SPOILER ALERT
I just watched Annabelle Comes Home with my friends last Friday and I can now say that the movie is disappointing and has very dull and lame jump scares. Maybe it’s my mistake that I expected a lot from this movie based on the intensity of the previous movies of the franchise.
The Plot
The movie takes place before the events of The Conjuring and I can say this by looking at Ed and Lorraine Warren’s (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively) daughter, Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace) who is shown as a little girl unlike the other movies of the franchise.
It’s Judy’s birthday and her babysitter, Mary Ellen (played by Madison Iseman) and her babysitter’s friend, Daniela (played by Katie Sarife) are with her. Daniela has just lost her dad and wants to contact him by any means necessary. So, she goes into the Artifact Room of the Warrens’ house and starts exploring.
She accidentally leaves Annabelle’s glass case open. That’s when Annabelle escapes and a night of fun turns into a night of horror.
The Story
The movie starts with the Warrens taking the Annabelle doll somewhere. They are on their way when they witness an accident and then suddenly, their car breaks down in front of a cemetery. Ed gets down and opens the hood of the car to check the engine. Lorraine sees the ghost of the girl who died in that accident and starts talking to her. Soon after that, she started seeing the dead (who were buried in the cemetery) surrounding Ed.
One of the ghosts pushes Ed in front of a truck rushing their way, however, Ed dodges. Lorraine immediately understands that this is the doing of the doll. They rush back home with a priest and decide to capture the doll in isolation. They put her in a glass chamber, bless it, and then lock it.
Things get crazy when the Warrens leave Judy under Mary Ellen and Daniela’s supervision, as mentioned earlier. Judy’s birthday celebrations start early and Daniela gets distracted while examining Annabelle by the sound of the oven (the cake being baked).
Daniela leaves the Artifact Room to attend to the cake, but she fails to accomplish a crucial task. She does not lock Annabelle back in her glass case. This is when their night takes a horrifying turn and they are introduced to the demonic Annabelle.
My Take On The Movie
Well, according to me, it was a dull movie filled with disappointment. And I don’t mean that the story was dull. The story was amazing and I would give 4 stars out of 5 to the story, however, it wasn’t satisfying as a horror movie. Especially when compared to the other movies of the franchise.
The movie consisted of lame jump scares which barely raised a hair on my body. In my opinion, there’s a lot more that could’ve happened in the movie but unfortunately, this is what we got.
The Most Disappointing Part
The part which bummed everyone out was the ending of the movie. What do we love seeing at the end of a movie under the The Conjuring franchise? An exciting and impulsive turn of events like an exorcism or a person sacrificing their soul. Well, neither of this or anything interesting happened in the end.
The ending felt like it was rushed and it could’ve been portrayed in a better way. They just… locked Annabelle in her glass case and… well, that was it. I don’t want to spoil the movie (or should I say the childish jump scares) for you so I won’t go into the details. The ending could’ve been way better than it was.
Another disappointing part about the movie is a constant comic reference to a character’s specific body part (or… parts) and I don’t even want to talk about that. On that note, what do comic dialogues and scenes have to do with this format of a horror movie?
Conclusion
Collectively, Annabelle Comes Home is a decent horror movie, however, disappointing when compared to the other movies of the franchise. I think the movie would’ve been way better if it was directed by James Wan (the director of The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2). I hope that the makers have learned their lesson and the upcoming movies of the franchise will live up to their expectations.