My take: Some good jump scares and creepy scenes but nothing new for the genre of demon haunting/possession movies.
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
Synopsis of Annabelle
Annabelle provides the origin story of the creepy doll from the beginning of The Conjuring. Set in 1970, the story centers on a young church-going couple. The husband is a med student. The wife is very pregnant and collects dolls.
Late one night, they hear a disturbance at the neighbor’s house. When the husband goes to investigate, the perpetrators sneak into the couple’s home and violently attack the wife as well as husband who comes back to save her.
The decidedly creepy doll known as Annabelle.
The assailants, who we later learn are devil-worshipping members of a cult, die in the aftermath. The male assailant is shot by the police. The female slices her own throat while holding the doll known as Annabelle.
Thus the doll becomes a conduit for an evil demonic presence who wants a soul. The demon torments the young wife and her baby, as demons are wont to do.
What I Thought of Annabelle & Who Should Watch It
When watching the movie, it is clear that the creators wanted to ride The Conjuring’s gravy train because the film largely imitates the strong elements from that film and some of the elements from Insidious. As a result, while I enjoyed the suspense and the jump scares, I did not find anything unique about this film that will drive me to watch it again.
Poster for Annabelle
That being said, as I exited the theater, I heard a girl behind me state, “I almost had a heart attack. That was the scariest shit I have ever seen.” It may be that I have been watching too many horror movies lately and am a bit jaded toward the old tried and true tricks that resonate with audiences. I can tell you that this movie would scare the crap out of my husband; he flat out refused to see it.
As a result, I would recommend this to people who don’t watch as much horror as I do. If you liked The Conjuring and Insidious, you will likely love this film too. Like those two movies before it, it had a great production quality and excellent suspense.
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