Annabelle Comes Home

Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace) is the daughter of famous paranormal investigative team, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) Being the daughter of such famous, or perhaps strangely recognizable, in this case, celebrities, has not always been the easiest for Judy. Judy can’t stand going to school as she is constantly picked on or avoided all together (the worst of it being that she has virtually has NO friends at all, with the exception being her teenage babysitter, Mary Ellen). Add to the fact that Judy is starting to have strange visions of entities pointing toward things only complicates things even further.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here! Let’s rewind a little; shall we say…a year or two back? We rewind to that all too familiar interview with the two young female nurses (from the first Conjuring movie and subsequent movies) who explain their encounters with the Annabelle doll to Ed and Lorraine. At the conclusion of said interview Ed and Lorraine tell the ladies that Annabelle cannot simply be destroyed (the spirit would simply manifest or latch itself onto something or someone else), so they must take the doll somewhere where the evil can be contained, which these young ladies are all too happy for Ed and Lorraine to do!

To make a long story short, Ed and Lorraine bring Annabelle home realizing it’s a “beacon for all other evil spirits” and needs extra layers of spiritual protection. As such, it is not only tucked away in the Warren’s closet of occult/demonic items, but the doll is contained in a locked glass case, never to be opened under any circumstances.

Now we can fast-forward a little in time. Ed and Lorraine have to head on a long trip for about a week or so with Mary Ellen staying over and taking care of Judy. Mary Ellen cares very much for Judy, like a daughter, and knows the difficulties Judy faces and the strangeness of the house, and has even shared it with her best friend, Daniella. Daniella, however, is curious about this so-called room that has all these demonic and occult items locked up in one place.

So Daniella comes over for a visit while Mary Ellen is babysitting. Mary Ellen says don’t go poking around the house or THAT room while she and Judy are outside. Of course Daniella doesn’t listen.

Actions… have… consequences.

It can be incredibly hard to take a fresh spin on any series that has been in the spotlight for as many years as the Conjuring universe has (and for even as long as the “Annabelle” film series has, which is only 5 years [this includes the film “The Nun”]). This goes for any film series that has attempted to stand the test of time (or at, the very least, tried to make it up to a decade or longer): “The Terminator” film series (how many sequels, reboots and have we had now?), “Chuckie” film series, the “Toy Story” film series (again, series, reboots, spinoffs), etc. And yet some have been incredibly successful in their attempts to revitalize what one once thought was dead, such as the “Toy Story ”series (as I even mentioned in the review of “Toy Story 4” recently).

I say all this to make mention that while the Conjuring universe certainly has had films, cinematically speaking, that have shined and has had films that have had films that had fallen short, nevertheless each film has ingrained or placed another piece of the puzzle the overarching story that is Ed and Lorraine Warren’s life, but then again, perhaps I’m looking far too deeply into what many might consider just typical Grade B Hollywood horror flick.

What sets “Annabelle Comes Home” apart from all these other films, truthfully and somewhat pleasantly, is that the films focuses on Judy this time, not Ed and Lorraine. For the first ten minutes of the film, I thought, “Wait, no Ed and Lorraine this time? Will this slow the overall pacing of the film?” In truth, not to a great extent. Mckenna’ Grace’s performance started off rather sullen in the beginning, but as the film progressed she continued to impress me more and more.

However, the strongest detraction for this film (and this began happening with “The Nun”) was the incredibly heavy use of occult/demonic activity, mainly toward the last half of the film (which is why I rated this film “Very Offensive”). For most of the film, the horror and scares remained relatively tame throughout the movie (the guy coughing behind me scared me more than what was going on on screen, truthfully). But during the last 40 minutes of the film, the horror, scares, and violent scenes are a mile-a-minute and are enough to make grown adults turn pale. Speaking of content…

Content of Concern

Violence: Very Heavy. Spirits push Ed into oncoming traffic (he is unharmed). An evil spirit with a knife lunges toward Judy (the scene goes off screen. We later see Judy is okay). Spirits attack Mary Ellen, Judy and Daniella at various times in the film. Annabelle turns into a demon and attacks Judy and Mary Ellen. Daniella is attacked by the spirit of her father a couple times. Daniella, through the means of a television screen in the closet, is shown bloodied from head to toe. Mary Ellen is dragged across the floor by a spirit. Mary Ellen is raised in the air and choked. A spirit dog attacks Judy while she is barricaded inside a car (Judy is saved by a young male, who is attacked by the dog). A possessed character attacks Judy and Mary Ellen.

Vulgarity: F*ck (1), “Sh*t (6)

Profanity: G*d (2)

Sexual Content/Sexual Dialog: “Bob’s got b*lls (it’s a nickname, but the implication is still there) (4x), balls (by itself). There is also a failed kiss between two teenagers.

Nudity: None

Occult: Heavy. We see a variety of occultic devices and objects situated in a room. These are the focus of the movie and actually come to life at points in the movie. Demonic entities are also present in the film. A demonic spirit spews blood down a character’s throat (a means of possessing a human). We see demons try and suck out Judy’s soul

Other: We see road flares and can only assume there was a car accident (a witness is seen near the tunnel where the accident occurred). We see some dead corpses. Someone teases Judy about how if they touch her they’ll be possessed. We witness Judy being picked on several times at school. While Daniella is snooping around the Warren’s office she notices a picture of Jesus on the desk and says, “Please don’t judge me.”

Lessons

In the film, Judy is picked on because of who her family is. Maybe it isn’t simply because of her family, but also because of who they believe SHE is as well. As a result, they isolate her, and in turn, she feels lost and alone.

As Christians, we are all part of one family. A family that separates that MUST separate us from the rest of the world.

“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” —Romans 12:5

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” —1 John 2:15-16

And since we ARE separate from the rest of the world this results in trials and tribulations for those of us who serve Him:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” -1 Peter 4:12-14

Final Thoughts

Similar to what I noticed with the “Harry Potter” film franchise, each “Conjuring” film continues to become progressively darker and darker with demonic and occultic elements being progressively added more and more into each new installment (though perhaps “The Nun” is the most offensive in this category). Still, while “Annabelle Comes Home” has a lot, cinematically, going for it (relatively strong performance and a nice even pacing), it is spiritually offensive on every level, and I do NOT recommend it to any audience of any kind: kids, teens or adults. Avoid this film at all costs! Go see “Toy Story 4” instead.

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Occult: Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderately Heavy
• Profane language: Moderate
• Nudity: None
• Sex: Mild

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.