Annabelle: Creation, directed by David F. Sandberg and produced by James Wan, serves as a prequel to the movie Annabelle, and is part of the Conjuring franchise which consists of four films in The Conjuring series, three films in the Annabelle series, and two entries in the Nun series. All of the Conjuring movies are concerned with the fictional stories created by real-life “paranormal investigators and demonologists” Ed and Lorraine Warren. The spin-offs are connected by small and large references to the Warrens sprinkled throughout.
Buy Annabelle: Creation Blu-rayIn the opening of Annabelle: Creation, Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia), a doll maker, and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto), are grieving the loss of their young daughter, Annabelle, who was accidentally hit by a car while her father fixed a flat tire by the side of the road. Twelve years later, after the sudden closing of an orphanage, Samuel and Esther open their home to the six girls left homeless and Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman), their chaperone.
The orphan girls are told to never enter one of the rooms upstairs which is to always remain locked – obviously, this was Annabelle’s room. One night, of course, one of the orphans, Janice (Talitha Bateman), finds the door to the room unlocked and she enters. Inside, everything has been left exactly as it was a decade ago. There is a large doll house, and in the doll house Janice finds a key, and the key leads to a door that no sane person would open. Instead, Janice opens the door and finds a closet with walls covered in Bible pages, a little chair, and in the chair, a creepy ass doll.
Things begin to go badly – mostly with the movie. The excellent actor, Anthony LaPaglia, is asked to play one note throughout the film: a morose non-talker. Then there is the great Miranda Otto who spends 90 percent of the film in bed hidden by a curtain. Stephanie Sigman is allowed to shine, and the young ladies who play the orphans are mostly competent as they are terrified by the doll and the demon that possesses it.
Unfortunately, Annabelle: Creation is just not a scary film. There are moments where you feel like a scary moment is on its way, and every time it turns out to be a dud. The direction is ok, but the writing by Gary Dauberman (It and The Nun) cannot bring the scares. You’ll start to hope for a jump scare just to get your heart beating again. Even when they are not scary, The Conjuring universe makes money hand over fist, and it is fair to say there will be plenty more to come.
