Annabelle Comes Home

Year of Release:  2019
Director:  Gary Dauberman
Screenplay:  Gary Dauberman, from a story by James Wan and Gary Dauberman
Starring:  Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Running Time:  106 minutes
Genre:  Horror

The cursed doll, Annabelle, introduced in The Conjuring (2013), has already featured in Annabelle (2014) and Annabelle: Creation (2017).  In 1968, occultists and demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga) seal the evil doll in a cabinet made of sacred glass, where her evil is contained.  Four years later, the Warrens leave on an overnight case, leaving their young daughter Judy (Grace) in the care of babysitter Mary Ellen (Iseman).  Itrigued by the stories surrounding the Warrens, Mary Ellen's best friend, Daniela (Sarife), invites herself over and sneaks into the locked room which houses the Warren's collection of haunted and cursed artifacts.  Despite warnings not to touch anything, Daniela handles just about everything in the room and, worse of all, opens Annabelle's cabinet, allowing her to escape.  Soon Daniela, Judy and Mary Ellen are subjected to attacks from Annabelle, and the other evil forces that Daniela has accidentally released.

This is like a rollercoaster ride.  It runs along it's fairly predictable tracks, there are plenty of jump scares and a few shocks, but it never gets too disturbing.  There is almost a feeling of "My First Horror Film" about it, because it's not really scary, and it is fairly predictable for anyone even a little familiar with horror movies.   The cast are engaging and likable.  The most familiar faces in the cast are Patrick Wilson and Vera Famiga reprising their roles as controversial real-life occultists Ed and Lorraine Warren from The Conjuring films, and once again the Warrens are depicted as the most wonderful people on Earth, which is extremely debatable.  It's in no way essential, even for fans of the series, but for a Saturday night spook show it's fun.

Daniela (Katie Sarife) comes face to face with demon doll Annabelle in Annabelle Comes Home         

Bone Tomahawk

Year of Release:  2015
Director:  S. Craig Zahler
Screenplay:  S. Craig Zahler
Starring:  Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, David Arquette
Running Time:  132 minutes
Genre:  Western, horror, action, adventure,

In the 1890s, grizzled Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Russell), his loyal, elderly deputy Chicory (Jenkins), ruthless, bigoted gunslinger Brooder (Fox) and cowboy Arthur O'Dwyer (Wilson), who has a broken leg, set off on a dangerous quest to rescue three people, including O'Dwyer's wife, Samantha (Simmons), who have been kidnapped by a hidden clan of cave-dwelling cannibals.

For a variety of reasons, the Western genre has declined greatly in popularity in recent years, but good ones are still made occasionally, and this is a good one.  It is a gripping, if bleak, blend of horror and Western, that plays like a mix of The Searchers (1956) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977).  The film is beautifully shot with stunning landscapes, contrasted with (literally) gut-wrenching violence.  Mostly it moves at a sedate pace, but keeps the tension high and there is a strong vein of dark humour throughout, which helps alleviate the film's often grim tone.  It's very well-performed by a great cast and always visually interesting.  The film really kicks into another gear with the action-packed climax, which feels as if it's been dropped in from another movie entirely.  The film's violence is pretty graphic, and the amount of gore may put off some viewers, while the film's largely slow pace may put off some of the horror fans, but it's worth giving it a go. 

Richard Jenkins, Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox saddle up for Bone Tomahawk