The movie opens, in case we forgot, with Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) collecting the evil Annabelle doll from the two nurses who were in possession of it and bringing it home to lock in the evil-shit-you-never-touch room. If you need a recap of the previous movies, here are synopses from Wikipedia: Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation. One year later, the Warrens are planning to leave overnight on exorcising business, and daughter Judy (McKenna Grace replaces Sterling Jerins, who’s getting too old for this shit) is staying with babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman). Mary Ellen’s nosy friend Daniela (Katie Sarife) and love interest Bob (Michael Cimino) crash the party, and Daniela talks Judy into letting her go into the room-that-must-not-be-entered, which releases a cadre of demonic entities.
Despite its PG-13 feel (low body count and yet another fucking sing-along with Ed), the film is rated R for “horror violence and terror.” Mary Ellen and Judy get into the convenient files detailing what each of the monsters are, which include a haunted wedding dress, a TV that tells the immediate future, a werewolf/giant dog-thing, and samurai armor. Yup, just as scary as it sounds. As we saw in the other Conjuring films, adding a whole lot of antagonists totally improves the movie and is not at all distracting. My favorite is the Ferryman, who goes around dropping coins–that guy’s payin off! There are a couple of creepy moments, like when Daniela is asked, “What else did you touch?” and she replies, horrified, “Everything.”
Yes, these folks are real brainiacs, Daniela in particular, spouting phrases like, “Don’t your parents keep any really creepy stuff around?” She asks the spirits themselves to let her into the room, and once inside, she says, “If there is a presence in this room, please give me a sign.” Once we find out she’s trying to contact the spirit of her father, it’s a little easier to feel sorry for her, though. Ed has a hand in this too, as he leaves the key to the room at home and doesn’t even hide it very well. Meanwhile, Mary Ellen leaves her inhaler in the car. Like she needs it to live or something.
Despite my jabs, I enjoyed it. The characters are dumb as a post but likable. Judy especially is a little badass. Check it out if you’re in the mood for something light and fun.
