Annabelle (2014)
Director: John R. Leonetti
Writer: Gary Dauberman
Starring: Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard
Annabelle is full of cheap jump
scares but still delivers creepiness that stays with you long after you leave
the theater. As a spin-off from The Conjuring franchise, it stands
on its own two feet very well, almost too well, part of me wanted
reappearance's of Vera Farmiga and other cast members. Regardless, it’s a fun Halloween time horror film
that’s worth the money, more than things like Dracula Untold, also out now.
For the first
time since Child's Play we get
a real look at how an evil doll actually becomes an evil doll. However, the results are a bit confusing due
to a less than stellar script. We're
told at the beginning that the doll is named Annabelle because it holds the
spirit of a girl named Annabelle, who was mixed up in a crazy murder cult. Later, we're told that the killings committed
by Annabelle and her boyfriend were to summon a demon of sorts. Then when we see manifestations of the doll
we see Annabelle, but we also see a demon pulling the strings of the whole
operation. It’s just
a tad bit confusing. Is the doll possessed by a demon? Is it possessed by
Annabelle? Is Annabelle now a demon? Both the Demon and Annabelle are visually
gruesome and terrifying regardless of the confusion. Scenes featuring the demon
are actually a highlight and probably the scariest of the film.
Overall, Annabelle is a serviceable and adequate horror film that suffers from script
issues and pretty bad casting choices, I'm looking at you Annabelle
Wallis. Luckily director John Leonetti
has the chops enough to make the movie look good, even if it looks a lot like
Rosemary's Baby, and build the tension up to a great degree. There's nothing new in Annabelle. Everything in the film is impersonating
other styles the 70s pale olive color scheme to the not subtly named
protagonist: Mia after Mia Farrow and John for John Cassavetes the stars of the
Rosemary’s Baby. The scares and visuals are all redoes from much
better movies, but the mix and match of 70s horror tropes and homages works
exceedingly well. This is regardless of
the plot and character issues. You know
a horror movie's working when the theater going audience actually starts to
scream "NO" at certain shots.
Namely, the horrifying image of the all-black demon stalking Mia through
the apartment building.
If you're bored
this Halloween season, Annabelle
is definitely worth a look to get your scare fix especially with such few other
offerings this year.
- Will Woolery
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