‘ANNABELLE COMES HOME’ Review

Six years ago when The Conjuring was released, I could have never imagined that it would essentially become the universe that Warner Bros. has made it out to be. With the third Conjuring film set to be released next year, 2019 is seeing the release of two entries in the Conjuring universe, The Curse of La Llorona and Annabelle Comes Home. Even more odd is that the Annabelle off-shoot is now three entries in vs. the originating story of The Conjuring which is still standing with two entries currently. I’m not sure any “franchise” has done this, let alone be in horror. Even though there had been legal battles with this franchise, Warner Bros. shows really no signs at slowing down. However, is this new entry showing some fatigue?

[AdSense-A]

Annabelle Comes Home opens with the scene from The Conjuring where Ed and Lorraine are meeting with the roommates who contacted the Warrens about Annabelle being possessed. If you remember in The Conjuring, after this scene the film cuts to the Warrens talking to a college class explaining what they do as they present the case of Annabelle and it being used as a conduit for a demon. While they simply say that they took the doll to a “safe place”. Little do they mention that the doll is a “beacon for spirits” like they do later on in this film, which some may find problematic (this writer included) with this constant back and forth in the timeline with future Conjuring films. However, on a simplistic level, I assume that the basic storyline matches up. The film continues to take an indie approach by basing the majority of the film inside the Warren’s house. After about an hour of buildup and character building do we get the funhouse scares.

At times Annabelle Comes Home feels like a greatest hits album where you realize maybe a couple of the tracks are bangers and the rest feel familiar and unimpressive. Writer Gary Dauberman (who has written all of the Conjuring off-shoots with exception of The Curse of La Llorona) makes his directorial debut here and for the most part, he has a solid grasp on what he is doing. It’s just a shame that there isn’t much to work with from his own screenplay. We are introduced to visually striking characters that may get their own movies but for the most part are just here to spice up the monotony.

For fans of The Conjuring Universe, this definitely feels in line with Annabelle: Creation more than Annabelle.  But, it also doesn’t feel very progressive with the story to really push it in a forward direction for this universe. It’s an ok film to watch during a stormy night or before The Conjuring 3 is released but there really isn’t any new information in this one.