Annabelle: Creation-2017

Director David F. Sandberg

Starring Anthony LaPaglia, Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman

Scott’s Review #672

Reviewed August 17, 2017

Grade: B+

Annabelle: Creation (2017) is a prequel to the successful 2014 horror film entitled Annabelle and the fourth installment in a total of the popular The Conjuring series (2013-present).

Over just a few years, these films have become well-crafted, intertwined stories in the modern supernatural horror genre.

Compared to another latter-day horror franchise, Saw, Annabelle/The Conjuring elicits more of the classic spook factor rather than the gore associated with the Saw franchise (2004-present).

The time is 1943, set somewhere in the desert and mountainous region of California. Dollmaker Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) live a cheerful existence with their young daughter, Annabelle, whom they nickname Bee.

The family attends church services regularly and plays cute games of hiding and seeking in their vast farmhouse and land. When one sunny day, Bee is struck and killed by a passing car, the couple is devastated beyond repair.

Twelve years later, a group of orphans led by Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) are invited by Mr. Mullins (Mrs. Mullins is now bedridden due to a mysterious accident) to spend some time at the farmhouse when their orphanage shuts down.

The six orphans, led by best friends Janice (Talitha Bateman), and Linda (Lulu Wilson) embark on the quiet farmhouse and immediately are met by strange goings-on, most notably a life-sized doll living inside a forbidden room, which Janice inevitably stumbles upon out of curiosity.

Stricken with polio, Janice has been left a disabled person, unable to move around very well.

As Janice discovers the creepy doll, or shall we say, Janice awakens the doll from a strange closet covered with bible verses, the doll terrorizes the girls. It wreaks havoc on Janice and Linda in particular.

An evil entity inhabits the doll, and the peculiar circumstances following Annabelle’s death years earlier rise to the surface as secrets are revealed and demons seek refuge in the farmhouse.

Annabelle: Creation is exceptionally well made and inundated with scary elements of surprise. The farmhouse, in particular, is a fantastic setting for a horror film—the remote locale, the eerie quiet, and the dark, unfamiliar layout of the house all come to fruition throughout the film.

Specifically, a scarecrow, a stairwell chair-lift, and the years between 1943 and 1955 are of special importance.

Besides the common horror elements that the film uses to its advantage, it is just downright scary and tense. On plenty of occasions, the cameras are positioned so that a figure or object could easily be lurking behind a particular character but out of sight from the audience.

Sometimes, nothing appears, and the scene goes on, but other times, a scare occurs that makes us jump out of our seats—this is good, classic horror at its finest. One knows not what is, or could be, coming next.

I did not find Annabelle: Creation predictable in the slightest, which makes the film succeed.

As if I was not entertained enough throughout the film, the final set of scenes, now some twelve years after 1955, brings us to the very beginning of 2014’s Annabelle. We witness the very first scenes of that picture, now making perfect sense and weaving the two films together in a compelling fashion.

Apt viewers will remember that Annabelle begins with a horrific, brilliantly crafted, and shot home invasion scene. Now, the storyline will make more sense, and viewers will experience an “oh wow” moment.

I was left with a couple of slight gripes about Annabelle: Creation.

The character’s appearances are quite modern-day—not the clothes per se, but the hairstyles, mannerisms, and figures of speech—and I never, for a second, believed the time was the mid-1950s.

To build on this point, and at the risk of an honest historical inaccuracy critique, a black orphan would never have resided with white orphans, let alone be one of the “popular girls,” nor would the orphans ever have been led by a sexy, Indian nun wearing heavy mascara.

I get that the filmmakers deemed inclusiveness a higher priority over historical accuracy. Still, these details are noticed and readily apparent as not having existed if the film were “real life.”

Furthermore, the point was repeatedly hammered home that the film was a massive supporter of Christianity and went out of its way to promote the goodness of religion over evil.

Annabelle: Creation (2017) reaffirms my belief that good, old-fashioned horror films can still be successfully made in the modern era, using elements firmly etched in the genre but used in a contemporary, scary, and sinister way.

Here’s hoping the creators come up with another good idea and create another segment in this thrilling dual franchise.