Annabelle

By: Robert Murphy

I've said more than once that when it comes right down to things I can be a huge chicken, whether it is a good horror game or horror movie, I generally shy away from those sorts of things until I can safely hide and pause the movie in my own home. But when it comes to Annabelle I just couldn't help but sit down and watch it despite my hatred of creepy dolls. What interested me most about the movie is that the doll named Annabelle has already made a big screen debut in The Conjuring and during her brief glimpses in that movie she peeked my interests. I apparently wasn't the only one as we are now introduced to her very own film and we see just why the doll is now kept behind a glass case and is blessed by a priest twice a month even after the demon was exorcised. 

In the late 1960's Americans were introduced to a new sensation that they had not had to deal with before via the occult and other groups like Charles Manson and his followers. People were getting into all sorts of craziness and going around causing trouble in the picturesque and seemingly peaceful era in American history and one of these groups decides to knock on the door of our main characters Mia (Annabelle Wallis) who is pregnant with the first child of her doctor husband John (Ward Horton). Luckily the two survive their encounter with the two people who come to prove their devotion to Satan by killing innocent people, this is thanks to the unbelievably fast 911 response made a minute before. However, the attack was a success as the two manage to call something forth and it apparently likes to play with dolls. Mia has plenty to spare though so she doesn't mind throwing Annabelle away when weird occurrences started to happen in the couples first home.

Now for a movie about a doll you'd expect to see the darn thing move every once and awhile but Annabelle is a stoic type and the only movement that ever occurs is done by our resident demon ram creature that was summoned. Creepy camera angels and long dramatic stares at the doll are meant to disturb and scare audiences never work out as a bad guy in a movie that doesn't move doesn't lead me to fear it in the slightest. Think about it this way, what if Chucky never moved in his movies, even when he was sitting still and playing possum you knew he'd move and make an evil face or witty remark as soon as he was alone. Even later on when the demon possessing the doll starts to care less and less about playing things safe, all Annabelle ever does is plop to the floor or get some unfortunate blood shot eyes, maybe she went swimming with her eyes open. 

The demon creature in the movie though will lead to a few jump scares for audiences especially in it's first appearance in the creepy basement of Mia and John's apartment building. The demon plays constant tricks later on in the movie to make Mia suffer and give up her soul to him that made me smirk at pure genius of the evil trick than fear it. One scene in particular where Mia smashes a doll that laughs and mocks her turns out to be her baby and she cries emotionally over her baby but then turns out that everything was okay. Again though, Annabelle is meant to scare and you know even a scary demon can't make you jump the way the commercials made you think that you would. 

In conclusion, I may be a chicken at times but Annabelle fails to even scare me out of my seat. The back story with the occult in the beginning of the movie peaked my interest a bit and I certainly did not expect a couple to come in and start murdering people in a populated rural community but then again most people thought the same back then. Annabelle herself fails to keep my interests alive once I realize that she barely ever moves or make an impact in the story. This is just as true for the demonic presence for the movie who has one or two good jump scares that are enjoyed and then forgotten while you wait for the credits to role. In the end I really wish the exorcists from The Conjuring would have made an appearance in movie, they get a mention but they don't show up to save the day like I thought they would, sad face.  

Good:

- A few briefly enjoyable jump scares

- The occult story thrown in gets you interested but ends shortly after it began

Bad:

- Annabelle isn't the creepy doll you're led to believe

- The demon controlling Annabelle is just as unimpressive when you get down to it

- The appeal you gleamed from The Conjuring doesn't transfer over into Annabelle 

Scully Rating: 3.0 out of 10