Annabelle Comes Home

There are very few things i find creepy in life, that comes to my mind. If you really want to scare me, just hold up a DVD Collection of Colin Nutley´s trilogy of Änglagård, and i will be screaming in fear like a little girl. We should have exorcism rituals towards these films, i can´t think of anything more demonic than Änglagård. Next thing that always scare me, is to hear Jan Johansen doing his 90´s hit Se På Mig, on his tour all across Sweden. Everytime i hear him do this song, i will be running down the street in panic as if i am being chased by an evil spirit. Is is really that bad ? Yes, it really is. So here we come to the third thing that makes me feel a creepy feeling. The possessed doll known as Annabelle, is not only really ugly but looks really creepy as well. When we were first introduced to her in the 2013 film known as The Conjuring. Annabelle turned out to be a doll that actually made a powerful impact with her bizarre look, but you could feel something is very wrong with her. Director James Wan managed to capture that feeling in this film, and The Conjuring is easliy one of my favourite horror films in many years. A year later, Annabelle got her own film, directed by John R. Leonetti. This is a film that is nowhere near as good as The Conjuring, unfortunately. There are a couple of frigthening scenes, but overall a lot of the potential that could have been used with Annabelle, is lost with pretty ordinary horror scenes. But this was about to change, when Swedish director David F. Sandberg, directed the prequel Annabelle: Creation in 2016. This film is actually a much better horror film, and gave us the background story of how Annabelle became possessed. Of course there was going to be another sequel, so earlier this summer Annabelle Comes Home hit cinemas worldwide. I got a chance to see this film before it stopped running in cinema. Is this the sequel we all wanted with Annabelle returning, or is this a sequel that we did not need to be released ?

In 1968, demonologists Ed Warren ( Patrick Wilson ) and Lorraine Warren ( Vera Fermiga ) confiscate the Annabelle doll from nurses Debbie ( Kenzie Caplan ) and Camilla ( Sade Katarina ), who claim that Annabelle have often performed violent activities in their appartment. During the drive back home to the Warrens, the doll summons spirits to attack Ed, but he narrowly survives. Annabelle is locked up in a sacred glass in the Warrens artifacts room that is blessed by Father Gordon ( Steve Coulter ) to ensure the evil is contained. Four years later, the Warrens welcome Mary Ellen ( Madison Iseman ), who will be in charge of babysitting their daughter, Judy Warren ( Mckenna Grace ) while Ed and Lorraine travel overnight to investigate another case. At school, Judy notices the spirit of a priest who is following her. At the Warrens home, Mary Ellen´s friend Daniela Rios ( Katie Sarife ) arrives uninvited. She is curious about speaking to the dead. She finds the keys to the Warrens artifacts room, and go downstairs. She opens the sacred glass where Annabelle is located. Daniela may think she will talk to her father again, but she is about to find out that she made a terrible mistake.

When you make a sequel, make sure you use the tools in the right way. And in the beginning of this film, we do get a good start with actors Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. When they get screen time, i feel that this is where the film works best because of their characters. Since we have seen them in the previous The Conjuring films, it is hard not to love them. However, when this film takes a different turn, and try to become scary, i can´t help feel disappointed. You see, the horror scenes in this film are not very effective for the mostIt is almost as if they think the audience will be happy just to see Annabelle show up, while some other strange events takes place. And this is a mistake that they should have fixed, because this film is nowhere as good as The Conjuring. The horror scenes feels too predictable, and no big surprises are left here. Let´s talk about the characters. Young child actress Mckenna Grace ( who i especially remember from the Netflix series Designated Survivor ) as the character Judy Warren, is in my opinion one of the highlights of this film. She delivers a great performance, and i am looking forward to see her make more interesting characters in the future. Actress Madison Iseman ( especially enjoyed her performance in the strong independent drama Beauty Mark ) as the character Mary Ellen, a sweet a wonderful woman that is easy to love. Madison deliver a good performance as the emotional young woman Mary. I also enjoy the performance from Katie Sarife who plays the character Daniela Rios ( who i remember from the great TV film Cleveland Abduction ). It becomes clear that Daniela is a very curious, and open minded girl. Even if i do enjoy some of the characters in this film, it becomes hard to enjoy this film until the end. With no unexpected twists, and no real frightening scenes, Annabelle Comes Home feels like a dull sequel. With so much potential from a great cast, and we are only left with a horror film that is easy to forget. Director Gary Dauberman have not made a bad directorial debut film, but he just don´t have the power to deliver a really scary horror film. I like some details that he tried to bring in, but in the end he leaves no big impact. Annabelle may have come home, but not in the way i was hoping for. If we do get another sequel, do it right next time and make me scared. I think i might as well watch The Conjuring instead, and experience how a horror film should look like.

Rating: DD