Review of Annabelle: Creation (2017) by Riley B — 10 Aug 2017

What started as a promising story, inevitably turned to cheap scares and lazy writing. A film in need of a refreshing breakaway from a tired and confused franchise. Annabelle: Creation utilizes the same stale formula that has once worked for many of its predecessors, laughably throwing in as many 'nods' to these other films as it can.

With a title that promises an origin story, Annabelle's creation is glossed over in a matter of minutes, favouring worn out tropes and genre conventions which panders to its assumed complaisant, vacuous audience.

It's small redeeming qualities are found in the film's satisfying cinematography and a fragment of its characters not being entirely hollow and generally likable. Don't expect much from this tedious addition to an overall tedious franchise, which rests on Wan's past laurels whilst recycling used, weary storytelling and overall cheap, fleeting moments of forgettable scares.