Review of Annabelle: Creation (2017) by Charlie P — 29 Mar 2018

12 years after their daughter was killed in a freak accident,an old couple (Miranda Otto and Anthony LaPaglia) welcome a group of orphaned girls to stay in their home. But when Janice (Talitha Bateman) a girl infected with polio, discovers the "Annabelle" doll in a forbidden room, it sets off a chain reaction more horrifying than anyone could imagine...

Although the two Conjuring films directed by James Wan have both been critically acclaimed for bringing attention to the seemingly real paranormal cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren such as the Enfield Poltergeist and the Perron family, the 2014 prequel-spin-off film Annabelle abandoned everything what made those two films work, and instead relied mostly on bad CGI and tired jump-scares to tell the untold story of the Annabelle doll seen in the first film. This new prequel, although nowhere near as great as the Wan films, does at least feel like a true prequel to The Conjuring in terms of atmosphere and use of cinematography.

Despite not being based on actual cases of paranormal activity much like the first spin-off, Annabelle: Creation thanks to the impressive direction from David F. Sandberg, brings back the use of shadows and dark lighting that the Wan films used to keep the unseen monsters intimidating enough without having to rely on jump scares too much and the impressive acting from the children, especially Lulu Wilson and Talitha Bateman does make them far more likable and interesting than the young couple of the first film.

Overall, it may not be as scary as the Warren dramatizations, but Annabelle: Creation is a better attempt at fleshing out the Annabelle doll without having to give up everything that people loved about this franchise.