Review of Annabelle (2014) by Victor T — 31 Oct 2014

2014 was a disappointing year for the "horror" genre with forgettable films like "Devils Due", "Oculus "and "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones ". The last 2014 film of the genre was the oddly anticipated, and rushed, "Conjuring" spinoff: "Annabelle".

In 1970, John and Mia Form live on Santa Monica and expect their first child, one day John gives Mia a doll for her collection but that same day, two members of an occult, irrupt their home leaving a weird "mark" on the doll.

"The Conjuring" was an effective "horror" film with some memorable sequences, Annabelle being one of them; so this spinoff had potential of combining "The Conjuring" horror with "Child´s Play", but unfortunately, "Annabelle" is better than the rest of the 2014 "horror" catalog. Since the opening sequence you know this film is not going to reach the effectiveness of its predecessor thanks to its cliché characters, bland dialog, the mediocre acting and slow pacing. You would think that as the film progresses it would be about the creepy doll and the scares will come soon but unfortunately you´re wrong; the first half of this film counts with a handful of jump scares and nothing else that's relevant until the beginning of the second half but the films literally throws this potential in about five minutes, leaving you with more cheap jump scares and one of the dumbest endings I ever seen on a horror film. The other big problem of the film is lack of the creepy doll, she just becomes a background prop which never does anything.

"Annabelle" is a huge departure of the effective "Conjuring" thanks to the lack of inventiveness and creepy cinematography which its predecessor had, not to mention its pathetic attempts to imitate "Rosemary´s Baby". If you wanted to see a "Conjuring" and Child´s Play" mixture, you will be disappointed.