Dan Abel’s review published on Letterboxd:
31 Days of Horror 2021 - Film 46
The Warrens are now in possession of the Annabelle doll and the evil that's attached to it. It's now safe and the world is protected from it's evil influence. One year later their daughter Judy is left with a babysitter while they go on a trip. When the babysitter's curious best friend comes over to keep them company she finds her way into the Warren's storage area and unwittingly unleashes Annabelle and everything else around her.
As soon as I saw Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in their roles as The Warrens as I instantly excited for the rest of the film. They ensure that the first thirteen minutes usher in an awesome setup for what's to come. After that, not so much. With Annabelle Comes Home it seems as if James Wan and his new director wanted to create their version of an old school Nintendo Entertainment System era horror game like Castlevania. Just throw everything you got at the protagonists. Open up the door to the Warren museum and go nuts. I'm surprised bats, zombies, and flying candlesticks weren't part of the show. I mean, I get it. Annabelle and the demon within serve as a sort of beacon for spirits and demons, and the setting is the Warren home, but still....eh. This feels too removed from the typical film in the The Conjuring Cinematic Universe and not in a good way.
After the fine job that he did with the first film, it's a shame that David F. Sandberg wasn't brought back to helm this one. Instead he did Shazam! and we got stuck with James Wan and Gary Dauberman run amok. In my head I'm just gonna tell myself that Sandberg turned them down after reading the script. It's my story and I'm sticking with it. I didn't hate Annabelle Comes Home but it was probably the biggest letdown in The Conjuring Universe for me. After the decent first film and awesome sequel my expectations were too high. It's better than The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona but those two films didn't come with the self imposed hype train that this one did. Maybe it's my fault? I don't know and nor do I care.
Annabelle Comes Home is definitely worth a watch to complete the franchise and keep up with the cinematic story arc of The Conjuring Universe but I came away from this feeling like I just watched a bag of gimmicks thrown at the screen. Please end the Annabelle franchise now, and shift focus to other parts of that universe. There's so much potential elsewhere within it.
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31 Days of Horror 2021
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