Annabelle Review.
1hr 35min
Cast: Annabelle Wallis. Ward Horton. Alfre Woodard.
Director: John R. Leonetti
Producer: James Wan
So I should be writing up a review for the newly released Annabelle, describing the jumpy scenes and character development. Unfortunately the only thing I can describe right now is the inside of my hands, as my hands were in direct contact with my face for 99% of the film.
But in all seriousness, this film was the scariest film I have seen since The Conjuring and I have a very high threshold for horror films as I pretty much grew up with Freddy and Jason while other children my age cooed over Barney the Bear and Elmo.
Anyway, I digress; this film is set in 1960s America and focuses around John and Mia Form. Mia is heavily pregnant with their first child and as a gift John presents her with a doll to complete the collection in the nursery.
Laughter erupted around the cinema as Mia exclaimed how thrilled she was with the doll. A mutual chorus of ‘Fuck That’ filled the dark room as the camera focuses in on the creepy, horrible looking doll.
I do not want to give the whole plot away as that is not the point of a review, you can watch the movie yourself to find out what happens next, and I am adamant you need to watch this movie……now.
What I was most impressed with was the unpredictability of the jumpy moments. There was so much room for clichéd horror movie scares but the director steered away from the obvious tactics and left the audience unprepared for the mini heart attack which was about to take place.
There was an obvious lack of cheesy horror techniques in Annabelle, and it was the first film in a long time that I didn’t actually roll my eyes in annoyance at the predictability of the script or characters.
What I also loved was the very brief appearance of the original Annabelle doll in the antique store, during the last scene of the movie. Look real close – you might just spot her.
I must add that this is NOT the real story of how Annabelle came to be possessed. The first and the last scene of the film are the only scenes that are factual and are based on the real story of Annabelle. If you want to find out the real story check out my previous blog post here: https://thisismyhorror.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/haunted-dolls/
I left the cinema after watching Annabelle wanting to pray and bathe in holy water. I could almost feel Annabelle’s beady little eyes watching me as I walked in the pitch dark to my car. Bloody Annabelle. It didn’t help that I was coming back to a house full of suspected haunted dolls.