This might, unfortunately, mean the exit of Annabelle to allow for new horror characters to take over. After all, the Conjuring Universe is growing and what might be useful is the overall thread of correlation where each character has its distinct purpose and role.
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Despite several emphases on how evil doesn’t possess things but people, the infamous creepy doll Annabelle somehow manages to become the iconic object of terror in 3 spin-off films. The latest of which will be opening in theatres this week in the form of Annabelle Comes Home directed and scripted by Gary Dauberman.
Perhaps this might just be a reflection of human nature where people tend to fixate their focus and attention upon objects rather than themselves. The franchise itself has also devised a few scare scenes involving the doll as well – seemingly trying to induce an implied notion that matters are probably not as simple as people choose to believe them to be.
This includes the opening scene where Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively) bring Annabelle back to their home and contain it within a cabinet made of church glass with the help of a religious priest. “The evil is contained”, says Lorraine with a prolonged shot of Annabelle sitting behind church glass.
This plot device was exploited by Dauberman and become the very premise of Annabelle Comes Home that primarily takes place within the Warrens’ residence. Conveniently leaving home for the weekend, the Warrens employ babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) to stay with and care for the Warrens’ young daughter Judy (McKenna Grace). This also, unfortunately, means (to the disappointment of some fans) that the film does not enjoy the company of the Warrens for most of the film’s 100 minutes.
Despite so, the onscreen chemistry between Grace and Iseman is enough to command screen presence. This is also further enhanced with the inclusion of Mary Ellen’s friend Daniella Rios (Katie Sarife). This trio is sadly let down by the uninspiring story and non-gratifying scare techniques.
When Annabelle is let loose from the church glass, various supernatural beings start to haunt the trio in what appears to be in structured turns. With the Ferryman, the Hellhound, the Bride, and strangely a haunted television set and typewriter, viewers might be lost given that minimal or no backstories had been elaborated in the film for any proper appreciation of these new supernatural villains.
While it might have been an orchestrated endeavour to open the pathways for potentially new spin-offs with new horror icons, it is after all an Annabelle film where these should not take away too much screen time from the doll. This results in an overall perceived loss in the direction in terms of what the film really meant in the eyes of Dauberman.
An ideal scare would involve a balanced mix of blatant frights and tense moments. Dauberman’s approach has too much tense building moments that culminate in nothing substantial that is worth shouting about. After several dosages of such scare techniques, the audience eventually wears out and loses interest altogether.
This might, unfortunately, mean the exit of Annabelle to allow for new horror characters to take over. After all, the Conjuring Universe is growing and what might be useful is the overall thread of correlation where each character has its distinct purpose and role. Annabelle Comes Home to disappointed fans whose appetite for horror has grown together with the franchise.
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