Creepy dolls aren’t anything new to the horror genre (despite their creepiness, even Chucky tends to lose his fear factor after slicing and dicing teenage victims for the umpteenth time), which makes it even more difficult to make a film about one that is both fresh and delivers some solid scares. Surprisingly, Annabelle manages to do both.
Release Date: October 3, 2014 Runtime: 99 minutes
A spin-off featuring the extremely creepy doll from The Conjuring, the film opens with a scene from last summer’s horror hit before introducing us to Mia and John Form (Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton) in 1968’s California, a year before the events of The Conjuring. Early on the film paints John and Mia as a normal, all-American couple: they’re middle class, go to church, and are expecting a baby. And, like all couples, they fight. After one such misunderstanding, John apologizes by giving Mia a doll she had been searching for (she collects them) and all is well. But it’s not long before their peaceful, happy lives are disrupted. That night they are attacked by a pair of cultists and barely escape with their lives. They manage to move on, but strange things start happening around the house that eventually leads Mia to the discovery that they are being plagued by a demon (summoned by the cultists) which is using Mia’s new doll as a conduit for human possession.
While most horror films feature stock characters whose only purpose is to serve as objects of gory death scenes, John and Mia are fully fleshed out. The humorous dialogue and actors’ chemistry gives us the impression that they’ve known each other for a long time and, while the film’s middle is a bit low on the scares, the added screen time devoted to building their relationship pays off to the film’s advantage by giving us a reason to root for their success. While John provides much of the film’s levity, the bulk of the human element of Annabelle falls to Mia. Wallis is especially convincing in the role as she investigates and faces the evil plaguing her and her family—more or less—alone. Her facial expressions, fear, and anxiety are genuine and really amps up the tension and suspense since we feel that she is in real danger.
Though it’s often hard to distinguish just what time period the film takes place in (despite the 1968 title card, I kept thinking it was the seventies), there’s a distinct vibe to it that’s evocative of the past. From details such as the music, TV sets—even an old-school Doritos bag—to the mentioning of cults and the idea of families now having to lock their doors because it’s a “new world now”, the film does a good—not perfect—job of establishing a sense of time.
Early on it was a question of how suspenseful or scary Annabelle would be since the doll never actually moves on its own (she’s not actually possessed herself). Director John R. Leonetti successfully circumvents this issue by skillfully providing us with different, unusual, and uncomfortable angles and positions at which we see Annabelle (from the front, back, side, close-ups of the face, feet, etc.) in addition to one of the film’s creepiest scenes and best scares (which I won’t spoil here) that gives the impression that she’s moving on her own. Most of the film’s scary imagery falls in line with recent horror films such as Insidious in that the less we see, the scarier it is, and it really pays off.
While Annabelle takes a few liberties with the true case, it’s not enough that it detracts from the story at hand. The nods and tie-ins to The Conjuring are also appreciated. And although there are some aspects of the film’s plot and scares that feel like we’ve seen them before, Annabelle still has some tricks up its sleeve. So much of the film feels fresh (an excellent scene in an apartment storage facility comes to mind) and, for the most part, the film is filled with genuine suspense as we watch as Mia tries to figure out: how do you get rid of something inhuman?
In the end, Annabelle delivers what it promises: suspense, creepiness, and some solid scares (in addition to a surprisingly engaging human element). It’s not perfect, but it’s good Halloween fun.
9/10
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