Annabelle: Creation

Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Samara Lee, Mirando Otto, Brad Greenquist, Lulu Wilson, Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Grace Fulton
Directed by: David F. Sandberg
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of orphans move into a house but soon discover an evil presence housed in a doll.

Review:

Tim: After loving The Conjuring, I was interested in seeing the spin-off film, Annabelle. That movie was a completely ordinary, forgettable horror film, much to my disappointment. I really enjoyed The Conjuring 2, but I was hesitant about this film. While Annabelle: Creation is still a far cry from the Conjuring movies, director David F. Sanberg manages to improve on the first film. While this is still only a decent horror movie, anytime a sequel improves on the original movie, it's cause for celebration.

The first Annabelle movie suffered greatly because of its terrible director. The film felt completely generic and resorted to far too many jump scares. It was really a weak movie overall. Sandberg (who also directed the solid Lights Out) at least makes this movie somewhat more worthwhile. We do learn a lot about the origins of the Annabelle doll. The fact that this is really a prequel to Annabelle helps. The time period differentiates it from the original movie, but the ending of this film perfectly connects to the previous movie. I really enjoyed how this film connected while expanding the history of mythology of the possessed doll. That was cool.

This movie might not be terribly frightening, but it's certainly scarier than the first film. The setting is a good one- a quiet house, removed from the rest of the world. The two people living there have suffered tragedy, but there's something else going on. The mysteries inherent in the story are interesting and engaging. It draws you into the film. The characters might not be incredibly memorable, but they are solid enough that you feel some level of care for them. I might not have felt a deep emotional investment, but I was interested in seeing their story. That's essential, so we feel at least some level of trepidation when they confront the evil in their house. The film features a number of cliches- a locked room, etc., but they mostly work in the context of the story.

The cast isn't great, but they are serviceable. It was fun to see Anthony LaPaglia here. I wish Mirando Otto had a bigger role, but she's effective. Stephanie Sigman was surprisingly good and certainly one of the standouts of the cast. It was fun seeing Lulu Wilson here- she's creepy and effective. It's interesting that perhaps Wilson is the key to making horror sequels better than the original- she also helped elevate Ouija: Origin of Evil way past the first film. I do wish the cast had been stronger, but this is still better than most horror movies like this.

I do have to admit that while this film was an improvement, it's still not more than a decent horror film. It's still far beneath both Conjuring films. It felt too much like just another horror movie. We get so many horror films each year that it's hard to differentiate and separate from them. The great ones manage to do that. Annabelle: Creation didn't quite get there, but the film was decently entertaining and certainly better than the first film. While this movie isn't good enough, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to see the uptick in quality.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Conjuring 2