Director: James Wan
Writers: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston
Run Time: 1 Hour, 52 Minutes
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2O8Zq32
Synopsis
We start out with Lorraine and Ed Warren interviewing a couple about a weird doll. This is the start of the “Annabelle” case in 1968. They talk about a little girl who “moved into the doll,” and then the weirdness began. They threw the doll in the dumpster, but she came back all on her own. The Warrens explain that there’s no ghost in Annabelle, it must be something demonic; a conduit, and it wants to possess them, not the doll. The lights come on, and we see that Ed and Lorraine are giving a seminar on the supernatural. They’re demonologists or spiritualists.
We get the credits, and then fast forward to 1971. A married couple, Carolyn and Roger, along with their five girls and the family dog move to a new home. Right from the start, the dog won’t go in the house. They soon find a boarded-up basement that they didn’t even know existed, and the father checks it out. The next morning, they find the dog dead. Something killed it in the night.
Meanwhile, Ed Warren introduces a reporter to the Warren’s cursed object museum. He explains that sometimes “it’s better to keep the genie in the bottle” rather than leave these objects out in the world.
Back at the farmhouse, the weirdness continues with strange sounds, sleepwalking children, and strange smells in the night. The wife wakes up every morning with new bruises, but doesn’t know what’s causing them. One night, she follows the noises, falls down the steps into the basement, and gets locked in. Meanwhile, the girls upstairs are being attacked by a ghost.
Ed explains in a seminar that there are three steps of demonic possession: “Infestation, Oppression, and Possession.” Carolyn meets up with them afterwards and invites them to come see their house. They start their investigation, but it takes very little time before they suggest a full exorcism for the family; it’s not the house, something is attached to them.
Lorraine does some research, and finds that various people have died or committed suicide there over the last 150 years. They go in and set up with recorders, cameras, holy water, and crosses to stir them up. The rest of the family goes to a movie, leaving Carolyn home with Ed and Lorraine. A demon pukes in Carolyn’s mouth.
That night, things start getting crazy again. One of the daughters disappears, and they use a UV light to follow her footprints. They find her in a secret door in the wall. “That’s where Lorry hides when he’s afraid,” explains April, the youngest child. Lorraine checks out the secret area and falls through the floor into the basement, where she sees bad things. Ed thinks they have enough proof to be able to convince a priest to come do an exorcism, so they leave to go get one.
Lorraine has a vision of her own daughter’s dead body, but the daughter is currently fine. Except that night, Judy, the Warren’s daughter, is terrorized by Annabelle the doll, who has escaped from her display case. Ed and Lorraine get there just in time, but they find Annabelle locked safely back in the case.
At the same time, Carolyn takes April, her oldest daughter, back to the house to sacrifice her. Carolyn is clearly possessed, and the demon inside exposes itself, removing any doubt. They tie up Carolyn but can’t find April. Ed says there’s no more time for a priest, and that he will do the exorcism himself.
He does the exorcism, and it’s pretty brutal. Carolyn escapes and goes after April in the tunnels under the house. They do finally rescue April and drive the demon out of Carolyn. Afterwards, the Vatican approves the exorcism procedure, and they want the Warrens to go check out a house in Amityville…
Commentary
This is a fairly long film, but it’s well-paced and doesn’t really drag at any point. It mostly relies on atmosphere and jump scares, but they are very effective jump scares.
The film started a franchise of more than half a dozen movies so far, so I was expecting it to be good, and it was. It used all the usual horror tropes, but managed to avoid being cliche for the most part. I’d definitely commend this one.