To keep the evil doll from causing more havoc, Ed and Lorraine Warren lock her away in the artifact room. But when the friend of their ten-year old daughter babysitter becomes curious if the room is real, it becomes an unholy night for everyone.
As we all know, the Conjuring universe is one of the most spine-chilling horror franchises today, not the mention, one of the best. Here, this film takes us back to the same universe and builds another terrifying story from the hands of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Annabelle series only gets better; starting from an average first installment to a terrific second installment and now an exhilarating third installment. This film kicks it up a notch by using their daughter to drive the story forward and expound on an interesting backstory that no one was expecting.
In all honesty, there is not much to hate here. The cinematography is tremendous by using striking transitions and smooth special effects. The jump scares are ALL a hit. No one sees them coming. Director Gary Dauberman has finally found the perfect formula to his style of jump scares because even if you think it’s going to go one way, he makes sure to distract you and reveal the total opposite. On the contrary, I will say that films such as The “Conjuring 2” is a tad bit more frightening, however this installment holds a load of gems. If you are afraid of horror films, this series is no different than the rest.
The standout in this film is Mckenna Grace (Judy Warren), the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren. She brings the chills, the urgency, and the spook without frantic screams and over-acting. She nails the horror face (take a look at Lupita in the film “Us”) and keeps us on the edge with her at all times. The remaining cast is also excellent by portraying leveled characters that each have a want and a need, and it is wonderful to watch.
The soundtrack and score are engineered to a crisp. I could feel the seats shaking as some scenes built up and as a horror fan, that’s just the extra icing on the cake. Hopefully, one day we'll get into 4D horror films. That would be one hell of an experience.
If you’re a fan of the Conjuring universe, you’ll love this film.
If not, you’ll still have a scary good time.
