Review of Annabelle (2014) by Player2-Water — 29 Dec 2018

E-Value: 4.

Acting: 4.

Plot: 5 This second instalment in The Conjuring Universe features the infamous doll, Annabelle, which is said to haunted, according to Ed and Lorraine Warren and it is still kept in the glass box in The Warrens' OccultE-Value: 4.

Acting: 4.

Plot: 5.

This second instalment in The Conjuring Universe features the infamous doll, Annabelle, which is said to haunted, according to Ed and Lorraine Warren and it is still kept in the glass box in The Warrens' Occult Museum today. The Annabelle doll had previously appeared in 2013’s The Conjuring as cameo and it became popular enough to spawn a movie about the doll. This movie is a prequel to The Conjuring, taking place before the doll ended up in the possession of the Warrens as seen in the first instalment.

In the year of 1967, Dr. John Form (Horton) gives his pregnant wife, Mia Form (Wallis), a rare porcelain doll as a gift for their first child. One night, something terrible happened at their neighbours' house. Their neighbours, the Higgins, were killed. While John goes to investigate the Higgins’ house and Mia calls the police from their house, she was attacked by a mysterious man and woman. Thankfully, John and the police show up in time to save Mia and the man is shot dead by the police but the woman committed suicide by slitting her own throat while holding the same porcelain doll that John gave to Mia.

It is revealed in a news report that the female killer is Annabelle Higgins, the estranged daughter of the Higgins and the male killer is her unnamed boyfriend. Both of them are members of a cult. After the incident, paranormal events occur at the Forms’ house and continue to haunt Mia even after she gives birth to her baby daughter, Leah, and moving out of their old house and live in an apartment. What is even terrified is the same porcelain doll, which John threw it in a trash can at one point at the request of Mia, is found in their apartment from one of their moving boxes. Mia feels that the doll is haunted by the ghost of Annabelle but another demonic entity (Bishara) seems to be present as well.

Compared to The Conjuring, the movie failed to live up to the first instalment as they are not scary enough. Some of the jump scares are really scary but some of them are too predictable. Only cheap and lousy horror movies do that kind of stunts. Another downfall of this movie is a minor character that does not really done anything much to advance the story but that character suddenly become an important plot device out of nowhere. That character even have small subplot but it was really unnecessary and irrelevant to the main story.

The performance of the casts was not good enough and need some improvement to make it very convincing. However, I got to give credit that this story of this movie does set up good connection for the previous and upcoming instalment of this franchise. Hopefully, the next movie will be better than this one.