Weird Movie Wednesday: Annabelle Comes Home

Hello and welcome to Weird Movie Wednesday, where we take a look at the weirdest movies the horror genre has to offer. This week we are discussing the newest addition to the Conjuring/Annabelle series. If you read last weeks FearStyle Friday's post then you would have seen that I was talking about seeing this movie and where I stand with these movies in general. To recap, I'm not a huge fan of this franchise however I do love the horror movie experience in theaters. I think I really just enjoy the reaction of the audience as a whole. Everyone reacts differently to horrific things, but I digress. So, I caved in and the sibs and I went to a matinee on Saturday. All I can say (in the intro) that it was weird and definitely deserves to be on my Weird Movie Wednesday. Let's get into this.

Now, I'm not sure where I read this, and I apologize that I cannot directly credit who said this, but a review summed this movie perfectly as "Goosebumps for adults". That was exactly what it was. It was silly and laughable but overall enjoyable. In fact, I think it was the best one in the whole collection. Starring the titular Annabelle, one can look forward to all sorts of paranormal happenings. You know the kind, strange knocks at the door, childish whispers and the all too common ghost dragging someone across the floor and/or out of bed (both of which happen). There were a couple of cool thinks that I didn't expect as well but before I get into that, a brief summary.

As always, the movie begins with spooky happenings involving the Warrens and some possessed object. This one takes up where the first Annabelle and shows us the ride home with the doll after the couple take it off the hands of the girls in the first movie. They are bee-bopping along, looking lovingly at each other when they are directed by a cop to turn back because there was an accident. Then their car breaks down briefly in front of a cemetery. Lorraine hears some ghostly voice who likes her doll and we see Annabelle use her evilness to push Ed into the middle of the road as an eighteen wheeler gets out of control. It wasn't the driver's fault at all, it was the doll!!!! They make it home in one piece, when we see their daughter spying through a crack in her bedroom door as her parents, accompanied by a priest, carry the doll into their museum of the occult. They say some blessings, cage the doll behind some church glass and call it a night.


We fast forward to a year later where the Warrens are in the newspaper where head lines read "Hero or Hoax?". Always unwaverd by nonbelievers, the Warrens talk to their babysitter as daughter Judy gets ready for school. In an effort to speed things along, here's what we learn in the following scenes, A) Judy can see ghost like her mom, is getting bullied because of who her parents are and because of that no one wants to come to her birthday party, B) Judy's babysitter, Mary Ellen, is the perfect babysitter who has a crush on the check out clerk, Bob, and has a best friend, Daniela, who is fascinated in the Warren's because of her father's death and is nothing but trouble. She weasels her way into coming over to the Warren's house to help celebrate Judy's birthday early with Mary Ellen. The following events are painfully obvious. Daniela does some cozying up to Judy and manages to get Judy and Mary Ellen out of the house for a while so she can snoop around in the Warren's museum. She wants to try to make contact with her dad who, as we later find out, she accidentally killed in a car accident. Nothing seem's to work though and we have to hear some cringy dialogue as she squeaks out a "if there are any presents here with me, then make yourself known". Not cliched at all. Upset that nothing happened like she thought it would, she wakes up Annabelle and all the other spirits in the house all because she touched everything. Of course, Judy knows whats up and helps the two girls out of the spooky situation. Bob even makes an appearance and is attacked by what I can only describe as a fog werewolf. Ultimately, the girls outsmart the ghost and Annabelle gets put back into her case. The movie ends at Judy's birthday where we think no one is going to show up but *gasp* all of her friends show up including Mary Ellen, Daniela, and Bob (who is now Mary Ellen's boyfriend). The final scene, before the birthday party starts, we see Daniela and Lorraine in the occult museum. Lorraine is not upset with the girl who made all of these ghost almost kill her daughter and destroy her house. Instead she gifts her with a mourners bracelet from the spooky room, some parting words, and a story from her past. All is well with the world again, thanks to the Warrens (even though they were only in the movie for about 5 mins).

That's pretty much the gist of the movie. Really not breaking new ground in terms of story telling but there was one scene that I liked very much. As you can imagine, Annabelle is turning this seemingly unassuming house into a funhouse of terror and throughout the movie, we learn a little about some of the spirits residing. We have creatures like the ferryman who propelled the tradition of placing coins of the eyes of the deceased, the fog werewolf who acts sort of like a hound of hell and protector of the gates to the underworld, and an enraged bride who makes angry anyone she possesses. II enjoyed the idea of all of these spirits but I enjoyed the Ferryman the most. Allow me to set the stage for this one. In an attempt to find Judy, Mary Ellen stumbles on what appears to be floating coins. In the dark, all you can see is a shine in the kitchen as Mary Ellen shines a flash light towards the glistening pence. When the light hits it completely, the coins fall to the floor in a spectacular and shining *Cling* on the floor. I'll admit, I liked this very much. The only other thing that tops that is while Judy and Mary Ellen are trying to find Annabelle and Mary Ellen is taken by hypnosis by a disembodied armor of a Samurai Warrior. We see nothing but her eyes as they widen with terror as we hear the screams of what can only be the sounds of the people that this warrior has killed. It was chilling to watch as she snaps out of its spell and the warrior turns his faceless helmet to face her. It was haunting. However, that was about it when it came to genuine scares and it left me feeling unsatisfied.

All in all, I would say that this wasn't the worst horror film I have ever seen but it did follow standard haunted house rules and really didn't do anything new. If anything, it was kind of cheesy and had moments of humor, which I don't hate. Would I go and see this one again? No, probably not. I don't feel like these movies hold up well on the small screen either, but I did like this one. Especially the end credits. They had images from the movie flashing in a pop-art fashion, reminiscent of old advertisements for The Exorcist which was really rad. With that said, I think that's a wrap. Let me know if you have went out and seen this one yet, if not don't worry it is still in theaters and before too long will be making its way to streaming and dvds. I hope you enjoyed today's post and if ya did then let me know by liking, sharing, and subscribing either here or on my social media accounts. Until next time, Stay Spooky!