The Conjuringverse: The Conjuring Devil Made Me Do It - 9/29/22

 

    Happy Thursday Everyone! Here we are at the end of our journey of the Conjuring films. What an incredible journey it's been. 8 Films so far in this franchise. Soon, there'll be another entry with next year's The Nun 2. Personally, moving through this series the way that we have - it honestly goes to show me just how much this series has become the horror version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a bit of a gamble in the beginning as to whether it would work. But isn't that the case with every new IP for horror or any other genre these days? And honestly, I just realized that next year, we will have spent a decade with this franchise. 

    Last year, we saw the release of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It was the third entry in the Conjuring line of this franchise. But it was eighth film released altogether and lands last on our timeline. I remember that it was originally to be released during October of 2020. But damn Covid managed to put a kabosh on that. Instead, it was released in June of 2021. Almost an entire year later. It's honestly extremely unfortunate. There was such a hype for the film during that lead-in to the original line of marketing. It was like something in the air. You couldn't help but be excited for it. But then with the delay due to COVID, it knocked the wind out of everything. COVID managed to knock the wind out of a lot of other films as well. 

    Finally when it officially gearing up to seeing release, it just felt like there wasn't as much talk about Conjuring 3. It felt like it was missing its mark. It felt like all the hype was dying down. I know I felt the same way about Candyman 2021 originally. I covered The Devil Made Me Do It when it was thrown onto HBO Max in August of 2021. I like many others wasn't as impressed with the film. It felt like something was missing and had missed the mark. But I wouldn't consider it to be completely abysmal. I had a lot of high expectations for it. And honestly, that was a bit unfair to it. 

    Now that we are here, I'm happy that have the chance to revisit The Devil Made Me Do It. It's been a year since I had seen it last. Would it hold up? I always thought about giving it a second watch. But I never did. However with the rewatch, I definitely have some thoughts on the film. 

    Going back to my comparison of this franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Films, I would say that this absolutely begins a new Phase. With the revisiting of the films in chronological order, it has a flow to it. It's very reminiscent of the Marvel films. In Chronological Order, Valak is an extremely prominent force in the series. So with the way that The Conjuring 2 ends with Lorraine confronting Valak, it now has an even larger impact than upon initial release. It felt like things were building towards that confrontation in a way. 

    With Valak seemingly gone for now, The Devil Made Me Do It feels like the beginning of a new chapter. It's definitely not feeling like the ending chapter that's for dang sure. So being a new beginning, it attempts to do things differently. It takes the typical formula that we have grown to be accustomed to and subverts it. Oh, you're expecting the story to follow in a bit of a linear fashion? Well, nah we're not doing that. With The Devil Made Me Do It's beginning, it takes what we usually see as the third act exorcism and throws it right into the opening with The Exorcism of David Glatzel. It's a very strong opening in terms of some shock value. But the sad thing is while it has impact, it takes away from us necessarily caring about the Glatzels. Or at the very least, it lessens that connection. 

    That's part of the problem with starting the film in a different act than a traditional linear story. You are throwing your audience to the wolves in terms of playing catch up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. However, it's a choice. 

    At this point, I'd like to say that this was the first Conjuring film itself to not be directed by James Wan. Michael Chaves had the pleasure of stepping into those big shoes of directing this endeavor. Chaves was responsible for directing The Curse of La Llorona (Don't worry, we will get there as that'll be our final entry). So, it's pretty clear that Chaves wanted to bring his own style to the table. I do wonder if Wan had directed it, would it have followed a more linear form of storytelling? 

    Also by this point, we are at the third entry in this series. By this point, you kind of have to shake things up and do things differently. I mean take a look at Elm Street, by Part 3 we had the Dream Warriors. I also would say that there's probably a good reason why it's not called The Conjuring 3, but The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. What would that reason be? I can't tell you. 

    While the previous two Conjuring films were of the typical haunted house/possession variety, this isn't that. No with this installment, we are given something different entirely. This is very much more in the form of a Procedural. There is more of a mystery to things. In the beginning, everything plays out like we have come to expect with this franchise. Possession happens and spooky things occur. But when things shift from David to Arnie, it takes a shift. On another watch, it's well known that this isn't necessarily about possession. It's about a curse. A human-made one at that. 

    This introduces The Occultist, Isla. She is the child of Father Kastner. It's supposed to be a bit of a big reveal. However when you cast John Noble as Father Kastner, there's extremely good reason for doing so. You don't use him as just a small throwaway character. At this point, we have seen so many different spirits, demons, and possessions. To see a villain that is human, it kind of subverts the expectations. In one sense, it opens the world more. Yeah, we have demons and spirits doing creepy shit. However, we also getting people doing creepy shit. 

    Why is the Occultist doing all this shit? Well, it's honestly something that's a little muddled. She was fascinated with the occult after reading through books her father had found. She took it upon herself to attempt to summon a demon and utilizing witch's totems to possess people. She promised it a soul. Thus attempting to create a curse, three murders would occur followed by three suicides. The child (Jessica), The Lover (Arnie), and Man of God (Ed) were all the targets of this curse. Unfortunately for Ed, he got thrown in once they began nosing around trying to clear Arnie. 

    One of the most fascinating things that was mentioned was that Father Kastner had helped stop a local cult. It's extremely clear that this cult would be The Disciples of Ram. Now, who are these Disciples of Ram? Well, none other than the local cult that Annabelle Higgins (Janice from Creation) had went and got herself involved in. Looking at that, it didn't necessarily feel as out of place as originally thought. 

    By this point, we had seen a lot of Patrick Wilson's Ed. He's been in the thick of things. He does whatever he needs to do to save someone. He's an extremely active member in these films. But within this story, we see him moved into the supporting role. This isn't Ed's film. We get to see Vera Farmiga's Lorraine be moved into the more active role. It definitely is an interesting shift. Both of these actors still are able to do some great work. 

    The rest of the cast are able to deliver good performances. However, it's the way that the story is set up that hinders them from delivering great performances. Once the curse is passed from David to Arnie, a lot of characters fall to the wayside. The Glatzel family outside of David and Debbie are nowhere to be seen. I get that these characters may think that Arnie did do it. However, instead of not showing them, let us see them have conflict with Debbie, whose decision is to stand by Arnie. Instead, we see them for maybe two scenes in the film before they are gone. John Noble is fantastic as Father Kastner. It didn't really feel like he phoned it in. I mean he absolutely could have used as a payday. Honestly that is one of the biggest drawbacks was we didn't necessarily get as much time with our supporting characters. It's like 1-2 scenes of interesting moments, but then the story pushes into overdrive already. 

    Overall, I would say that my experience with this film has changed. I appreciate the different things that it does. It attempted to switch things up and give us more of a procedural approach. It could have easily attempted to give us more of the same that we expected. So, I appreciate that it's different. Is the motives of the Occultist a little muddled? Yes. Do I think that things were wrapped a little too nicely? Absolutely. If I had a hand in writing this, I would have thought to have figured out a way for the Occultist to return later on. Build up the fact that there was this Anti-Lorraine out there doing the Devil's work. Kind of like how Valak was built up in previous films. Do I hope for more films? Absolutely. Would I like to see something more with the Disciples of Ram? Absolutely. Feels like there could be some untapped potential there. Do I think the film was overhyped and an absolute mess? No. I feel like it was a good turn out. There's definitely multiple different ways I could have seen it falling flat on its face completely as some other third film entries have done before. But with what we were given, it's not bad. 

Rating: 4.25 out of 5. 

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The Conjuringverse: The Conjuring 2 - 9/28/22

 

    Hello everyone, Happy Wednesday. Hard to believe that we are already at the middle of the week. It's weird how when we are younger, time seems to move slow. But the older we get, the faster it goes. Then as we get older, we tend to gravitate towards watching things that may remind us of when we were younger. I will say that I would consider this to be a good definition of Comfort Horror. Its there to help us get out of our head space and whatever is going on to just enjoy the story unfolding before our eyes. The interesting thing is that Comfort Horror is different for everyone. One person may find the SAW films to be Comfort Horror while another enjoys the Elm Street and Friday the 13th films. 

    This brings us back to The Conjuring films. By this point, you're probably getting tired of me referring to them as Comfort Horror. But for me, they are. They remind me of the 80s Horror franchises that we just don't see as much anymore. They are slowly beginning to make a resurgence though. And no, that's not me referring to what Blumhouse has been doing with the Halloween films. Look at what Ti West and A24 has done with X and Pearl so far. It's something unique and special that feels like something the studios could have done back then. 

    Today, it's time to continue our journey in this timeline with The Conjuring 2. The Conjuring 2 was released in 2016 yet places itself towards the end of the timeline. For those that are interested, here is the plot crunch for The Conjuring 2.

In 1977, paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren come out of a self-imposed sabbatical to travel to Enfield, a borough in north London. There, they meet Peggy Hodgson, an overwhelmed single mother of four who tells the couple that something evil is in her home. Ed and Lorraine believe her story when the youngest daughter starts to show signs of demonic possession. As the Warrens try to help the besieged girl, they become the next targets of the malicious spirit.

    The Conjuring 2 was an interesting film when I first saw it. It was exciting seeing Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to their roles as Lorraine and Ed Warren. One of the big reasons of the success of the first film were these two actors. They are so believable together. You can't help but wish to see more of them. Again, these two deliver absolutely fantastic performances. One of my favorite sequences in the film is a small, personal moment as we see Ed playing "Can't Help Falling In Love With You". Wilson just kills it in this moment as you see the love and care between Ed and Lorraine. 

    I enjoyed The Conjuring 2 during that first watch. It was solid. It definitely wasn't a drop in quality that most sequels tend to do. The scares were on point and had a few sequences that were just as good as things from the first film. But something just felt off to me. 

    During this watch of the entire series of films so far, it definitely occurred to me as why things felt a little off. The Conjuring 2 was incredibly ambitious. It was trying to in a sense capture the spirit of what Marvel was doing with their Cinematic Universe. This is incredibly evident as we were seeing a large output of films in this series in quick succession. The Conjuring 2 does have an incredibly large amount of world building and moving parts to its story. So when I had that initial watch, the film felt very much like Iron Man 2 syndrome. Iron Man 2 is an okay film, but suffered from setting up the world and all the moving parts to it. 

    It probably didn't help that the marketing for the film tried playing it off like the first film. They knew people would go check it out if they expected something similar to the first. In one instance, I guess you could say that it is similar. One of the storylines does focus around the Hodgsons. Basically, spooky things happen and everybody is unsure of what's going on. Eventually someone seeks out and brings the Warrens into the mix. Going off of this, this is a formula that worked for the first film. 

    However because this is a sequel, we also get more complexities to things. First off, let me say that the opening with the Warrens investigating the Amityville House is great. I don't necessarily enjoy that first Amityville film, but enjoyed the 05 Reynolds Remake. Knowing the basic idea of the Amityville story and its place in horror, it's incredibly a shot in the arm for the film to see Ed and Lorraine there. My horror fan part of my brain just can't help but smile when it sees the sequence. It's effectively shot and kickstarts the whole story. Originally, I just placed it as a cold opening like with the Annabelle Case in the first film. But as I watched the film more, I never connected things. It now connected because this is ultimately a film about Valak. 

    As you may remember, Valak was the demonic entity from The Nun. Ed and Lorraine had eventually gone on to encounter it when they had a run in with Frenchy. It was something that had recognized how powerful Lorraine was. So, it was ultimately challenging the Warrens to show them that they can't defeat the evil in the world. And it wanted to break the Warrens. Thus, Valak bided its time and moved pieces around to bring the Warrens into its path again. The whole idea of Valak roughly being a 'big bad' for the Conjuring films is interesting yet feels a bit odd. It largely makes Valak feel like such an overarching and powerful figure. Some may say it was the Conjuring's version of Thanos. It is an interesting way of tying the films together though. 

    Besides Valak, we get to see Bill Wilkins. Bill Wilkins is initally seen as the spirit haunting the Hodgsons. He's the creepy force that just wants to see his family and doesn't want any other family living in his house. In the appearances that he makes, he's pretty effective. However as the film goes on, his effectiveness seems to lessen. One may say a less is more approach with him would have worked better. But the twist where its revealed that Wilkins is being manipulated by Valak, that was pretty shocking initially. It does add a bit more depth to the character when realize he's terrified by what he's encountered. 

    Then, there's The Crooked Man himself. This is a character that is used pretty damn sparingly. The film could have used him a little more perhaps. But the sequence with Billy Hodgson encountering him, it's absolutely terrifying. The way the dog is sitting at the door, but then when Billy opens it - boom. The dog transforms itself into The Crooked Man. I had totally forgotten about it. It's extremely clear as to why the plans for a Crooked Man movie were going to happen. As of this writing, we still are waiting for that movie to happen. I hope that one day we will see what story they are able to come up for it. But my question to everyone is: Was The Crooked Man real? When we see what the mother and the rest of the family sees, it's Bill Wilkins possessing Janet. 

    The Hodgsons are a great family. Each and every one of them are so damn relatable. The interesting aspect is seeing this all happen to a family where there is not necessarily a father figure. It definitely adds to making them stand apart from the Perrons. The family is so relatable because they are doing their best to keep things together. They are a working family like the Perrons were. Sadly, Janet and Billy manage to stand out for the children and then their mother. The rest of the children kind of fall more into the background. 

    Something that was interesting was seeing how the public interacted and treated the Warrens in the first film. At that time, the Warrens were beginning to come into the public spotlight in a sense. Then they make an appearance on a talk show regarding their investigation into the Amityville case. It's extremely clear that things were beginning to take a turn for them. The other guests on the talk show were doing everything they could to downplay the Warrens and make them out to be a laughing stock. It could also be the beginning of the Satanic Panic era that would find itself in the next film. 

    Looking at The Conjuring 2 now, it's a bit better film than initially thought. It has managed to become on par with the first film. Like said before, it was definitely ambitious. It laid groundwork of what this franchise would become. I would say that it has broken the Iron Man 2 syndrome. Some pieces may work better than others, but it's still well paced and put together. And there is definitely a lot of heart to it as well. 

Rating: 5 out of 5. 

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Such Sights To Show You: Hellraiser Inferno - 9/27/22

    Hello everyone. Here we are once again with more of Such Sights To Show You. We have managed to close out one chapter. Now, we are beginning a whole new chapter. It's one that is more of an anthology approach that I have mentioned before. Each film here on out for the next four or five films roughly are stand alone stories. 

    After Bloodline, the Weinstein were ready to do another Hellraiser film. They had looked through various pitches. If they had gone through various pitches, what was stopping them from going forth with any of those? Well, they were apparently more expensive than they would have liked. And at this point, it seemed like the next entry would only be released as a direct-to-video. However, they had come across a pitch that they thought would work. It was from Scott Derrickson. Oh yes, that Scott Derrickson. So, the story goes that Weinstein gave Derrickson money to film a scene as proof of concept. Once that was done, it was off to the races. 

    At this point, I really like Scott Derrickson. He did a phenomenal job with The Black Phone earlier this year. Doctor Strange was a very unique entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Derrickson was a large reason why. He also gave us The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Deliver Us From Evil, and Sinister. He has done such a phenomenal job with his films. It's really easy to see why he has been moving through the ranks as a solid director. 

    So when I first saw that Derrickson was involved with Hellraiser: Inferno, I was excited. It's very early in his career that he had the chance to direct it. For those interested in what Inferno is about, the film follows a detective that becomes involved with the Lament Configuration and the serial killer known as The Engineer. Now, when I initially had heard about The Engineer - I did a bit of a double take. What? That's not Hellraiser. Hellraiser has Pinhead. 

    So, I started the film. Within the first half hour, I wasn't sure what I was watching. How was this a Hellraiser film? I mean this is a 100 minute film that moves pretty damn fast. Everything's moving so damn fast that it just feels like an absolute fever dream of a film. With that in mind, it does work to an extent. It definitely places us in the shoes and mindset of our detective (played by Craig Sheffer). 

    For the most part though, it's very much in the vein of a noir detective story. Whole murder mystery. I mean there's even a voice over from time to time with Sheffer. I guess we are supposed to at least understand the Detective. But for the most part, I don't understand how we can like him. He's not a good guy. He has a wife and a daughter, but spends his nights with a call girl you could say. It's very apparent that this isn't his first rodeo either. He also has a bit of a problem with a certain controlled substance. So, we are following someone that can't just get behind. 

    By this point, we also have some cenobites. However, they are not really any that we have seen before. Something that I will attribute the design of the cenobites is to the fact that this is a psychological film. So these cenobites reflect the Detective's mindset throughout the film. After he has a moment with the call girl, he comes across twin cenobites that were a bit more siren like. We do see a version of Chatterer - a more half body one. The design of the Engineer also manages to reflect the vibe of these cenobites as well. And we do a moment or two with Pinhead, not as much as one would like though. 

    I wanted to like Hellraiser: Inferno. I went in with very much an open mind. It does have so much psychological aspects to it that it makes a bit hard to follow. It feels so much like Inferno was an original idea before elements of Hellraiser were added. If it had been released in its original form without the Hellraiser ties, it probably could have been more successful. One thing is that it does feel very topical nowadays, especially with its showcasing of a Detective abusing his power. Overall, it just feels like there was something holding things back. It's definitely probably due to Weinstein having involvement. It's a bit of a missed opportunity honestly. Not a good start to our anthology chapter of the Hellraiser franchise. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5. 

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Films Revisited: X (2022) - 9/26/22

   

 

    Hello everyone, Matthew here with something I've been pondering about for a little bit. When I do a review, I have a tendency of shooting from my hip. Sometimes that can be a good thing. But sometimes it can be a bad thing. I know that there are some people that may have said I was a bit harsh on The Exorcist. So that's something that may have led to Films Revisited. 

    To kick off Films Revisited, I had the pleasure of watching Ti West's X. For those that haven't heard yet, X was released in March of this year. It's something that definitely blew up in such a good way for the community. (Unlike a certain Reborn film that I've heard blew up in a completely disastrous dumpster fire way. When I have a chance to check that out, believe me I'll be giving it an attempt.) I did a review for X with my initial thoughts. But when I had the chance of revisiting it with my partner, I was ecstatic. How did it hold up? Well, let's find out.

    For those that are interested about the plot of X, I'll sum it up below: A group of actors set out to make an adult film in rural Texas under the noses of their reclusive hosts. But when the elderly couple catches on, the cast finds themselves in a desperate fight for their lives. 

    Ti West's X is a complete breath of fresh air. It was something that I had an inkling that was going to be solid. Or at the very least, I hoped that it would be. I really dug Ti West's The Innkeepers. That was something that I never saw coming either. X is a film that when I went in originally, I was expecting something in the vein of Texas Chain Saw Massacre. That was a bit of an unfair expectation. And I will admit that it tempered my initial viewing. However with this rewatch, I definitely got what they were going for. This is a complete love letter to 70s horror at its finest. The way that the opening captures the 70s aesthetic is fascinating. My partner looked at me and questioned if it was going to be a 4:3 format. But then the slow pull in happened and we were moving out of the barn. 

    I will say that one thing I vastly appreciated about X was that it's a film that breathes. It allows us to spend some time with our characters, not just one or two of them but all of them. It gives us time to spend with the group of actors as well as a few moments with Pearl and Howard. We aren't immediately thrown into blood flying as the killing begins. So everyone is able to have a personality and actually be a character. It's something that is nice after seeing some modern day horror films where it's hitting the ground running from moment one. And allowing us to have character moments, I know I found myself caring for the characters.

    The biggest standout character in the film, of course, is Pearl. Everyone always has something to say about her. I know my partner found themselves really able to care for Pearl. I appreciated the performance before, but now seeing it through my partner's perspective - it is utterly fantastic. I was able to see that, in a sense, Pearl is a tragic character. At the time of this writing, I haven't seen Pearl yet and honestly don't know if I'll get to before he hits blu ray/dvd. So I can't attest to actually seeing the backstory unfold. But just the moments that we are given in this film, Pearl is tragic. She's at a point of reflection in her life. She feels like she's not good enough for Howard anymore. She's unhappy that life seemed to gone by and now she's seeing her younger self again in Maxine. If Pearl was able to reclaim that youthfulness, I fully think that she would. 

    Now, I said it before and I'll say it again, everyone in this film acts their asses off. Each and every one of them. Of course, Mia Goth owns this movie with her double performance as Maxine and Pearl. When I had initially watched the film, I felt like something was off with Pearl. But after discovering that it was Goth under makeup, I was floored. It also made a lot of sense when I had thought there were some moments where Pearl and Maxine's voice sounded similar. Martin Henderson's Wayne is also great. He's very pompous and full of himself. I would love to see more of this character cause he comes across very much as a man's man. He is so sure that whatever he spouts off, anyone will listen to. It honestly left me wondering what it is exactly that makes the character tick. And Owen Campbell's RJ does listen to Wayne's advice. RJ wants to be a filmmaker. Unfortunately, that comes at the cost of his relationship. He is a bit of a push over though. He lets Wayne push him all over the film. He just doesn't realize it. And he does try to help, sadly at the wrong time. Jenna Ortega once again delivers a rock solid performance. By this point, its becoming very clear that the genre is definitely her thing. Very much so like Jamie Lee Curtis I would dare say. Then there's Brittany Snow and Kid Cudi as Bobby-Lynne and Jackson. Bobby-Lynee is exactly the character we'd expect. She seems to have gotten by in her life by certain aspects. She also is extremely overconfident in her looks as well. Hell, there's a moment between her and Pearl where I found myself rooting for Pearl. Kid Cudi's Jackson is so damn underrated. He literally steals every scene that he's in. I cannot wait to see him in more films. And then there's Stephen Ure as Howard. Howard is someone that compliments Pearl so beautifully. He's trying his best to look after her any way he possibly can. He wants her to be happy. The banter between him and Jackson is also amazing. 

    Going back to talking about the opening of the film, it appears that it's an interesting wraparound as we see more at the end. I love this sequence as in a way, it foreshadows that some serious shit is going to go down. It's very much reminiscent of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre '03 moments with the police investigating the Hewitts. The way it's able to tell the story visually was nice. The only downside is that I still find myself completely forgetting that opening moments when our group of actors arrive on screen. I am so caught up in their story that I forget that we have seen so many bodies covered up in that opening sequence. So when shit goes down in that third act, I was surprised every time. 

    Nothing in this film felt overlooked. Everything felt very carefully placed. Definitely no filler in this movie as it is extremely well paced. It feels like a roller coaster. By the time we got to the end, I was surprised that it was already over. The one thing that definitely caught my partner by surprise was the Preacher performing his sermon on the TV. I also had completely forgotten that it tied into the film's story. After hearing that we are going to be getting a third film in this trilogy with Maxine, I am hoping that it ties into that as well. Maybe Maxine does return home? X is such a fantastic film that has managed to jump start a trilogy with one fell swoop. I know that there's been some films that were very strong when they were released, but over time have been considered to be overhyped. I can safely say that's not the case. 

    If you haven't seen X yet, I highly recommend it. If you have the choice between DVD and Blu Ray, I would recommend DVD. This watch was on DVD and it just added to the experience as the picture was a little on the soft side. 

Rating: 5 out of 5. 

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The Conjuringverse: Annabelle Comes Home - 9/26/22

     Hello everyone and welcome back to our look at the Conjuring films. At this point, we are now four films deep with three (four if you count La Llorona as an entry) left to go. So far in our journey, I would definitely say that these films are very much comfort horror. 

    These are films that have a high chance of revisiting when the weather is rainy and gloomy outside. Kind of like how Storm of the Century is essential viewing during those winter months. All of them have managed to rate pretty high as well. Or another good example is when you are in bed, sick. What movies are you more likely to throw on the TV? Something that you've seen before and know you like or something new? I know for me, there was a time where I'd throw on the Indiana Jones movies when I was under the weather. It was something to throw on and I'd quickly find myself in a comfort zone where I'd fall asleep. 

    I mentioned in the last installment that my son has now joined in on watching these films. He still hasn't watched The Nun, Annabelle, or Creation. But with what he's seen so far, he's sold on the films. He's highly interested in finding out more of these stories. When we watched The Conjuring and it said based on true story, he just looked at me with a look of 'Was that real?'. At that point, I had to explain to him that some part of it may have happened. But that sometimes when films are based on true stories, sometimes they like to embellish events for dramatic purposes. But the important thing is that this does make an interesting gateway to horror as well. 

    After we had finished The Conjuring, he asked for a small five minute intermission. I immediately was thinking that he was going to be ready to be done. When the intermission ended, he was sitting right beside me asking for the next film. I hit play and Annabelle Comes Home began playing. 

    When Annabelle Comes Home was originally released, I don't know if I necessarily liked it. It is a film that is a bit big and ambitious on one hand, but still small and personal. I also will admit that i was extremely hard on the film. Creation was something that I also enjoyed, but at the same time just felt like something was missing. I wasn't sure what I was originally expecting. I guess I was expecting more of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the film. 

    Now with this rewatch, I gave it a lot more of a chance. I knew exactly what to expect for the most part in terms of the tone. If The Nun was a throwback to Hammer Horror and The Conjuring was a paranormal horror, then Annabelle Comes Home is very much a Haunted House Tour. It also feels very much like a Goosebumps or Night at the Museum type entry in the Conjuring films. I honestly would say that Annabelle Comes Home is a harder Goosebumps. Honestly that makes a lot of sense if you compare Annabelle herself to Slappy. 

    Something that definitely contributes to the Night of the Museum/Goosebumps thrill ride feel of the film are the many things unleashed. It was extremely cool seeing a film just throw everything into it and at the screen. In this installment, we definitely get to uncover more glimpses of what exactly is in the Warrens room. There's the Bride, The Ferryman, the Hellhound, and the Samurai. Each one of these characters are exceptionally strong. They could have had their own film where we see the Warrens encountering and acquiring the trinket. However what we get in this film is a sequence that honestly gives them their own spotlight. So maybe this was a way of getting to throw together some side characters that they came up with but had no idea of how to get them to the big screen. I would definitely consider the Hellhound to be the weakest of these new characters. It just felt a little too close to the Werewolf of Fever Swamp from the 2015 Goosebumps film. The most striking out of the bunch is definitely the Ferryman. The idea of just those gold coins for the eyes and then when the light shines on it, they just fall to the floor. It's so eerie. Definitely one of the best uses of a jump scare in the film for sure as well. 

    One of the things that's incredibly interesting is that we get more time with Judy Warren. Now, it's pretty safe to say that if you're this deep into the franchise, you'll have an idea of who Judy is. Something that I wasn't aware of till this franchise watch was that they recasted Judy. In this installment, she was played by McKenna Grace. I thought the name looked familiar and then was reminded by my son that she was in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Judy is a pretty great character. We are shown an idea of how her parents' fame did effect her. She's kind of treated as an outcast by her fellow students. She also seems to have a bit more of her mother's gift that's highlighted in a subtle sequence with a spirit of a Priest. This sequence was very brief. At first, I didn't notice it. But then I had stopped the film for a second and my son was like Why did you stop. Then I went back and noticed the Priest in the background. It's a character that I would love to see return if they continue with more Conjuring films. 

    After Judy, we have Mary Ellen, Daniela and Bob. To get things started, I will have to mention Bob's got balls. This is a joke that honestly made me laugh every single time. It wasn't even old when Patrick Wilson's Ed made mention of it. Just goes to show just how small the town they lived in was. So, Mary Ellen is Judy's babysitter and a kickass one at that. She cares about Judy and how she's doing. She also happens to have a crush on Bob, who likes her as well. Then there's Daniela, this is a character that in my initial watch I hated. She was annoying. It felt like she was just there to throw the plot into overdrive. I just couldn't connect with the character whatsoever. In this recent watch, I was able to find that connection. This is a character that has lost their father and feels responsible. I guess I must have missed the line that she was driving with her father when they got into an accident. When I had heard that, it connected. Though, my son was screaming at her when she was moving around in the Room just touching all the different objects. And then there's Bob, he'

s got balls. He works at his Dad's grocery store and is the manager of the school's basketball team apparently. He also has a crush on Mary Ellen and very clueless about how to tell her that. 

    Another thing is this isn't necessarily a scary film in the usual sense. It does have some creepiness and uneasiness. But it's more of a haunted house experience. It's incredibly evident when you think about the characters. Each character does have something to make them standout. But for the most part, it feels a bit base level basic. It's a bit shallow when you especially compare it to Annabelle Creation or the other Conjuring films. However while I thought Mary Ellen and Judy were the main characters, that's not true to an extent. I would say that this is Daniela's story told through Judy and Mary Ellen's perspective. This is something I strongly felt as literally Daniela finds herself locked into the Room and downright tortured by the different objects - that damn TV. 

    And then we have Annabelle. It's interesting seeing Annabelle used the way that she is. Again, it's a bit like Slappy from Goosebumps at times. But one of the best pieces of continuity within this franchise is when Annabelle escapes the glass case, Mary Ellen answers the door to find the spirit of Annabelle (Samara Lee from Creation). Immediately, I was like Oh wow I totally forgot about that. It's just a very nice tip of the hat for those that are well deep into the franchise. Honestly at this point, I would say that the Conjuring films are a well oiled machine like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yeah, there's some small bits of continuity mess ups - but most part, it's all good. The downside though with Annabelle, it does show that there's not too much story that can be told with her. Chances of seeing another Annabelle film after this one are pretty slim. And that's honestly not a bad thing as again we get another welcome entry in this comfort horror franchise. It's all connected. 

    For me, I really appreciated the film so much more in this watch. Everything managed to work better. There were some instances where it did feel like the story was wrapping up, but then it kept going. For my son, there was a moment or two where had to take a few minute break. I asked why and he explained that it was a bit spooky for him. So, I'd consider it to be extremely effective for him as well. If you have a chance of checking it out, I'd recommend it.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5. 

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Such Sights To Show You: Hellraiser Bloodline - 9/23/22

 

    Hello everyone, welcome back to Such Sights To Show You. It's been a very interesting experience so far. We've made it through (Hellraiser), Hellbound, and (Hell on Earth). We started off really at a high point with the original Hellraiser. It laid the ground work for what this franchise is and lays down the rules of the world. Hellbound broke those doors wide open and expanded on the world in such a massive way. If Hellraiser was a haunted house picture, Hellbound was a trip to Wonderland. After that, we witnessed Hell on Earth. It was a bit of a departure from the previous two entries. It was a bit smaller in scope in a sense. Partly that can be chalked up to the budget beginning to shrink for this franchise. However, there are some that have found something to appreciate in that installment as well. 

    After Hell on Earth, the question then became "Where do you go next for this franchise?". Peter Atkins had returned to script the next installment and prepared to answer that question. Apparently Clive Barker was also returning as an executive producer, he suggested the idea of a three part multi-timeline film. Thus in a weird way, we are almost treated to a Cenobite version of A Christmas Story with its Past, Present and Future. It was honestly a bold and operatic approach for a fourth entry. 

    Unfortunately, the final product that we received was a bit of a mess. It's no secret that Bloodline had its fair share of production issues. I mean at this point we still had Weinstein still involved in the making of it. They were so sure of what people were looking for, but at what cost? Well, at the cost of the budget of course. After all, this is all a business right? Well, that's how Weinstein was approaching the material. It's also been told that Weinstein and the original director of Bloodline, Kevin Yagher had butted heads quite a bit. Again, it's extremely understandable why Yagher was having many issues as things were being scaled back so quickly from what was originally planned. I imagine that he felt like he was being shoehorned into directing the product a certain way, so it wasn't allowing him to tell the story the way that he wanted to. I'd be pretty pissed about that too. 

    The production finished its six week shoot originally. Then, things continued to go downhill for the production as the Weinstein became more involved than they already were. Thus, Yagher had told them that he had enough and was done. Thus, Joe Chapelle was brought in for reshoots. Reshoots for Bloodline occurred for two weeks. Then, they were brought back for another two weeks and a final two weeks after that.  At that point, it seems like they had effectively reshot the entire film during that time. Personally, I would have been interested to see Yagher's original approach. Encyclopaclypse Publications has delivered the original Atkins script for Bloodline. For those interested, I could delve deeper into exactly how the details are different. But one thing is very evident from the original script, it was supposed to be a very linear timeline. The finished film jumps from one time period to the next in no rough order. I remember when I first watched it and was extremely confused. It just felt like everything was flowing a bit too fast and loose with the timelines. There have been even some fanedits that have managed to place the timeline into more of a linear approach again. It does have a small hiccup here and there, but it definitely works. 

    One aspect that does feel a bit shallow in the finished film versus the original draft is the character of Angelique. This is a character that drastically changed during the reshoots. Originally, she was someone that was seeking more. She was seeking immortality basically. She wanted more power as well. To the point where she also had her devilish side where she would play 'games' with other aristocrats. Apparently, she had helped give specific instructions that were passed on to LeMarchand to complete the box. So in a sense, it could come across that her goal was similar to Frank's in the original film. That's a pretty fantastic arc as she manages to get what she's looking for. In the reshoots, she's a demon that was summoned by sacrificing a local girl. What the hell? That's very sad of a change honestly. Apparently during the reshoots, they changed the violently antagonistic relationship between Angelique and Pinhead into something more sexually charged shall we say. 

    Now, I honestly feel like Angelique was changed the way she was to make more room for Pinhead. By this point, it was extremely obvious that the studio felt like Pinhead was face of the franchise. To a certain point, I would agree that could be true. But at the same time, no. It's clearly obvious that Weinstein was trying so damn hard to make the next 'horror icon'. I mean look at Hell on Earth, it's an obvious attempt at trying to Freddy Krueger-ize Pinhead. Don't get me wrong though, I do like Pinhead. But again, Pinhead is only a small piece in what made the original Hellraiser and Hellbound work so well. I mean that with all of the Cenobites really. Look at those initial films and see how long it takes till the Cenobites show up? It's not nearly as quick as everyone was thinks. 

    So with the finished product, ultimately the story is of the Beginning and Ending of the Lament Configuration. We see the making of the box and ultimately it's destruction by the end. I would say that the whole Present Day storyline feels a bit been there, done that. It feels very familiar with its use of a Reporter character and interacting with Pinhead. Too much like Hell on Earth for my own taste. And then we have the Future story. At this point, horror had a way of taking horror and deciding Why Not Put It In Space? So, we have a member of the LeMarchand bloodline recalling events as a sort of bookend in the beginning and the end. It's interesting as we are able to then see Pinhead and the Cenobites be summoned. And then everything comes to a very grandoise ending with the whole satellite they are on being transformed into a giant version of the box, thus trapping the Cenobites. 

    Could I tell you anymore of what happened than that brief summary? Honestly, I cannot. I wish that there was more could go into. However, the finished product/film was something that is only 80 minutes. It's very brief and shallow compared to what the story originally was. It's like a blip on the radar. It could be seen as an okay epilogue to the first three films. But sadly, that's about as far as it goes. There are some interesting elements here and there. Especially as we see Angelique transformed into a Cenobite herself. It's very clear that was a product of studio intervention and left a muddled mess. 

    Do I recommend reading the original script from Peter Atkins? Hell yes. That is what I'll be turning to from now on when I want to revisit Bloodline. It's a very fitting story of Passive Evil vs. Active Evil. It's a story where we were able to see the beginnings of the Cenobites as there are Proto-versions with Angelique. She is the villain of the story. It is her film and story, overall. It's such a grand epic attempt at the story. I would even go as far to say that it is Hellraiser's version of Avengers: Endgame. That's how big of a finale the original pitch for Bloodline was. 

    And of course, Bloodline was able to do okay enough to continue the franchise. Stay tuned as we will be diving into what I'm calling the more anthological approach moving forward for Hellraiser with Hellraiser: Inferno. 

Bloodline (Film) Rating: 3 out of 5. 

Bloodline (Original Script) Rating: 5 out of 5. 

You can find the Hellraiser Bloodline: Original Script from Peter Atkins over at Amazon.

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The Conjuringverse: The Conjuring - 9/22/22

 

 Welcome back to our series look at the Conjuringverse films. It's been an interesting experience so far. We've been through The Nun, Annabelle Creation, and Annabelle. With each installment, we are able to receive small glimpses of the Conjuringverse world at large. There is a bit of a progression to it. I have to say that it also proves that this franchise is extremely flexible. It really can leave it up to the viewer to watch it in any order that they would love to. You can watch it in the order that the films were released. Or you can watch it in this timeline order that we've been doing. I've honestly come up with another order unto itself. 

    My son is starting to get into horror movies. He loves to be spooked. He has seen the TV Cut of Halloween '78 and Halloween '81. He loved both of them. He's seen the original Blob as well as the remakes of When A Stranger Calls and The Fog. So his introduction is a bit encompassing a lot of different varieties. Over the weekend, he said he wanted to watch a spooky movie. As I've been working through these movies, I been checking to see exactly if he could watch them. Well for the most part, these films are a bit what I'd call light-R. They are darker than PG-13 but may not feel like Rated R entirely. 

    So on this past Saturday, we turned down the lights and covered the windows. Popped some popcorn. I switched the LED strip on the back of our TV to Spooky Season Orange. And loaded the blu ray of the first Conjuring. 

    Now by this point, I have seen The Conjuring a lot. It's a film that is extremely well crafted. There's a reason that this first film was so well received. It has that feeling of an 80s film. You know the feeling. Honestly, this whole franchise feels like a wonderful throwback to the 80s franchises. SAW is very much the same way. They don't make them like this anymore. They try, but for the most part tend to fail. 

    This watch was different. I wasn't viewing the film through my own eyes anymore. I was able to see the film through my son's eyes. First off, we see the opening moments with Annabelle. By this point, we have seen a variety of versions of this moment. But this time around, I got to sit and take in the sequence differently. It's simple and effective. It's also extremely in the vein of like an urban legend as the people are explaining their story to Ed. The thing I noticed was that the broad strokes remain in line with what we have seen in previous films. However the subtle differences began to emerge. It really does showcase how much of an urban legend Annabelle was. They had mentioned that Annabelle Higgins had died in their apartment. No mention of the dollmaker and his wife. It's really cool seeing the way the story progressed to Annabelle becoming an urban legend. 

    During this whole sequence, my son was sitting there on the edge of his seat. He was totally engrossed in what was going on. Earlier in the day, we had gone to Spirit Halloween and we had seen a life size Annabelle doll. He asked bout her. Now, he was getting a bit of the story. He just looks at me and says "No, Dad. We can't get that Annabelle from Spirit.". I explained to him that it's not the same and what he's thinking isn't necessarily true. But then I asked him, "Well, have you seen something similar with this story before?". "What do you mean?", he looked at me quizzically. "Goosebumps. The story of Slappy.", I explained, "How is that different than Annabelle? It's not really. Doll wants to transfer itself into a person. It's very much like Slappy's story.".  This honestly was the first time that I had made that comparison. And it does hold up that Annabelle is like the Slappy of the Conjuring films. 

    After the Annabelle sequence, we are then introduced to other two-thirds of the formula of this film - The Perrons and The Warrens. Typically in horror movies, families can be a large hit or miss. They can either work really really well or leave you wanting to see them being tormented. A good example of a family that works are the Freelings from Poltergeist. They are fantastic and relatable. We cared about what happened to them. We wanted to save Carol Anne and their family from the hauntings that were going on. An example where the family is on the opposite end of the spectrum would be the Lutzes from The Amityville Horror. I will say that The Amityville Horror, the original, just doesn't work for me. It's safe to say that my review for that film would lead to me saying that it feels overly bloated and just doesn't work. And a large reason for that would be the family. 

    Thankfully, The Perrons in The Conjuring all work. They are all relatable. Yes, we have a scene with the little girl talking to 'an imaginary friend', or so the Mom thinks. But this is a loving family. It's extremely clear that they all love one another. They are sadly in a situation similar to the Lutzes. Money's tight and so they found a good deal through the bank. Sadly, it's a deal that could be too good to be true. And thus, we have them being haunted by Bathsheba Sherman. One of the sequences that just is fun to see unfold is the first time they play Hide and Clap. Just seeing the family playing the game together is pretty wonderful. 

    Then, we have The Warrens. Ed and Lorraine are absolutely wonderful. It's extremely clear that the cast, not just Patrick and Vera but everyone, loved working on this film. Everyone is delivering solid performances. The love between Ed and Lorraine is so real. It's absolutely believable and a good anchor for these characters. The love that they show for their daughter, Judy, is also very evident and believable. Honestly, if either of these families didn't work, the film wouldn't work. Cause in order for it to work the way that it does, we have to care about these characters.

    The scares in this film work to outstanding effect. There are not a lot of jump scare moments. Each scare is slowly built and carefully timed. Yes, there's one or two instances where there is the jump scare you expect - loud noise happens as something happens. But each scare happens for a reason. There's no overthinking with things. The one thing I will say that I think everyone remembers the first Conjuring for is Annabelle. That little snot of a doll managed to steal the show. I know I always find in my watches that I'm surprised when Bathsheba takes over the mother. The other spirits that make appearances always managed to surprise me as well. I just always remember the Annabelle sequence and the Hide n Clap game. So, in a way, it leads to Bathsheba and the others to be very subtle. 

    My son was very surprised with The Conjuring. He jumped at almost every moment there was a scare. He looked at me a time or two and was like "Did that just happen?". The whole second Annabelle sequence left him telling me multiple times that I cannot get the Annabelle doll. He was absolutely floored by it. By the end, he just asked if there was more. 

    In the end, The Conjuring is a film that works beautifully. Once again, it's a true homage to 70s horror films like Amityville Horror. Wonderfully crafted. It's a film that I also turn back to every now and then. Another good example of a comfort horror movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. 

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Such Sights To Show You: Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth - 9/21/22

 

    

    Welcome back to Such Sights To Show You. We have made it through the first and second Hellraiser. Both of these films are classics. They have been able to stand the test of time. At this point and time in the pantheon horror, we have the Golden Age wing with the Universal Monsters then the Silver Age wing featuring Freddy, Jason, Michael, Pinhead, Chucky and Candyman.

    After Hellbound was released, it was a success. Unfortunately, things weren't well with New World Pictures - the studio behind the first two Hellraisers. They went under and Hellraiser became a free agent. One would say that Hellraiser could have easily fallen to the wayside. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Thus, we have Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.  Once again, Peter Atkins would return to break the story and write the script along with Tony Randel (who was to be returning as director). There was a large group of crew coming over from Hellbound. Everything sounds like it'd be a safe bet that would turn out well. 

    Well, those hopeful thoughts quickly were dismissed. This isn't your father's Pinhead. This isn't likely your Pinhead. Oh no, while you could say that the Pinhead from the previous two installments was very Shakespearean. This Pinhead is one hundred percent the MTV Pinhead. He is more talkative. He doesn't hesitate at cracking some jokes like another horror icon. This is very much a studio handling the Hellraiser franchise and not necessarily understanding things fully. And it definitely makes sense when you realize this was handled by Dimension Films and distributed by Miramax. That dang Weinstein once again had their hands in the cookie jar it seems. 

    Immediately that may paint it as I didn't enjoy Hell on Earth. It's not necessarily a bad film. It's not necessarily a good one either. I would probably throw it in the category of Fine and Fun as Tony from Hack the Movies would say. It's very much a product of its time. Everything absolutely screams 90s. Come on, take a look at CD Cenobite and Camera Cenobite and not tell me that it's 90s. 

    One of the big things that the film does have on its side is Doug Bradley as Pinhead. Its nice seeing him. You can tell that there's a little bit of joy still in playing the character for him. In future installments, it's a bit more difficult to see that joy still there. But he gets to play double duty as he's also seen as Elliot Spencer. In this installment, we get to see more of what Pinhead was like in his previous life. We get to spend more time with that side of the character. And honestly, it's pretty intriguing stuff. The less said about the Battlefield mumbo jumbo though the better. That part I can forgive. 

    I will give it a small credit that we do get to see the Tower of Souls from Hellbound return. It absolutely makes a bit of sense to see Pinhead still trapped within. It's a small thing, but one that's interesting. The downside of that though is that we have a bit of time with Pinhead's head stuck in the damn Tower. It kind of limits him to one place. And then when we finally get him out, well then it's CD flying time. 

    There was a good chunk of issues behind the scenes. Again, studio not necessarily understanding what they had bought. They just knew that they could make something with it. Apparently there was originally six week production. Then there was a two weeks of pickups followed by another two weeks and then capping off with another two weeks. Doing the math, that means that they could have reshot the entire film in the span of those pickups. When I had heard that, I immediately have to ask Why? What was this original version look like? Was it less campy than what we got? Was it more campy than what we got? Imagining a Hellraiser in the style of Batman '66 and my brain is done. 

    This is an installment that honestly feels a bit brief. It's an extremely light Hellraiser film. Hell, can we even call this a Hellraiser film? I mean I guess it is because we have Pinhead. But if we removed Pinhead from the film, could this have been some other generic 90s horror flick? Absolutely. So, it's Fine and Fun as a film - just not a good Hellraiser film. And that's honestly what ya get when you try to follow up two solid installments in Hellraiser and Hellbound. 

Rating: 3 out of 5. 

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The Conjuringverse: Annabelle - 9/20/22

 

    Hello everyone and welcome back to our chronological watch of the Conjuringverse films. Last time, we got to visit the dollmaker, Sam and his wife, Esther. It was a tragic story as we were able to see just how far one would go to try and hold on to a passed loved one. I mean they literally sold their souls and damned their daughter's most cherished doll to try and hold onto their daughter. Then, that even went further to damn an orphaned girl, Janice, as this terrible force took hold of her. It really was a story where Evil was able to overcome Good. 

    But the interesting aspect was how it had managed to explain how Creation was a prequel to the original Annabelle. Janice would later go on to be adopted by the Higgins, Peter and Sharon. But by this point, she was calling herself Annabelle. Then before they knew it, Annabelle had seemingly run off with a group of cultists. How very Manson of her. Soon, she would come back to the Higgins - just not in the way that they would have liked. This whole aspect was absolutely wonderful. It cleverly was able to explain and add some more lore to the character of Annabelle. 

    Annabelle was released in 2014. By this point, there had only been The Conjuring released. That film was a huge success and the studio had decided to spin-off with Annabelle. It's honestly very clear as to why. The whole character of Annabelle has so much mystery surrounding her. There wasn't much known at that point. So it's a solid second film in this series. But what makes this interesting if you watch by chronological viewing, it places this film in third and adds more context following Creation. 

    I remember seeing Annabelle opening weekend. It was a later showing, roughly around 5:30. So, it was able to have a pretty large audience of people. I was sitting in the second row and there was a group of high schoolers sitting behind me. They were excited about the film and were talking a lot about The Conjuring. Then the lights turned down and the film began...it led to an experience. By this point in my life, I hadn't seen many horror movies with a large group of people. I usually go early enough in the day so that then there's not many people around. However, getting to experience this with an audience was awesome. At almost every single jump scare in the film, the kids behind me were screaming their heads off. It was giving me a chance to see how well the film worked. 

    If The Nun was a Gothic Universal Movie then both, Annabelle Creation and Annabelle, were more akin to what I'd call a Haunted House flick. Or some would even go further to say that it wouldn't be that different from sitting beside Rosemary's Baby on the shelf. But a Haunted House flick, it's a film that moves like a roller coaster. Once it truly starts, it doesn't necessarily stop. The scares come fast and quick as if you were walking through a Haunted House. The best thing about these at times though are the use of practical effects. When we have seen lots of CGI ridden horror films, it's always refreshing just to see practical effects used. There is one jump scare that is re-used from The Conjuring that I noticed. But damn if it still is not effective. I still remember the one sequence in Annabelle with the basement from that first viewing. Whenever those elevator doors shut, the people behind me screamed and then they screamed even harder when they opened to reveal that still stuck in the basement. 

    Another aspect that continues to be used so beautifully are its characters. John and Mia are so wonderfully defined. John is a husband that is doing his absolute best to provide for his wife and their soon-to-be born child. He's also busting his ass through medical school. At one point, I was unsure of what to make of him. I get where he was coming from. But at the same time, it's easy to see that he's scared. He's scared of what it'll be like to be a father. Scared of what could happen to his medical career. And I wouldn't put it past him to be scared of how this all would effect his relationship with Mia. Mia is trying her best to be a dutiful wife. It's honestly a great starting off point for this story as it is Mia's story. And it's a journey of becoming a mother and what that may mean - going as far to show that a mother's love can be the most powerful thing. 

    Now, something I wanted to comment on is the Annabelle doll. We know that it was made by Sam, the dollmaker, for his daughter Bee. He was a well known doll maker. Mia collects dolls. So many dolls that she was trying for years to complete her set. John was able to find the Annabelle doll and gifts it to Mia. Thus, completing her set. But then after that, everything begins to go crazy for the family. My question is what happened to the Annabelle doll itself after Creation? Did it just somehow find its way to somewhere where John was able to buy it? Is that the same doll as in Creation or just shows that Sam had made more than one? Or was the doll placed by Janice/Annabelle to be found by John? Either way, Janice/Annabelle is able to repossess the doll and make life a living hell for John and Mia. And honestly with this recent watch of the original Annabelle film, I still want to know more about this cult that was featured at the beginning of the film. I feel like there's still a lot more that could be explored with that. 

    With the scares, Annabelle could have focused solely on the doll. That thing is so damn terrifying. For the most part, there is a version where that could have been possible. However, they blow the lore so wide open with the introduction of the Ram demon. The Ram Demon is downright unsettling in its brief appearances. Very much the less is more approach worked well. The most memorable instance being the Annabelle doll sitting up and then begin floating, then the realization that something was holding the doll. Or the appearance of it during the whole basement sequence that I mentioned earlier. From what I gathered in this watch, every time we see the 'spirit of Annabelle/Janice', it's the Ram in disguise. So when the priest takes the doll and is almost inside the church but then is thwarted by the ghost, it's the Ram disguised as the ghost. The imagery of the Annabelle/Janice ghost works also to great effect as it appears when you least expect it. 

    Overall, Annabelle is a fantastic installment. Yeah, there are some that could say it's a bit cheesy or has some things that may not work. But not every film is perfect. This is an extremely effective film with scares. There are some instances in the finale that I just found myself squirming in my seat this time around. It's definitely with this installment that begins to show exactly what comfort horror can be. Plus, these very much are our modern day equivalents of the old 80s franchise horrors. And then this installment pairs extremely well with Creation for a Double Feature. 

Rating: 4 out of 5. 

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