Annabelle Comes Home [Blu-ray] [2019]

Movie: It was great to see another however... ————————————Pros————————————— (Picture) Look impressive on a well calibrated OLED, 4k upscale via Oppo. Digital Copy. Slipcover. ————————————Cons———————————— Felt like the movie was an after though. Didn’t feel like a rate R, more like a PG-13 one. (Sound) Atmos effects were not as great as the Atmos on the Creations, Conjuring 2 or Llorona even on a well calibrated 7.2.4. The sound this time around was unbalanced. Some effects were too loud over everything else like when little box closes on its own. The dialog was too low & had to crank it up a few decibels, 2-4. Some height channel scenes didn’t make sense like some door knock came out of the ceiling speakers instead of the sides as character turned. The only height sound that was projected correctly was the doorbells rings. The sounds was clean & low was fine however. No 4K. Wishes: 4K release for Dolby Vision.

After the big disappointment the first Annabelle movie was, Warner really made up everything that they did wrong with "Annabelle Creation", which is in my opinion, the best movie from all the "Conjuring" movies including the main movies and all the spin-offs, so I was excited for the third movie! As with "The Nun" and "The Curse of la Llorona" I avoided all trailers and promos at all costs to be more shocked and scared when I watched the actual movie, because Warner always seems to give too much scares at the trailers, so when the actual scares come in the movie all the effect is lost, but I could not run away from all trailers as the movie was heavily promoted at theaters. With "Annabelle Comes Home", the third installment of the Annabelle movie series, you could easily think that either Warner is trying to get as much money as they can as "The Conjuring" movie series is one of the most successful horror franchises of the decade, and "Annabelle Comes Home" does not disappoint. This third installment is focused on Judy, the Warrens' daughter and her babysitter, Mary Ellen, who stay home alone after Judy's parents, Ed and Lorraine leave the house for one day. What seemed like another babysitting day easily becomes a nightmare, after Mary Ellen's nosy best friend, Daniela finds out what the Warrens do for a living. Feeling curious of the room filled with "cursed" objects, Daniela unleashes the demon that is trapped on Annabelle's body. The biggest strength from "Annabelle Comes Home" is how simple and yet effective the movie is. The movie doesn't really add something new to the franchise, but if you decide to let that fact go you will have a good time. There are some scares that are your basic Conjuring scares, so they might not be super effective, but other amazingly-executed new ways of scaring you are also present. I jumped a lot of times during the movie for how unexpected and amazing they were. As 90% of the movie happens at the Warrens' house, the movie takes full advantage of this. Even though this is an Annabelle movie, the movie finally uses more cursed objects like the bride dress, the haunted TV or a werewolf to deliver a "freshness" without taking too much of our attention of Annabelle. That was my favorite part of the movie. It ended up delivering much more of what I thought! McKenna Grace and Madison Iseman are without a doubt the biggest stars of the movie; they give more layers to characters that could easily feel one-dimensional and they performances were believable and amazing. The rest of the cast, including Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who return on a limited capacity, are still flawless on every scene they're in. Even though this is not the strongest "Annabelle" to date, I think they did an amazing job with this one and I felt like the movie had more strengths than weaknesses. If you decide to ignore the flaws the film has, you'll end up loving this one too!

I will stand by what I say about most Conjuring universe films and that if you mute the movie it isn't scary. The Nun from 2018 was ear busting loud in theaters for no other reason than to "scare" you. I proved this yet again once it was released on Blu Ray, that's right I bought it still lol. With this one I thought it would be the same way so I skipped it in the theater. Well I was wrong. This movie, takes time to get there after the predictable beginning, is genuinely scary. Sure you got your jump scares but there were so many parts that got my heart racing just based on the sound, or lack of, and atmosphere. It's really a self contained movie like a majority of the others taking place essentially in one location but it makes the most of it. Don't let modern day film snobs who tell you movies like the Babadook or Hereditary are horror even though nothing scary really happens and that movies like Conjuring aren't horror. Should horror movies be scary? Yes lol. If they aren't then they aren't horror.

I always thought “Chucky” was the world’s most evil doll, but let me tell you the evil witch “Annabelle” doll would eat him for breakfast! After the paranormal investigators (Ed & Lorraine Warren) (Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga) travel to investigate haunting activities by Annabelle in a couple’s home, they decide the best thing to do is to confiscate the doll to take it home and store it in their evil spirit artifact room…..Annabelle does not let this transition easily happen as you may imagine! But they do get the doll home and take the precautions of placing it in a glass encasement and getting it blessed by a priest. Shortly thereafter they are called to another investigation and are out of the movie. They do have a 10-12 year old daughter who stays behind with a trusted babysitter. Unfortunately the babysitter has a girlfriend who comes over who is not so trusted. She eventually breaks into the artifact room and releases “Annabelle”, and that’s when the fun starts! It takes over an hour for this to happen but when it does this movie finally moves into high gear as these girls have not only Annabelle to deal with, but also the other evil spirits that room was harboring. Can’t say I liked it better than the previous two Annabelle movies, a little more cliched but it is still quite entertaining!

As cinematic universes come and go, the one surprise has been the shared universe of the Conjuring. While franchises from DC, Universal and even Star Wars have struggled or outright failed to find footing, Annabelle Comes Home proves that success can be found even for a studio with out "Marvel" in the name. Annabelle has always been the weaker entry compared to the Conjuring and this film works to bring those two together. While the 1st "Annabelle" was simply fine, it was easily eclipsed by "Creation", the prequel that came after it. This movie falls some where in between these entries, as neither the best or the worst. Story wise ACH works as a sequal to the original Annabelle and a prequel to the "Conjuring 2". While much of the story is clearly used to set up multiple sequels and ends up being a bit bloated; Longtime fans will find plenty to like and provide a bit of spooky if not too familiar fun along the way

Is Child's Play your favorite movie? If so then this is the movie for you. Sure to give children physiological issues for years to come. My nephew became incontinent after watching this movie. His mother thinks it's a medical problem and I can't bring myself to tell her the truth. I plan on giving him an Annabelle doll for x-mas this year just to see the look on his face when he opens it on x-mas morning. Now I need to figure out what to let his sister watch. He is 8 and she is 5. I'm not a monster so I will not let her watch this movie but I'm thinking of letting her watch Killer Clowns From Mars. I think it's healthy to have a fear of clowns and that's a great movie to instill that fear. I just need to find a good clown mask to put on when I come back from the bathroom during the movie to really hammer in that fear for years to come.

The entire collection from the Conjuring Universe is one mind game and twist to another and that's what makes them all so good. Not much gore or blood, but the mental twists and surprises that make your hair stand on end is the catch. This installment is no different and really makes you wonder "what if". Not sure if I hate to love the collection or love to hate this doll as it has wreaked so much havoc, hate and discontent in its existence. A very good watch and a solid addition to the Universe, even from a freshman director. Turn down the lights, close the curtains, hang on.

As a huge fan of all the Conjuring Universe of movies, Annabelle Come Home is AWESOME!! I know many people were not a fan of this movie, but I say give it a chance. If you love the Conjuring Universe of movies like The Nun, The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle, Annabelle Creation; this movie is a definite watch! As a paranormal investigator; Ed and Lorraine Warren paved the way for us to not feel weird about the paranormal. I'm glad all of these were made as you can feel the creep factor. The actors are on point, the premise is great. You can almost feel like you are in the movie, at least I do. I give this movie 5 stars as I said I love the Conjuring Series. Never a disappointment!