RECENT WATCHES: Annabella Comes Home (2019)

The blood-thirsty capitalists love the "Cinematic Universe" model pioneered by Marvel, because it ensures a steady stream of "content." A new superhero movie in theaters every six months means constant growth, ideally, and that's what the Wall Street types are all about. Horror is a genre perhaps better suited to this "keep churning 'em out" method, since it thrives on low stakes and lower budgets. That's certainly a factor in why the "Conjuring" universe has been one of the few successful attempts to emulate the Marvel method. However, a non-stop release schedule produces other problems, beyond simply exhausting creatives and viewers. When the head director and producer of your venture has been roped into another cinematic universe, one that necessitates far lengthier production cycles, it can interrupt your tidy calendar. In brief: James Wan had made a commitment to "Aquaman," which meant "The Conjuring 3" was going to have to wait a minute. However, the series presented its own solution. It all circles back to the Warrens after all, right? Why not simply stick them in the next "Annabelle" movie? This was surely the logic behind "Annabelle Comes Home," which is as much "The Conjuring 2.5" as it is the third entry in the demonic doll spin-off series. The sequel would see Gary Dauberman graduating from writing "Annabelle" movies to directing them too.  

Beginning the night Ed and Lorraine Warren added little Annabelle to their museum of cursed artifacts, the spiritualists quickly deduce that the doll is an especially dangerous item. The focus then shifts to Judy, the couple's young daughter, who is beginning to share her mother's medium abilities. Mary Ellen is the family's reliable babysitter and she only knows about the Warrens' creepy occupation via reputation. Her friend Daniela, who blamed herself for the recent death of her father, knows a lot about the ghost hunters. While Mary Ellen is over to watch Judy for a night, Daniela invites herself in. She sneaks into the museum of haunted objects and, unaware of the doll's power, takes Annabelle out of her case. This starts a chain reaction of terror, the spirit attracting attributes of the doll drawing a whole horde of malevolent entities to the home. The three girls – plus Bob, Mary Ellen's dorky crush who has come over in an attempt to impress the girl – will have to return Annabelle back to her case if they hope to survive the night. 

Each entry in "The Conjuring" universe has acted as a homage to a genre classic. The original was "The Amityville Horror," the sequel was "The Exorcist." The first two "Annabelles" did "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Innocents," while "The Nun" riffed on Bava and Fulci. "Annabelle Comes Home" is set right around Halloween, orange decorations up at the school and pumpkins lining the grocery store. These autumnal vibes pair with a story about a teenage babysitter protecting herself and her ward from evil. There's a more adventurous friend, a bedwetting bully, and a love interest named Bob. In other words, John Carpenter's "Halloween" was the obvious inspiration here. Unlike most callbacks to the ur-slasher, Gary Dauberman and his team do a surprisingly good job of capturing the feel of Carpenter's film. The fashion, soundtrack, production design, and the hum of an old CRT television – showing period accurate programs like "The Dating Game" and "Circle of Fear" – heavily invoke the seventies setting. "Annabelle Comes Home" also captures the pace of a seventies flick. The first act is laid-back, devoted to establishing our heroines and capturing a normal, daily routine. The beginning of the sequel is basically a hang-out movie, with few outwardly sinister events that relish a chance to be around these guys.

Shocking me further, "Annabelle Comes Home" also revolves around a genuinely likable ensemble. Replacing Sterling Jerins as Judy Warren is McKenna Grace, one of those child actresses cursed with the kind of soulful eyes that imply wisdom beyond her years. This suits Judy's growing paranormal abilities, suggesting that the girl is already very familiar with otherworldly terror. At the same time, Grace plays Judy as still a shy, vulnerable little kid, exactly the kind of heroine we root for in a horror movie. Madison Iseman has a relaxed, girl-next-door charm as Mary Ellen, which compliments Katie Sarife making Daniela the bolder, more mischievous best friend. Despite Judy seeing ghosts and Daniela's dead dad, the characters are refreshingly unburdened by backstory. If anything, they are simply really likable. Judy is bullied and quiet, always relatable qualities. Mary Ellen and Daniela do nice things for her out of the kindness of their heart, like bake her a birthday cake. Even dorky Bob, with his humiliating nickname and gawky body language, comes across as a good-natured, everyday guy. His attempts to woo Mary ideally walk the line between actually cute and suitably awkward without stepping over into being off-putting. The group is distinct and I enjoyed spending time with them, which are not always guaranteed in a horror movie. 

That "Annabelle Comes Home" has such an enjoyable cast and pleasant tone is important as, on paper, this is as cynical as a franchise extension gets. By setting the whole movie around the Warrens' collection of relics, this essentially becomes a pitch reel for every spin-off idea the series' creators could think up. Most of the demonic spirits introduced come with catchy nicknames and a gimmicky curse, as set up in the Warrens' literal case files. A white wedding dress brings with it the spirit of a murderous bride. There's the Ferryman, a demonic entity who places coins over the eyes of its intended victims. The Black Shuck shows up as a spectral werewolf. Haunted objects that lack catchy nicknames include a TV that predicts future events, a samurai armor followed by murderous voices, a Feeley Meeley board game with a mind of its own, and a chattering toy monkey. (Likely inspired by the Stephen King story that Wan recently produced an adaptation of.) Annabelle herself has to be squeezed in there too, the demonic doll forced into a co-star role in her own sequel. This leads to an episodic story structure, as each guest ghost gets a set piece devoted entirely to them. The result plays almost like a "Conjuring"-themed anthology film, a collection of loosely connected episodes with exploitable premises of their own. 

What could have been a purely mercenary series of teasers for future movies ends up being a lot more fun than that. First off, throwing all these entities together makes this a monster mash, which I can always enjoy. Secondly, Dauberman shows some skill at creating ambiance and mood. Rather than the shock-a-minute style favored by Michael Chaves, Dauberman takes his time setting up each scare. When the jump comes, they are inevitably very loud. However, "Annabelle Comes Home" focusing as much on a shadowy, dusty ambiance as the shrieks create more of a fun house atmosphere. This is the fun kind of boo-show, rather than a tedious one. There are screaming spectres and people being dragged across the floor by unseen forces but only after the care has been taking to build up to it. Michael Burgess throws in some first person POV shots whenever that ghost werewolf is around, furthering the feeling that this is a light-hearted spook-a-blast as much as it is a collection of formulaic loud scares. A sequence where Judy spots the Bride during the day time, that she attempts to ignore at first, successfully brings the kind of childhood fears to mind that has been seriously lacking in "The Conjuring" for a while.

That almost all of "Annabelle Comes Home" is set in and around the Warrens' home creates a creative conservation of location that also helps build up the thrills a bit. Much like David F. Sandberg did with "Annabelle: Creation," the script makes sure to set up as many gags as possible in the first half. Mary Ellen having asthma or Judy having a slow rotating color lamp in her bedroom are definitely going to be important later, which only further sets up the sense of tension later. Being shown how a board game is played or a bell being introduced is an example of how tight the screenplay is, every scene preparing us for a later moment. It's a bit like Hitchcock's old saying about the bomb under the table. We are waiting for these elements to come back around. The movie rewards us for paying attention earlier. The aforementioned gag involving the lamp is probably the first time Annabelle herself has actually been spooky since her first appearance.

I'll admit, I first saw "Annabelle Comes Home" during a time in my life when I had a lot of free time and saw pretty much every horror movie that came out, no matter how mediocre it looked. Based on the lackluster quality of the original "Annabelle" – I hadn't caught up with "Creation" yet – I went into this one with rock bottom expectations. I came away liking it so much more than expected, finding it to be a genuinely fun and sweet horror show. I wondered if simply figuring the movie would suck made me overrate it a bit. However, this rewatch of "Annabelle Comes Home" proves it's actually a decently executed horror movie. Its batch of lovable, misfit characters and cleverly engineered seventies setting works for me so well that I'll go ahead and say it: This is the best, or at least my personal favorite, entry in the entire "Conjuring" franchise. Naturally, this means it was one of the lower grossing installments – though still generated a staggering profit margin – and no future films have come along to pick up on any of the plot points it introduced. Which is a bummer, because I really wanted to know what the story is behind that ghost werewolf. [7/10]