Annabelle Comes Home (2019) or, Annabelle: Bored to Death!

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+ Most Undeserved Hit of the Year

A wealth of exitement-building snaps from the film surrounds the menacing titular doll on this poster for Gary Dauberman's Annabelle Comes Home

As the possessed Annabelle doll is safely stored in a consecrated cabinet in the home of the country's leading demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren, its power is checked. Right until the Warrens leave their daughter Judy for a night to the care of a young, local babysitter, and evil is once again let loose.

Annabelle Comes Home is the 7th film in the Conjuring franchise and the third in the Annabelle spin-off series, following Annabelle (2014) and Annabelle: Creation (2017). It is written by writer/director Gary Dauberman (It (2017), co-writer), whose debut it is. James Wan (Saw (2004)) supplied story elements.
The film gets started with a premise that seems sound enough; a babysitter story. Many good fright tales involve a babysitter. Sadly what follows is a limp serving that is more likely to make you drowsy or downright fall asleep than scare you, - especially if you have seen strong horror films either in or outside of this golden franchise in the past.
The basic story has just three characters: Judy, the bullied Warren girl, Mary Ellen, the trustworthy but naive babysitter, and Daniela, the bad-girl high school friend of Mary Ellen, who comes to snoop around the Warren room of evil, because she wants to reconnect with her late "darling" father. The three aren't compelling or too sympathetic. In fact they are dull, and the outsider Daniela's function as the spring whose curiosity lets the genie out is painfully obvious from the second she arrives to the house.
Annabelle Comes Home excels in postponing real horror moments again and again, but without us getting invested in the narrative and characters, the result instead is that we just grow tired, and the horror feels positively sedated as the worst thing that's happened in the film going on over its halfway point is the death of a chicken off-screen.
The concept involves springing to life some of the possessed objects and presences of the Warren home, and one scene of the Ferryman does have a bit of zest to it, but that's pretty much it. Everything else has been seen and done much better elsewhere, and the titular doll becomes a side prop here, as we long for the end credits to set us free. Annabelle Comes Home doesn't terrorize its characters enough to terrorize or even spook horror veteran audiences like me.
The Warrens in the familiar guise of Patrick Wilson (Stretch (2014)) and Vera Farmiga (Breaking and Entering (2006)) open and close the film, but in the closing Annabelle Comes Home also manages to deal haphazardly with these pillars of the franchise: SPOILER On returning to their home following the irresponsible caretaking of their daughter and house, Lorraine immediately forgives the naughty Daniela for putting every one and everything in danger, (not so dangerous we must surmise), - and Ed uses an overly familiar nickname that we don't see how he knows; both additional instances of poor scriptwriting.
There is a fourth leg to the story, which is a lame and way over-the-top cute romance story: Twinkle-eyed Michael Cimino (No Child Left Behind (2019, TV movie)) is just too cute as store clerk Bob, - SPOILER another character whom the film doesn't see itself fit to kill, (as any halfway decent horror film would.) Annabelle Comes Home kills just one thing, slowly, which is time.

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Gary Dauberman: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2019 in films - according to Film Excess
The Nun (2018) - Hardy succeeds with old-timey Gothic horror on FX steroids (writer)
It (2017) - Muschietti succeeds with terrifying, thoroughly well-made King adaptation (co-writer)
Annabelle: Creation (2017) - Sandberg's orphanage doll prequel is slow but rewarding (writer)
Annabelle (2014) - Leonetti's creepy if derivative Conjuring spin-off (writer)

From the Wonderful Wide Web, watch here as a smart dog reacts to the trailer for the movie

Cost: Reportedly 27-32 mil. $
Box office: 83.6 mil. $ and counting
= Box office success (has already grossed 2.61 times its cost)
[Annabelle Comes Home premiered 20 June (Los Angeles, California) and runs 106 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, and in Atlanta, Georgia from October - December 2018. It opened to a 20.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, behind Toy Story 4, - the smallest opening of any Conjuring film, and has grossed 40.4 mil. $ domestically so far. The film has yet to open in 11 countries. The franchise is set to return with The Conjuring 3 (2020). Dauberman does not have his next director's gig announced yet. Mckenna Grace (The haunting of Hill House (2018), TV-series), who plays Judy, returns with a voice performance in Scoob (2020) and physically in Ghostbusters (2020); Wilson in Midway (2019), and Farmiga in The Many Saints of Newark (2020). Annabelle Comes Home is fresh at 66 % with a 5.95/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Annabelle Comes Home?

The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods

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Vera Farmiga looks terrified on this poster for James Wan's The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 is the sequel to great Malaysian co-writer/director James Wan's (Insidious (2010)) excellent 2013 horror hit The Conjuring. He has co-written the script with Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes (The Conjuring, both) and David Leslie Johnson (Red Riding Hood (2011)).

In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are taking a time-out from hauntings, when a desperate cry for help reaches them from a family in Enfield, London, England, whose house is under attack by a malicious demon.

Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air (2009)) and Patrick Wilson (Prometheus (2012)) are back as the Warrens, and the two add a crucial ingredient to the films, which is their intense likability, but also a refreshing note of romance here in the successful second Conjuring. The film also manages to squeeze in a couple of humorous moments that don't affect the general tone, which is admirable. - That is a general tone of menace and otherworldly evil, which makes the film periodically quite scary. SPOILER It opens with a pre-story, the Amityville Horror, (a famous US haunting that has already inspired several horror films), which I found more chilling than the Annabelle pre-story in the first film.

Some of the 'tricks' of the film are very similar to the goings-on in the first film, (a lot of walking around the house at night and so on), and so we know what to expect this time, which makes it harder to surprise us. The story also has some weak corners that are best overlooked while watching it, but which are hard not to wonder about after: SPOILER First of all, what does it take for the seemingly 'all-powerful' Catholic Church to become convinced and show up and help? (The police seem convinced of the truthfulness of the haunting.) SPOILER Also the solution to the struggle seems to come almost out of the sky from two tapes crossing before Wilson's eyes... (but what the heck.)
Because Conjuring 2 is still solid filmmaking: The production design of the house is outstanding, - it seems unhealthy to the core, marred by the poverty that defines the mother who tries to raise her young there. SPOILER and the basement flooding is a cool addition. The film has effective jump scares, but also takes more than 20 minutes longer (and double the budget) of the terrific original. Some undoubtedly used on the crooked man CGI effects, which nevertheless don't register as scary. The nun sequences, on the other hand, are among the film's best, which has a primary ghost in old dead man Bill Wilkins.
Simon McBurney (The Last King of Scotland (2006)) is good as a British paranormal investigator, who contributes a touching moment, and Madison Wolfe (Joy (2015)) and Frances O'Connor (Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)) are both good as the demonized girl and her stressed-out mother.
The Conjuring 2 is an unapologetically Christian horror movie, - which its posters also don't hide, and which I like. Horror fans are sure to enjoy it voraciously.

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2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years 

This promotional video lets you explore the Enfield house in 360 degree fashion

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 104.6 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say (but already a box office success)
[The Conjuring 2 premiered June 7 (TCL Chinese Theatre, LA) and runs 134 minutes. The real basis of the movie can be read about here. Filming took place from September - December 2015 in California and on location for 10 days in London. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe was brought in to bless the US set before filming due to a series of unexplainable events during production of the first film. The film was granted a 5.6 mil. $ tax credit from the California Film Commission for shooting in the state. It opened #1 to a 40.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, (just under the first film's 41.8 mil. $ first weekend). The Conjuring 2 is certified fresh at 76 % with a 6.5 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Conjuring 2?

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) - Powerful Holocaust story seen through the eyes of an 8 year-old German boy

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+ Best War Movie of the Year

The poster for Mark Herman's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas seems to promise something more hopeful than is the case

QUICK REVIEW:

Bruno is 8, when his parents decide to move the family because of his father's soldier-job. The new place is very boring, but Bruno does meet another boy behind a fence with a weird name, and they become friends.
Outstanding film; a new concentration camp story, achieved to powerful effect in non-epic playtime (just 94 minutes).
Fine performances from David Thewlis (The New World (2005)) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed (2006)); particularly Asa Butterfield (Hugo (2011)) is magnificent, slightly gawky and innocent the movie through. Jack Scanlon (Married Single Other, TV (2010)), who plays the Jewish boy Shmuel, is also good.
Very depressing and tragic film, - a real heart-breaker, but, of course, no serious Holocaust-film could be anything else.
British director Mark Herman (Little Voice (1998)) seems to have possibly ended his career with Pyjamas, an awesome end for any director. 

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2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

The amazing Asa Butterfield offers us a fresh, outside look on Holocaust, - that of an 8 year-old boy, - in Mark Herman's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Watch the affecting trailer here

Budget: 12.5 mil. $
Box office: 20.4 mil. $
= Minor hit

What do you think of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas?
Have you seen other movies by Mark Herman, and if so, how were they?

The Conjuring (2013) - Wan and Co. triumph with spectacular horror

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+ Best Horror Movie of the Year

A noose from an old crooked tree and an eerie supernatural reflection in the foliage defines this effective poster for James Wan's The Conjuring

I started being a little interested in seeing The Conjuring, when the story of its MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) trial was reported: A PG-13 rating was denied the film, which prompted the creators, as is common, to ask what they could remove to get the sought after rating that allows the lucrative young teen crowds in to see it in cinemas. The answer they got was that there were no particular scenes that they could cut, because the film over-all was simply 'too scary.'
When the film came out to loud critical and audience thrills everywhere, I knew I had to see it.
And The Conjuring doesn't disappoint: It really is scary. The scariest horror to come out in years.

Paranormal investigators marrieds Ed and Lorraine Warren come to the Perron family's new home on Rhode Island in 1971, when several supernatural disturbances indicate that the house is haunted.

The film is a haunted house story as most of us have seen more than a few times before, but ghosts and demons never grow old, just as love or sex, and the packaging here is so tempting and well-made that most will find themselves inescapably falling into old traps, getting goose bumps and tightened muscles, and probably even jumping out of their seats a few times.
Great Malaysian-born Australian director James Wan (Stygian (2000)) already has an ardent horror following due to his preceding great horror Saw (2004) and frightening haunted house horror Insidious (2010), both spectacular and cheaply produced awe-inspiring, exceptional money-makers. The Conjuring is written by twin brothers Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes (Jumping Ship (2001, TV movie, both)).
The Conjuring relies on old gimmicks such as banging doors, winds, darkness etc. to a great degree, but it also mixes in other great horror devices such as the possessed doll, the witch, Satan, a demon, animals dying etc. And this in a story that actually works. This is not least due to great actors: Vera Farmiga (Mind the Gap (2004)), Patrick Wilson (Aquaman (2018)), Lili Taylor (Factotum (2005)) and Ron Livingston (Standoff (2006-07)). Taylor I had never thought I would see in a role or a film like this, but she does great, and they all elevate the film with their sound performances. The child actors, - the family have 5 daughters, - are good but do 'squeak' towards the less than natural once of twice. Nothing glaring but assessing The Conjuring comes to looking for very minor issues, because it is so greeat.
The camera work (cinematographer John R. Leonetti (The Scorpion King (2002))) is often intricate, elegant in a classical sense and impressively achieved, mostly following characters' movements soaring-like through the house. The sound department makes use of sudden, very loud noises and complete silence at other times. - All effectively. And the house, tree and the doll are also all designed with enjoyable special care and thought behind them. - They are all very scary. And The Conjuring's true-story claims naturally don't diminish its effect. (Farmiga and Wilson worked with the actual Lorraine Warren as preparation for the film, (Ed Warren had passed away.))
The Conjuring is a wicked good time.

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The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  
Insidious (2010) - Wan's thrilling, scary ghost horror 

If you trust my review, you really don't have to see the trailer, which just might spoil some great moments in the film for you, but here it is

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 319.4 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 15.97 times its cost)
[The Conjuring premiered 8 June (Nocturna, Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival, Spain) and runs 112 minutes. The Warrens experiences was also the foundation of The Amityville Horror (1977, novel) and the resulting film franchise (21 films 1979-2018). Filming took 38 days from February - April 2012 in North Carolina. It was done chronologically, and Lorraine Warren visited the set. The film opened #1 to a 41.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#4) and grossed 137.4 mil. $ (43 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Mexico with 18.9 mil. $ (5.9 %) and the UK with 16.2 mil. $ (5 %). Lawsuits concerning the house that is the basis of the film's current owners concerning satanic vandalism and invasions stemming from the film as well as a copyrights lawsuit has been quieted down by Warner Bros.. The film was ignored for all major awards. It has so far spurred one good sequel The Conjuring 2 (2016), with returning Wan, Wilson and Farmiga, as well as successful spin-offs Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017) and The Nun (2018). Wan returned with Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). Farmiga returned in Closer to the Moon (2014), Wilson in Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), Taylor in 4 TV-series before theatrically in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Livingston in The Sidekick (2013, short) and theatrically in Parkland (2013). The Conjuring is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.2/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Conjuring?