Annabelle Comes Home review round-up: Critics divided on new Conjuring film
Annabelle Comes Home but are critics pleased to see her? Here's what the reviews are saying
She's back and she's ready to possess them all.
The third film in the Annabelle doll trilogy and the latest instalment of The Conjuring franchise from James Wan is finally here.
Annabelle Comes Home, directed by Gary Dauberman, sees Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) return to their home with the cursed doll known as Annabelle.
However, their innocent daughter (Mckenna Grace) and her babysitters soon find that Annabelle - of course - has a malevolent plan in mind for them.
But what are critics saying about the new horror?
Here is how the critical reception for Annabelle Comes Home is shaping up thus far.
Annabelle Comes Home review round-up
The Mary Sue
Kate Gardner was very positive in her review of the doll horror.
"The best part of the film is how small the set is. The Warrens live in a ranch home, the average suburban place. There’s nowhere to hide. The girls hurry from one end to another, but there is nowhere to go once the monsters start coming for them. It increases the sense of dread as the film builds towards the climax, knowing that they’re stuck in one place."
She concluded: "If the formula isn't broken, don't fix it. We all need popcorn horror fare, and the Conjuring franchise, and Annabelle, know how to deliver."
Deadline
Pete Hammond was also positive regarding the film in his verdict.
"What is really impressive to me is how much mileage these filmmakers, including director-writer Gary Dauberman, get out of this doll that simply exists, preferring to let others do all her dirty work. Imagine what they save on special effects with this inanimate movie star?"
He concluded: "If you were on board for the first two installments of the Annabelle (so far) trilogy, you will probably be on board this one as well which does a serviceable job keeping this doll in business. Warner Bros unleashes her wrath Friday."
components.molecules.ReadMore: Annabelle Comes Home 2019 UK release date, cast, trailer, plot, Conjuring linksThe Wrap
Elizabeth Weitzman was much less forgiving on the new Conjuring instalment in her take.
"Annabelle seems to be on the same shoot-it-all-in-a-day schedule as Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. None of them appear in more than a few scenes, preferring to set things up and then let a cast of (admittedly appealing) unknowns take over."
She added: "Still, there’s an awful lot of waiting going on here, even as violins screech and ghost voices whisper. And all the while, that whole room of nastiness is just sitting there, a vault of unexploited potential."
Entertainment Weekly
Darren Franich gave a mixed but ultimately negative review to the threequel.
"The Conjuring has become one of the most unusual (and successful) cinematic universes, spinning the true-ish tales of the Warrens’ occult investigations into box office gold. Annabelle Comes Home suffers, I think, from a mercantile quality, the sense you’re watching multiple elevator pitches crammed into feature shape.
"There could be many more spin-offs in that artifact room — a real place, by the way, visited by my colleague Clark Collis in 2013. But you worry this franchise machinery is getting creaky from overuse, like a beloved old chair that can now only hold the weight of one tiny doll."
Rotten Tomatoes
So despite the mixed reviews, what is review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes showing about the film?
While no consensus has been reached yet, Annabelle Comes Home is just about "Fresh" with 61% of reviews being positive.
Time will tell if she stays that way.
Annabelle Comes Home is in UK cinemas from July 12, 2019.
