The first thing you'll probably notice is just how much better 'Annabelle Comes Home (2019)' is, immediately, than 'The Nun (2018)', 'The Curse Of La Llorona (2019)' and its oft-forgotten predecessor, 'Annabelle (2014)'. I mean, it seems like a masterpiece in comparison to those; it's actually engaging, features a variety of successful scares and centres around compelling characters. However, the second thing you'll probably notice is just how much worse it is than 'The Conjuring (2013)', 'The Conjuring 2 (2016)' and, even, 'Annabelle: Creation (2017)'. That's because its plot is incredibly slim - I'm talking almost anecdotal - and it starts to wear thin far faster than it, perhaps, ought to. As such, the piece ends up somewhere in the middle, quality-wise, of the overall 'Conjuring' franchise; it's by no means bad but it's certainly not great, either. Thankfully, though, it's a decently enjoyable, competently constructed experience throughout. The reason for this is, I feel, two-fold. Firstly, its characters - on whom it relies solely because its plot is almost non-existent - are mostly well-rounded and believable. One of them does make some odd decisions that aren't explained until long after they've been made and, even then, don't stand up to all that much scrutiny. Still, this isn't too detrimental and the development done for all the main players is serviceable enough, with some of it actually going a long way to plugging the potential leaks caused by those previously mentioned poor choices. Plus, everyone on screen is, essentially, as likeable as they could be. Unfortunately, they aren't quite interesting enough to keep you wholly engaged during the movie's slower segments. It has a really strange, somewhat disjointed pacing that practically paints most of it as an extended build-up for a seemingly fifteen-minute finale. Luckily, then, it's competent when it comes to the second 'fold' of that two-fold reason I mentioned earlier: the scares. While there's nothing outstanding here, it's also not just jump-scare central. There are are variety of occasionally quite inspired gags that often play on audience expectation, building up genuine suspense that isn't deflated every two minutes by an obnoxious 'false' fright. It does sometimes get a little too overt for its own good - though, the overall series is no stranger to bold, effects-based 'creatures', either - but it's refreshing, and sadly so, for a film like this to not be made of abrasive, repetitive, 'cattle-prod' stuff. Generally, the flick is a fairly fun time. Sure, it wears thin and is only ever so compelling in the first place, but it's a solid haunted house - literally and figuratively - that will certainly satisfy fans of the franchise. 6/10
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Pjtaylor-96-13804415 July 2019
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dereckromero29 June 2019I'm a fan of The Conjuring and the other Annabelle movies but this one was disappointing. The acting was fine but the story a as weak and the ending was horrible. At least they kept the time period feeling. I expected more from this series.
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Let me just sum the whole movie up for you all: Parents leave, just the kid and the babysitters in the house, house is haunted, ghosts everywhere, jump scares, then some jump scares, some more jump scares, then some more jump scares, oh and some more jump scares. I mean honestly do they really think that this is actually scary, do they think they're viewers are 5 years old. Might as well have gone into a haunted house, at least I would actually enjoy it. I really hope this isn't how the next horror films are going to play out. What they need to do is actually hire some real writers, spend more than 5 minutes on the plot, the scary stuff, etc. spend some actual money on the movie as well so we can have some actual good special effects. Why waste our time with this excuse of a "horror film". When I watch a horror movie I want to actually be terrified. There needs to be more than just jump scares, like a really creepy plot and characters, kind of like the first two insidious movies, I actually had nightmares from those movies. Watch this movie if you just need to fill an hour and a half while waiting for your parents or your wife and kids at the mall, don't expect anything new or original or certainly scary.
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I was disappointed with Annabelle Comes Home because they had an immense list of material to use and they didn't. There were too many ideas and they all clashed and the story didn't make sense at times. The "comedy" scenes felt awkward and forced, just like The Nun, and overall came across like it was supposed to be a teen suspense film rather than a horror film. It kept me at the edge off my seat a bit but never went beyond that. Annabelle Creation and the first Conjuring are still the best films out of this whole franchise.
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jogerig7 July 2019I thought this movie was kinda lame. Sure, I jumped a lot, but there was too much going on and not enough focus on Annabelle. I couldn't stand the best friend character either! The scariest part was the first 15 minutes. And a happy ending? Come on. I was waiting for SOMEthing to remind me it was a horror movie! Not as bad as the first Annabelle, and sure I'll watch it again when it's free on HBO, but should have been better.
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BandSAboutMovies28 June 2019Maybe I've seen too many of The Conjuring films now - seven in total with several more on the way, such as a sequel to the excoriable The Nun and The Crooked Man. I even sat through the barely connected The Curse of La Llorona. It's co-written and directed by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the remake of It, as well as Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation and The Nun. Original creator James Wan is the other writer as well as the producer.
Back in 1971. demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren - back again at least for a brief cameo to drag you into the theater - are bringing the possessed Annabelle back to their home. Before they even get it there, it brings all manner of hell after them in a pre-title sequence that really has nothing to do with the rest of the movie.
After Father Gordon - coming back in another call back to the first two The Conjuring movies - blesses a box for the evil doll, we fast-forward a year to the Warrens bringing in Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) to watch their daughter Judy (McKenna Grace, who has made something of a career of playing the young versions of characters - she was young Captain Marvel, as well as the child versions of Sabrina on the new Netflix series and Theodora Crain in The Haunting of Hill House).
Judy is able to see all manner of ghosts and spirits, like a priest that keeps following her and later protecting her. He's Father Michael Morrisey, playing by Gary-7, who will probably get involved in a later The Conjuring movie. Or maybe not. Sadly, I'll probably be there the first night with the vague hope that this will finally be the one that equals the original.
Mary Ellen's friend Daniela decides to visit the Warren house, as she wants to speak to the dead, specifically her father, who recently died after a car crash. She was the driver and blames herself, which brings her into the Warren's hidden sanctum of the scariest and most sinister of all occult objects. She ends up touching everything and leaving Annabelle's container wide open, showing that not only is she a moron, but she also has no idea how to read. Finally, she uses an artifact called the Mourner's Bracelet, which certainly will play a part in another film. That's all these movies have become, a kickoff to the next film which introduces the next character which tells us all about the next character for the next one. I get it. I've been paying for it ever since the second one.
Anyways, this dumb teenage girl is like, maybe my dad will talk to me through something in this room, which means that Annabella is able to gather all of the other spirits and attack, spirits who I will eventually pay to see their own movies and buy their DVD's, like a ferryman, a bride, a samurai, a hellhound called the Black Shuck - no, not the song by The Darkness - and, of course, a copy of Milton Bradley's Feeley Meeley game.
Actually, the Black Shuck is based on a famous Warren case - which is the same as me saying that I have cases when all I'm doing is lying about ghosts - where a werewolf was killing local livestock. Kinda like the chicken that gets it here.
Everybody gets attacked by different spirits, like Bob dealing with the hellhound, Mary Ellen getting dragged away by Charon the boatman or whatever we want to call the ferryman with coins on his eyes and Judy has to deal with Annabelle herself, who just up and got in bed with her. Daniela? Well, she's trapped in the artifact room and being terrorized by a monkey that plays drums. Whoever sold those things and who bought them? Maniacs, that's who. Every adult that I ever knew that had one continually used them to torture children. It's like they had an underground network of mean grown-ups who thought it was funny to give kids nightmares.
There's one great scene in the middle of all of this, as Daniela watches an old television that shows a mute vision of a few seconds in the future where she'll be screaming and covered in blood. It's the most frightening thing in the movie - hell, in the last couple of these films - and it's a total throwaway. The same with the scene where the kids try to call Lorraine for help and a demon is on the other end. These bring forth primal childhood fears unlike the rest of the storyline.
It all ends with Daniela possessed by The Bride, but the priest and Judy play a movie of the original exorcism over the girl, freeing her, while Mary Ellen tries to lock Annabelle back in her cabinet. Of course the next day, the parents come home and every kid ends up coming to a birthday party and Ed plays guitar while Lorraine has a psychic talk with Daniela. You didn't expect a happy ending?
I kinda love - or totally hate to be honest - that this movie is being called an intraquel, as it is set during the opening and main plot of the first film. This renders it meaningless, a film that has no true bearing on anything that has come before or since.
I guess the only thing we learn here is that the demon inside Annabelle
The identity of the demon primarily attached to the Annabelle doll is called the Ram, which makes sense, as the cult group in the 1960's that Janice "Annabelle" Higgins belonged to was the Disciples of the Ram. The fact that I know this much - and didn't need any reference to call that up - means that for some reason, I know more about the Conjuring universe than my own family. Someone please help me. -
While I like the original two "Conjuring" movies, I have not cared much for the spin-offs in the franchise that I have seen. I decided to see this one in theaters because unlike the other Conjuring spin-offs, it has a genuinely unique premise (the Warrens' artifacts all become possessed by Annabelle.) I was also intrigued of the prospect of the Warrens coming back. While it's not perfect, this is a pretty solid horror film that should please fans of the franchise.
First-time director Gary Dauberman makes a strong debut behind the camera, managing to craft inventive scares that play around with audience expectations. Even though they are a key part of this franchise, I have never been all that crazy about the loud jump-scares in these films, mainly because I view them as a generally lazy and uninspired way to startle viewers in lieu of creating genuine dread and psychological terror. While the film still has some jump-scares that don't really work, the horror in the film does reach more efficacious and creative heights than that. There are also some moments in the film when the viewer thinks a jump-scare might happen, but it actually does not, which helps balance surprise with suspense during the film's duration. Dauberman uses audience perceptions of space, color and light to create some interesting scares with the Warrens' artifacts. The film's lighting is superb, managing to make the film's aesthetic be both clear and ominous at the same time. While the film's sets are somewhat minimalist, that works to the narrative's advantage. This also makes the horror seem more authentic.
The writing is a cut above many of the "Conjuring" films, although some minor plot holes and inconceivable decisions by major characters are still present. The film's score is chilling yet powerful. It's great to see the Warrens back as well, even though they are not exactly the primary characters of this movie. Despite some flaws, this is a good and fairly creative addition to the Conjuring universe. 7/10 -
tmro-6796825 September 2019Don't bother watching this movie. It's one of those standard production, boring and predictable movie.
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claudio_carvalho24 December 2019Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) lock the evil doll Annabelle in a sacred glass cabinet in their demoniac artifacts room. One year later, they need to travel and leave their daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace) with the babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman). However the local newspaper question if the Warren are heroes or hoax and the snoopy teenager Daniela Rios (Katie Sarife), who recently lost her father, lures Mary Ellen and enters in the locked room expecting to contact her father. She releases the powerful Annabelle and the girls spend the night haunted by evil spirits.
"Annabelle Comes Home", the third film of the franchising, is not bad and startle the viewer in many scenes. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are part of the cast basically to give their names to the credits since their participation is a cameo in the beginning and in the ending. But the three girls have good performances. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Annabelle 3: De Volta Para Casa" ("Annabelle 3: Back Home") -
melonhead-9443026 June 2019The Conjuring movies (1 &2) are two of my favorite horror movies. The first Annabelle movie was not great. The second one was actually very good. I did not have much by way of expectations, and this movie failed miserably to even meet those. Pacing, horrendous. No Warrens. Too many unnecessary monsters and ghosts with little to no story or purpose. Characters (especially one) doing the whole I'm-going-to-touch-this-or-go-in-here-because-I-can. Honestly, the horror is skimpy and stereotypical. Some scenes dragged on forever with no purpose. My wife, especially, was looking forward to this and is usually forgiving of bad horror movie elements, but even she called it "trash". Annabelle should have stayed away.
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I had absolutely no idea that the real Lorraine Warren died just a few months before this film was released. She passed on April 18, 2019, at the age of 92. This was definitely a nice tribute to her. Introducing Ed and Lorraine's daughter (Judy Warren) in "Annabelle Comes Home" made this film reach a different level. This film is very refreshing by taking the possession, the terror and the horror to Warren's home where the doll resides with just about everything else that's evil. It created a new atmosphere and presented us with the "haunted house" type feel. It was intense and quite the ride when things got going. The story was decent. The acting was decent. And the scares were decent. It is a decent installment to the Annabelle/The Conjuring franchise. Again, great tribute to the real Lorraine Warren. May you join and rest easy with Ed now. This film also marks the directorial debut of Gary Dauberman, who was involved with "The Nun" and the "It" remakes. adaptation and its upcoming second installment, now introducing the teen hungry installment of "The Conjuring" universe and actually delivering. Overall, "Annabelle Comes Home" is a good film that I would see again with the other Annabelle and Conjuring movies.
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Abdulxoxo16 January 2021This film manages to set up tension nicely. The cinematography is solid and the score is on point. Stylistically, this film felt more similar to the two 'Conjuring' films than it did to the previous two 'Annabelle' films. This isn't just because of the presence of the Warren's, although they did help elevate the movie. It's because this film used the house, and the artifacts within, to great effect, I particularly liked that scene where the mirror shows you a little into the future, I thought it was a great scene and concept. The jump scares are quite effective. In terms of the acting, Wilson and Farmiga are great in their few scenes. I wish they'd played a bigger role here, but hopefully it shouldn't be too long till we see the Warrens again in their own movie. The main characters are the three girls, all of which I thought were decent and likable enough.
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jezwood6926 July 2019SPOILER ALERT ... this film is c**p !! There you go. An insult to the genre and the franchise, but more importantly, to my intelligence. There was a werewolf, yes a werewolf! Even if you could justify its appearance you couldn't explain it. Avoid. Hang on to the memories of the first two movies and the conjuring series. You have been warned.
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sanjidparvez28 June 2019Played mostly with the anticipation level this time, took its time for the build up in more or less every eerie encounter rather than delivering the jump scares straightaway one after another...and that's actually a good thing for a movie like this that knows its limitations & capacity to grow or give focus in certain areas. Overall, nothing spectacular but surely a better installment than last year's THE NUN.
Surprised to know that it's been rated R for "horror, violence and terror", while I thought it should be a fine example for a decently entertaining PG-13 horror. -
giorgosstefanidis4 March 2020Nothing special in this film . The stupid teenage girl which makes the worst decisions and decides to get in the basement . She touched everything bla bla bla. It has some decent moments some good jumpscares . Just 1 questions . How can 3 girls defeat so many demons !?!?
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caetanoagro6 July 2019Nothing happens until half way of the movie. I was almost sleeping. There is no story, there is no end, there is no scary parts. Terrible, huge regret.
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alcantaraj-165948 June 2021Drama, likable characters and terrific acting especially from McKenna Grace are enough to compensate for the small scares "Annabelle Comes Home" gives. Also, the movie is miles better than the previous Conjuring film La Llorona.
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I've NEVER written a review , I didn't even have an account til now. I just HAD to write one after watching it because WOW. As everyone said slow , legit takes the movie an hour just to get to the "good" parts. Daniella *sighs* was the absolute worst , I think she should've died or at least gotten badly hurt 😩 The whole movie was her fault. It made sense or even an attempt to do so. The 3 girls seen creepy things before reaching the climax and ignored them as if they're not in a house that has a room of possessed possessions. As if the sh** is normal👀 After that one VERY long day everyone just brushed it all off as if nothing even happened, as if Ed and Lorraine shouldn't know the severity of Annabelle's actual strength. They had many opportunities to escape but ignored all the signs of danger beforehand. A waste , I'm so happy I didn't pay to see this because I spent the whole movie yelling at it😄 All in all , my main point is they never made an attempt to get in the CAR & LEAVE🤦♀️
I'm not even going to proof read this before I post it to make sure it makes sense, just like the producers didn't before releasing this movie. -
gameoveraus13 July 2019Stereotypical Annabelle/Conjuring hybrid movie with all the usual creepyness and dark dingy cinemetography.
If you liked the others this will one still fits in like a mini movie even though its near 2hrs long.
The acting is decent, it possibly sets up the Warrens daughter as the future.of the franchise -
FrenchEddieFelson8 August 2019To synthetically summarize, I would say that Annabelle Comes Home (2019) is essentially dedicated to young teens. In addition, although it's directed by the padawan Gary Dauberman, do not expect anything original. Nice with low expectation.
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daxxafreeman11 July 2019Just been to see this and it was a lot of fun! Like a traditional, spooky haunted house movie that actually had a bit of a "goosebumps" feel to it. There were some good jump-scares, one of which made me and everyone else in the cinema scream - it's never going to win an award... just go and enjoy it for what it is.
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dar041716 July 2019One of the better Annabelle films. More like watching some kids walk through a haunted house for 90 min but it worked. First solid horror film where no one dies and is still entertaining.
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screamgirl4526 June 2019Judy is just like any other kid. She has loving parents and a babysitter she gets along great with. The only thing that makes her different is her parents are the famed demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. Judy can see things too. One night her babysitter and her friend accidentally unleash Annabelle.
This movie is the direct sequel to the last Annabelle movie, the third in the Annabelle series, and a prequel to The Conjuring series. Directed by Gary Dauberman and written by James Wan and Dauberman, Annabelle Comes Home is one of the few movies to be a sequel and a prequel.
Judy, played by Mckenna Grace, is just like her mom. She too can see spirits but doesn't tell anyone. Grace is best known for her role in Gifted and playing young Tonya in I, Tonya. She is great as Judy and stands on her own against the "adults" in the film. Ed and Lorraine, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, are hardly in the movie so it's up to Grace and the teenagers to carry the film.
The movie itself is slow to start but once the scares get going they work pretty well and continue the rest of the film. Sadly, all the demons get muddied and had they stuck to just two or three terrorizing them it would have been more effective. The plot is pretty good as well. It keeps you interested and entertained. It has funny moments, sad moments and plenty of jumpscares.
The Annabelle movies won't win an Oscar for anything anytime soon, this is probably one of the best in the series. Once you get over the initial slow hump it thrills and chills until the end. If you love James Wan and the universe he has created then you are sure to love Annabelle Comes Home. -
gassydabber29 June 2019My wife and I are big fans of the Conjuring (and Insidious) universe, having seen every movie in each franchise, and fully admitting there have been some chapters of hot garbage, but we don't care.
This was not hot garbage. In fact, the commitment to capturing the time period, the setup, and the actors, all superbly done.
The fault, however, was it got too messy as things took off, with three sub-spooks going on at any given time, and those spooks all playing a game of Calvinball. Calvinball, in case you don't know the game, is a game where the rules just make themselves up as the game goes on; how do you combat a ghost? A flashlight will do for some, a guitar might do for others. This prevents any tension from really grabbing hold since you don't know the stakes, and because the spooks are told through three different moments, you're left wondering what the other character has been doing all this time? (I've come to terms with the fact that the spooks must muffle everything in the room so nobody outside can hear it).
Other than that, wow. I was expecting a... what is this, a midquel? Whatever, I was expecting the 70th installment of this universe (that wasn't directed by Wan himself) to be crap, and it wasn't. Consider me pleased! -
lisadreyfys29 June 2019Thought this movie would be about Ed and Lorraine Warren but instead I had to watch three kids running around a house for an hour and 45 minutes. This movie would've been good if the production was well executed.