Annabelle Comes Home (2019) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
This is a creepy entry to the long lasting horror supernatural franchise. What made this film works better than other “Annabelle” is the fact that we get all the “evils” in one basement together to set the tone for a truly spooky atmosphere. First time Director Gary Dauberma (previously wrote the screenplay for the past two “Annabelle” and “The Nun”) excels in pacing the tense moments and in mix and turn some of the scenes where nothing actually happens end up more creepy than actual scares. We get a haunted doll that is creepy just by looking at it, provides the perfect 1960-70s backdrop for a true horror experience.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprises their roles as the famed ghost catcher Ed and Lorraine Warren. As recurring characters in the “Conjuring” universe, they both manages to set the tone. It is really once they move off screen where the action really begins. The youngsters played by Mckenna Grace (the spooky Warren’s child) and babysitters Madison Iseman and Katie Sarife that contributed to the watchable factor and build up of constant suspense.
All in all, “Annabelle Comes Home” aren’t going to win any Horror awards, but it remains creepy and suitably engaging from start to finish. That’s actually saying a lot as many “Conjuring” films fail to even follow the basic principle of the horror genre. The film also try to convey the message that the doll itself is not actually haunted, but it has the power to attract evils around it and activates it to the highest powers. For what’s its worth and probably not amounting to much, I enjoyed this forgettable horror venture to an extent.
I rated it 7/10