ANNABELLE COMES HOME Set Visit: Director Gary Dauberman, A Visionary of Nightmares
Zena Dixon
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“Horror is about approaching the corner and not just turning it,” director Gary Dauberman once shared in an interview for ScreamSlam. And he would know, having created stories such as The Nun, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and screenplays for It and It: Chapter Two. Observing his body of work, one will experience that Dauberman can not only jump between geographies, exploring India, Thailand, Romania, and the US,
In a recent interview, producer Peter Safran stated that Dauberman worked alongside director James Wan, in which Dauberman practically “went to university on how to craft scares.” Even as you watch the trailer for Dauberman’s upcoming directorial debut Annabelle Comes Home, you witness hints of his influences. But what resonates above all else in the two minute teaser are glimpses of his unique voice.
As a writer, Dauberman’s unique voice is revered in the industry. We return to 2013, a year that Safran referenced in our interview with him. He stated, “The audience will tell you what they want to see.” So, you must be ready to craft what they want. When the studio released The Conjuring that year, they believed that audiences would yearn for a story about the Crooked Man, who appeared briefly in the film. But the audiences asked for more on Annabelle. And it was Dauberman who delivered, crafting a story strong enough to become a trilogy. Even before the third installment, the story of Annabelle generated more than $550 million at the box office. Then, when The Conjuring 2 released, viewers demanded more of The Nun character. Again, Dauberman delivered, creating the story that would become a $350 million box office hit.
Dauberman has always had a vision. This time around, it’s not only for the story, but also for the production process. It was refreshing to see his extreme dedication. From our brief time exploring the Warren’s home and the new characters, we noticed that Dauberman ran a welcoming and collaborative set. Everyone appeared happy to be part of the project. They were ready to work and ready to share anything they could about the production. Even with his intense concentration throughout the day, Dauberman occasionally left his duties to spend five to ten minutes with the media representatives, answering any of our questions. We became proud of him, many of us knowing his journey to this point. I recalled early films he had written: Blood Monkey (2007), In The Spider’s Web (2007), and Swamp Devil (2008). Though low in budget, they stood high in concept.
Photo by Justin Lubin
That high concept is still apparent in his work. While on the set of Annabelle Comes Home, we were able to see a game of Feely Meely the actors played for a scene. In case you know little to nothing about the game, it involves a deck of cards, items represented on the cards, and a box. It begins with all items inside the box and the stack of cards on top of the box. A player must choose a card, reach into the box, feel around for the item, then withdraw what she thinks is the item. The player that withdraws the most correct items wins. Of course, this was an innocent game that some of us played growing up. However, Dauberman succeeds in turning this into something unsettling.
Another aspect of the film that may frighten audiences is that although we are in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s home, the couple appears briefly in the film. McKenna Grace plays their daughter Judy, the protagonist of the film. Grace recalled her tears of glee upon receiving this opportunity, following her standout performances in The Haunting of Hill House (2018) and The Bad Seed (2018). She shared the weight of living up to the responsibility given to her, becoming the daughter of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s characters in The Conjuring universe. She further revealed her first time entering the Warren’s home. She discovered blood running from her nose. Then, upon leaving the home, the blood stopped flowing. Even with this threatening event, Grace stands her ground in hopes of delivering the best performance for the project.
We summed up the high stakes involved with this third installment into the Annabelle series. However, from what we witnessed on set, Dauberman has cast and crew prepared to meet and exceed all audience and industry expectations. All questions will be answered when Annabelle Comes Home releases on June 28, 2019.
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