ANNABELLE COMES HOME / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: GARY DAUBERMAN / STARRING: VERA FERMIGA, PATRICK WILSON, MCKENNA GRACE / MADISON ISEMAN / RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 18TH
Easing you back into The Conjuring universe, paranormal investigators Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Wilson) open up this late ‘60s/early ‘70s themed plot in fine form. Building the foundations for what you are about to endure they once again exude a dose of mystery that pulls you in. However, they are not the main attraction this time around as Comes Home strays away from this mesmerising duo to instead focus on their daughter Judy Warren (Grace) as she tries to survive the evening alongside babysitter Mary Ellen (Iseman) and her friend Daniela Rios (Katie Sarife).
As soon as the Warren’s leave for the night we get roped into a false sense of security, but in a similar vein to the moment in Ghostbusters where Walter Peck regretfully unleashes the captured spirits back into NYC, we see Daniela become responsible for the release of multiple nightmares in the Warren artefact room when attempting to communicate with her deceased father. For those in attendance, it’s going to be nothing short of a terrifying event going forward.
It seems that a standard rule in a lot of horror movies is that, if it’s daytime, then you should be OK to not hide behind your popcorn, so Comes Home must be applauded for not providing safe passage for our suffering characters even in the light. Surrounding this, the creative team have visually made this feel like a classic horror, with its cold cinematography displaying wide shots of scarily decorated corridors, the textures give the viewer a realistic and worn down setting.
For fans intrigued by the extensive backstory that has been somewhat teasingly on display in artefact room in previous films, then you are really going to appreciate the evil jump scares that you get to see. Old Warren case files gruesomely haunt our occupants whilst Annabelle (probably the most evil force at this monster ensemble) simultaneously sits right at the centre, dastardly pulling the strings on said puppets as she teleports around the household to cause utter carnage.
The big pitfall is that there’s not really any major narrative between Judy, Mary, Daniela and that’s a shame, because when this universe gives you further layers, then it does indeed make those scares much more worth it. So, albeit not the strongest Annabelle release thus far, it’s an acceptable addition mainly thanks to its visit into the brain of the Warren artefact room. For those looking to uncover knowledge on the gruelling makeup process behind artifacts such as the Devil, the Ferryman, the Bride (all of which could potentially have their own side film in the future), then you’ll want to get stuck into those special features for a behind the scenes look. Accompanying this are a handful of interesting deleted scenes, and even interviews with actual Warren family members.
