Set some time after the opening scenes of The Conjuring where the Annabelle doll is put into the case (but before the main events of The Conjuring), the Warrens are heading out of town for the night leaving their daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace) in the care of her babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman). Mary Ellen is a wholesome type but her slightly naughtier friend Daniela (Katie Sarife), who’s grieving the death of her father, pops round to join her mate in the Warren’s spooky old house.
Hoping to make a connection with her dead dad, Daniela unwisely ventures into the Warren’s artefact room, a miniature museum of haunted, cursed and ritualistically significant items that the ghostbusting couple has gathered over the years. There she spies the doll and foolishly lets her out…
Focusing on the three girls – with an adorable supporting turn from Michael Cimino as Mary Ellen’s potential love interest Bob – the Warrens themselves only feature as bookends. The movie is better for it, but the fact that the three girls are often in separate parts of the house being scared by different nasties, and there’s no plot or mystery to unfold, does mean it’s quite repetitive and does eventually start to drag.
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