Annabelle Comes Home is the seventh instalment in what has now been deemed ‘The Conjuring Universe’, as well as being the third movie in the Annabelle franchise. Safe to say people might have a little catching up to do before heading to cinemas for this latest horror flick.
Ed and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) introduce their daughter, Judy (played by up-and-coming Mckenna Grace), who unwittingly developed her mother’s gift for contacting spirits. Left under the watchful eye of babysitter Mary, it’s not long before Annabelle begins to create havoc, thanks in part to Mary’s friend, Daniela.
Annabelle herself, however, takes much of a backseat in her own movie, instead possessing a troupe of other haunted items in the Warren’s house to do her dirty work for her. Despite a horde of evil spirits to get the scares going, the film really struggles to find its feet. Most of the jump scares are predictable, the characters are at points more laughable than terrifying – specifically the ‘Hellhound of Essex’, whose graphics leave much to be desired – and the plot never really gets off the ground.
Replaying the haunted house and sleepover stereotypes used in the Annabelle films, it’s a shame that the script writers didn’t quite meet the mark with the concept. Sure, haunted house movies are overdone, but the concept of a house filled with different haunted items, could have refreshed the repetition of the plot.
However, Annabelle Comes Home sits more on par with the new Goosebumps movies. It’s also a shame, considering Elizabeth Warren’s recent death, that this film didn’t make more of an impact with horror movie fans. The cast make what they can of what is a lazy script, and the film is a fine rainy day watch that will undoubtedly make its way to Netflix in coming months, but compared to some of its predecessors, it doesn’t quite hit the mark within The Conjuring Universe.
Annabelle Comes Home is out in cinemas now, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.