Annabelle Comes Home

The Warren's ten-year-old daughter, Judy, has no friends because they know all about her paranormal investigating parents and the evil artifacts they keep locked safely in the basement (to protect society). While babysitting Judy, teen Mary Ellen invites her friend Daniela over to celebrate Judy's birthday. Daniela turns out to be one of those nosy teens whose curiosity about the afterlife leads her to literally unlock the evil in the basement.

Writing Quality: Good, though a lot of the common tropes are used. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but because the producers are so used to these films, it seems that they gloss over the special effects when they should zoom in and linger a bit longer to give it that more frightening feel. At first, Daniela's actions are annoying; of course, if you open the door to trouble, it will find you, as it does here. But it's her need to find peace with her dad (he died in a car accident and she was driving so she feels responsible for his death) that allows you a little bit of empathy. Just a little. The focus expands from just the Annabelle doll to a plethora of other demon-possessed artifacts, so it feels a little out there as we dive into other universes with new "villains", making this film feel a bit different than its predecessors.

Scare Factor: It is a scary movie with a couple of places that might startle you, but because so many of the same tropes are used, most of them don't scare. What I found really odd is that we only see "Bee" for a few seconds. Because she possesses the doll, one would think she would be shown more, like in "Creation".

Content (sex, language, & violence): No sex. Mild language, if any. Violence occurs when someone pushes a knife into someone and when a girl is tossed to the wall.

Values & Themes: Containing evil, protecting loved ones, befriending loners.

I do wish that Ed and Lorraine were shown more; we get to see them only in the opening scene and then at the very end.

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