly written, it plays like a feature-length Goosebumps episode. The film takes place before the events of the first Conjuring. The Warrens (briefly portrayed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) just acquired the Annabelle doll and have placed it inside the glass box that should positively stay closed. And just when you think the Warrens have a role to play, they leave town to take on a case, with their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace) staying home under the care of two babysitters (Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife). You know what that means. That means someone will do something incredibly stupid to kickstart the plot. That’s right, one of them opens the glass box and lets Annabelle out.
And that’s kind of it. The rest of Annabelle Comes Home is the three girls trying to survive the night from Annabelle and all the other spirits that reside in the basement full of cursed artifacts.
Come to think of it, it REALLY does play like a Goosebumps episode. The film carries out one of those “kids need to fix terrible thing before the adults come home and find out” narratives. In this case, I’m rooting for the adults.
Having a simple premise is one thing. Having a thin story is another. The human characters this time around have little to no arc, even though the actresses do their very best to add some form of emotional resonance. Essentially, what we get here is just a series of boo scares. Have Annabelle awaken five more spirits, dedicate a couple scenes to each one, and now we have a feature-length runtime.
Without the Warrens in charge, the story can’t seem to find a sense of forward momentum. In the Conjuring films, there’s always a sense of what the next step is. There are expectations set in place, and we as an audience are synced up with what the characters plan to do next. That’s why when things go south, there’s suspense and room for scares. The scares work because there’s context and a sense of the situation. Annabelle Comes Home, like The Nun and La Llorona, doesn’t do this. It’s just… stuff happens.
The Scares? Too Predictable.
I’m getting tired of how these supernatural films attempt to scare the audience. I’m tired of watching a character walk slowly down a dark hallway, reach out a hand, and push the door open slowly so we can hear a creak. I’m tired of seeing those wide manual focus shots where the background is blurred but it takes up half the screen so we know something in the background is going to move.
The setups for these scares are getting deathly predictable. If you show me a shot of a glass of milk being placed on a table, I’m going to expect that glass to move. It’s even more frustrating when the shot lingers for a few extra seconds. The more you stretch out a scary set piece, the more time you allow the audience to think and start guessing. It shouldn’t take 20 seconds to open a door, then another 20 seconds to peek under a bed.
You know why the third act of Annabelle: Creation and both Conjuring films worked? Because they were relentlessly paced. They became roller coasters, one scare after another, and gave us no breathing room. This is just one cliché set piece after another being stretched out for runtime purposes. Each one is slow, with enough time to get you prepared, and each one fades out the audio so there’s a moment of dead silence for a loud sound to suddenly startle you.
And don’t get me started on how dark this movie looks –I had to squint in a movie theater to see what’s going on. Though it may have been a projector issue, this is yet another example of a horror film that seems so self-obligated to take place at night, with all the lights off so there’s little to no exposure and contrast in the image.
The Performances? Excellent.
The one thing I can cling onto in this film is the cast. Grace, Iseman, and Sarife all give exceptional performances. Each of their commitment to this premise is almost strong enough to save the entire film from its dull writing. Thanks to these three actresses, the characters may lack depth but at least have personalities. Grace has been hitting the bullseye for me one after the other ever since Gifted, and Iseman is given a better chance to demonstrate her versatility in the horror genre (the second Goosebumps doesn’t really count). Last but not least, Sarife is showing signs for more talent to come. I just wish the script respected her character more by making her decision-making more natural, earned, and logical.
As for the Warrens themselves, well, let’s just say the film is automatically better when Farmiga and Wilson are in it.
Annabelle Comes Home: Just Stay Home and Skip This
Annabelle Comes Home is not a terrible film, by any means. It’s just frustratingly safe and predictable. At this point, being the 7th film in the franchise, it’s becoming possessed by its own clichés. Well, here’s me declaring that the franchise is in need of an exorcism. They need a new way to set up scares. More effort needs to be placed in the writing. It’s in need of better pacing, context, narrative, character development, and sense of emotional investment. That being said, the cast give it their all, there’s some tasteful set design, and a couple of spirits do sound conceptually interesting. I might want to see more of the—oh God, am I falling for their future spin-off movie?
Did you see Annabelle Comes Home? What did you think of the film? Share below!
Annabelle Comes Home was released in theaters in the US on June 26, 2019. For all international release dates, click here.
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.