An introduction scene for the Warrens back in 2013’s The
Conjuring has now spawned three different films, all with different
settings and characters, but still centered on the hauntings of the creepiest
doll in existence: Annabelle. After a less than ideal first entry in 2014, the
sequel, Annabelle: Creation was a major improvement, but where exactly
does the third entry in this franchise within a franchise fall? Somewhere right
in the middle.
Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc,
paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga) lock the possessed doll in the artifacts room in their house. But when
the doll awakens the room's evil spirits, it soon becomes an unholy night of
terror for the couple's 10-year-old daughter (McKenna Grace), her friends and
their young babysitter (Madison Iseman).
An Annabelle film could honestly focus on the doll
appearing in different settings within a house at random and it would be
creepier than a lot of bad horror films. The design of the doll remains about
the same, and the filmmakers have still, thankfully, resisted the urge to make
it move about like so many scary dolls before it. This time around though there
is some back up, some new spin-offs ghosts join the party, each possessing a
little corner of the film with unique designs and fairly cliché scares.
In reality, the premise of Annabelle Comes Home really
falls into a home invasion style horror mixed with a haunting. Sure, the
invaders are ghosts, spirits, demons, and everything in between, but the
release of these entities plays out much like something coming to terrorize the
inhabitants rather than an unsuspecting family moving in to the situation like
other entries in the genre.
Unfortunately, the film features no plot whatsoever. Annabelle
Comes Home is about nothing. And because of that, combined with an overly
long set up before any scares really come, the 106 minute runtime feels like an
eternity. Even then, when it does get to the fun bits of a haunted house
premise, the conclusion all wraps up very quickly with a super easy solution.
It all feels like the screenplay from writer and director Gary Dauberman is
ironically afraid to commit to the horrors that would be going on in that
house, missing numerous opportunities to be unique or different.
Annabelle Comes Home is not a bad horror film, it’s
another entry in genre that can be very fun at times even if the scary stuff isn’t
always hitting. McKenna Grace continues to show off her acting abilities, and a
small appearance from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga goes a long way. But the
wasted potential here is very evident, as the actual results are nothing
special. If nothing else, at least Annabelle Comes Home just extended
the second most successful shared universe for a few more films.
No comments :
Post a Comment