Before I dive in, I thought some people might find it helpful to know what has been established so far for this doll, Annabelle. It will help by providing a refresher to all of those who don’t remember the others and it will also help those who haven’t seen any of these before but want to see this one! Annabelle has graced the screens in four other movies so feel free and check out this timeline!
Annabelle Comes Home might be the scariest one so far in The Conjuring series! The haunting elements were minimalistic, but functional. Responding to door knocks with no one is there is creepy. Spontaneous music when you’re home alone is eerie. They’re simple, but they work! This movie WILL scare you! Watch out because there are some jump scares too.
“All of these objects are either haunted, possessed or have been used in a ritualistic practice.”
Remember Ed and Lorraine’s room filled with haunted objects? The same room that they put the circus music box from The Conjuring in? The very same room that houses one very strong and manipulative doll, Annabelle? This movie follows the events that take place after Ed and Lorraine bring her home, to that room. They hope to contain whatever is attached to it and safeguard it from harming anyone else. Well, that’s the goal anyway. This room is blessed twice a month by a priest and yet she can still stir up the other objects while simultaneously gaining a grip on the people who live in the house, specifically their daughter, Judy, her babysitter, Mary Ellen, and school friend, Daniela.
I liked how this movie shed light on some of the other objects in the room because I’ve always wondered what they did to end up in the same room with Annabelle and this movie finally lets us know. It introduced some interesting and VERY terrifying new hauntings including a Ferryman and a wedding dress with a mind of its own. Potential spin-offs galore that’s all I’m saying!
We don’t see a lot of Ed or Lorraine in this movie, but I’m glad to report that their absence did not make this movie suffer. If anything them being away made it scarier because it left three novices in their place with Judy leading the charge against Annabelle’s terror. It really showcased Judy’s character and I thought Mckenna Grace did an impressive job. Judy possesses elements from both of her parents that helped them combat Annabelle and it just made this movie shine.
There was also some unexpected humour in here which was really clever because it helped balance all the fright. “Bob’s got balls” is a common saying, said by many in this movie and it never got old. Bob is a cute and awkward teenage boy who’s crushing on Judy’s babysitter, Mary Ellen. There’s one moment where he heroically tries to save a chicken from a hellhound and it’s HILARIOUS! I won’t spoil anymore, but I will say that I won’t be surprised if Bob becomes a fan favourite. Plus, it’s also great that the humour doesn’t take away from the very serious nature of Annabelle either.
One thing that’s still bothering me, which is only minor, but in the trailer when you see Annabelle on the bed with Judy, what you don’t see is Mary Ellen coming in to check on her, not giving the Annabelle doll a second look. First off, the doll is absolutely terrifying in every possible way and second she’s known the Warrens for a while so she should know that that doll is not one of Judy’s, but she leaves not knowing the difference. It’s just an infuriating side note that I had to get off my chest. This is just a small a negative comment to a really good movie!
Watch closely and let me know if you spotted the same thing at about halfway to an hour in, we see a brief glimpse on the television of a game/talk show and it showed a Raggedy Ann doll with a child and the host. And for those of you that didn’t know already, the original Annabelle doll (yep, this is real!) was a Raggedy Ann doll. For cinematic purposes they chose to craft her in porcelain for extra scare factor.
This is a must-see for any fans of horror! It had a great, complete story with even better acting. Despite having seen all the movies myself, I feel like it’s not necessary to enjoy this one. It lets you know everything going on and the plot flows with ease so you won’t be confused by them or the characters that were previously established in the other movies.
And if you want to know even more about this real Annabelle doll, check out this great video by Ghost Adventures. It’s very interesting to watch especially considering the fact that no investigative team has been able to document this doll before, due to the very real danger it poses to anyone who comes into contact with it.
