Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Annabelle: Creation

Where can I find 100 words to describe this movie? A horror film so generic, after seeing it in the movie theaters, I have already forgotten the most content of this supposed "good horror movie".

So selfish and so poorly executed (for a budget of 15 million, better Filming locations could be found).

We have a handful of generic characters written in the most generic way possible. The traditional sick character of the horror movies (Janice), the only friend (Linda) that is with her and the traditional characters that are basically irrelevant to history. Why this movie has so many characters, but only 2 characters are relevant to the story (the two girls - Janice and Linda), and for what, does the other four girls exist?

In that, the only thing that make this movie is to have a useless sub-plot and the remaining girls are to be scared by a useless scarecrow ,by the way, this demon has nothing to do with the one that control Janice. Unnecessary, I know.

That leads to the conclusion why this film have so many characters and the only way to insert them in the main plot of the film was to create this irrelevant sub-plot , that only serves to distract the public from the main story, even if from since the beginning there was never interest of the writer to develop and create a relationship with the public and for this to the public, if these characters die or live is so irrelevant as the film itself.

The reason why films like The Exorcist and Ringu proved and were a success, it was because the filmmakers are focused on a single central character and created the story around this same character. A large number of characters never meant quality. Having a lot of useless people to the story adds nothing to the quality of the movie. Not to mention the poor acting of the main casting (especially from Stephanie Sigman). Not to mention again (without success or quality) that the filmmakers tried to copy some shots from films like The Exorcist and Ringu (just look especially when the kids went to pay a visit to the water well). A horror movie that will only satisfy the genre's weekly fans, but for the rest of the public, just another generic, poorly executed and passable horror film, with nothing new to bring. To be avoided, no doubt.

Fmovies: Much like Ouija: Origin of Evil from last year, Annabelle: Creation is actually a prequel instead of a sequel. As the title implies, the movie provides the origin story of how the possessed doll that eventually ends up in the hands of The Conjuring's paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren first came to be inhabited by an evil entity.

Bottomline - Demonic doll torments little girls.

I first want to gloss over Ouija: Origin of Evil, as Annabelle: Creation is heavily inspired by that film. It's a 1960s R-rated horror prequel to a lackluster origin film starring Lulu Wilson based on possession & exorcism, ultimately tying in strongly with its predecessor. As I felt Origin of Evil had strong plot development, acting (though Wilson isn't the standout here that she was in O:OoE), cinematography, and overall eeriness, I could say most of the same things for Annabelle: Creation, though I find them all just a notch below.

Given the time period that this film takes place, the technology that was present served this film very well in the throwback sense, either because it doesn't make the characters too idiotic to not rely on their technology more often, or it doesn't allow the supernatural to manipulate their technology too much to the point of ridiculousness. Even traditional items like a bell (similar to The Uninvited), a well (similar to The Ring), or a dumbwaiter (many horror films) work because of the particular time period that it's in and add to the atmosphere the film builds up. Several elements like this were heavily in play and made for a fun setting.

Here's where I have a mixed bag of positive/negative, and it has to do with the direction. James Wan is clearly a heavy influence for David Sandberg (Lights Out), but part of me feels like Sandberg and crew watched Wan's Conjuring films, created a checklist, and tried their best to check all of those boxes. It makes for great horror, but part of it makes me feel like I've seen it all before. If Wan was directing, I think he would find a new way to shoot certain scenes and present certain items. Given the setting I was referring to before, I saw all of the foreshadowing coming into play a bit too easily. It's like it was all on-the-nose. You also can telegraph all of the jump scares. That doesn't mean they weren't still effective and that the film wasn't still scary on its own (trust me, there are plenty of non-jump-scare moments that are still very good), but I feel like I just saw a Wan copycat instead of Wan himself is all. I mean that's not a bad thing, because I considered Wan as the new master of horror before he decided to become an action director. Just food for thought is all.

Now I will give Sandberg some credit. He played with out-of-focus scenery more than Wan had in the past, making us look in the dark areas or the background to see if something was lurking about. I also think he included more shock factor regarding when things can occur (daytime, early stages of the film) and how at-risk all of the children really were, making them all vulnerable to victimization by injury, possession, and/or death. I also think that without a star-studded adult cast it was a lot easier to give the child actors a lot of limelight, to the point that I knew all of them really quickly (in The Conjuring, I couldn't tell you a single one's name as they were more pawns for Wilson and Farmiga). Every so often he would let the camera cut away for the scary thing to appear/disappear/move and such, but then sometimes he would just say "screw it" and do it right in the shot just to mess with the audience, who was thoroughly engaged in this film from start to finish.

The thing I think most people have to remember about this film, which I sometimes forget myself, is that Annabelle is just a doll... creepy looking, but just a doll nonetheless. She's not like Slappy or Chu

Annabelle: Creation fmovies. So many years ago, the Conjuring dropped into theaters and opened up a movie universe that would bestow nightmares to the audience members who saw it. This weekend, the latest installment in this haunted world with Annabelle Creation. A prequel to the last film, this possessed doll continues to be a popular figure head in the occult series to warrant another film. Is this film a fitting addition to the franchise, or is it another money grabber fit to be lost in the horror archives? Robbie K here to help answer those questions and share some thoughts. Let's get to work.

LIKES:

Answers Questions: The first Annabelle gave the doll some basis and established her deadly legacy, but it lacked any true backstory of her creation. The prequel, as so titled, helped fill in the creation story and establish the origin to its possession. As the film progresses, more of the Annabelle's journey is revealed, alongside a closer look at the creature that uses it as a puppet. While not fully complete, we now have the connections needed to make sense of the first movie, and further engross us in the universe. Unfortunately, the name, the involvement, and other details of the demons still remain unanswered, but can be extrapolated with a dialogue hints.

The Pace: Horror movies can have pacing issues at time depending on the story. Fortunately, Annabelle Creation's moves at a decent pace to maximize the movie. Slow enough to provide build up for the scares, but fast enough to keep everything moving and on edge, the production team did a nice job keeping you invested in the movie. There is little time between all the craziness, with just enough comedic relief to relieve the tension and keep things interesting.

Scares: I guess we need to talk about the main element you go for these movies huh? The scare factor is at an all-time high in this movie, continuing the Conjuring's legacy of keeping things dynamic, fun, and suspenseful. Annabelle's creepy on so many levels, starting with the realistic setting to place the movie in. That realism and the use of shadows has your imagination on fire trying to fill in the gaps of what lurks in the dark. Once the subtle components are set, you can bet there a number of creepy tricks played in this film, alongside the fleeting glimpses of the demon that terrorizes the family in his cruel game. And of course, there is that doll. It's soulless stare and deceiving smile continue to give me the willies, and had a number of audience members using colorful language before involuntary rising from their seats.

DISLIKES:

Character stories: The movie had a lot of characters to play in our haunted setting. The protagonists of the film held a lot of potential to develop as characters, and unfortunately, they failed on that level. Sure, you can piece together the simple origins placed before you, but I would have liked more insight into the girls' origins or perhaps a little more integration of Bee into the writing to help maximize scares. With the conjuring able to unearth their demons and dreams in a quality manner, Annabelle should be able to mimic that magic. Scares do not equal perfect horror movie.

Pointless characters: Remember the big family in the Conjuring and how each sibling, parent, and exorcist were part of the tale in some way. That's gone too. Annabelle Conjuring brought a large group into the home, but only about four-five of them have any real involvement in the plot. The underutilization of these characters tripped up

Was lucky enough to see an advanced screening the other day and was glad I went!

Not only was it a good horror movie, it was also actually a good movie! The story line was solid and made sense. Far more creepier than the original Annabelle, yet I found I didn't jump as much as I did in the first film. Yet the atmosphere it created left me on the edge of the seat the whole movie. Which to me is far better than jump scares! The movie also had very few slow/boring parts if any. Some characters do make stupid decisions which can be frustrating, but same goes for all movies. All the actors in the film were really good, which surprised me since most are so young. They're are a few hidden easter eggs throughout the film that fans of Annabelle and the Conjuring series will probably notice, which was really neat/surprising to see! This movie also ties in perfectly the the first film in a very surprising way that made the crowd of the theatre actually gasp in shock.

Anyways a great horror movie and a great addition to the Conjuring Universe! Will definitely see again when it officially comes out! One of my favorite movies of the year.

A prequel of Annabelle, which was the prequel of The Conjuring. Absolutely nobody asked for this. Nobody wanted this. No one. But, thankfully (surprising, right?) we got it. 

Annabelle: Creation has no business being this good. Funny enough, the same can be said about 2016's Ouija: Origins of Evil. It is strange that these two bizarrely similar films were released within a year of each other. Both follow up on terrible first films. Both are prequels of those terrible first films. Both shouldn't have been made. Both are extremely effective horror films. Oh, and both star the excellent child-actor Lulu Wilson. The similarities don't even end there. 

After the film ended and I saw who directed this, everything made more sense. David F. Sandberg has the reins here–who you might remember from directing Lights Out, another surprisingly great 2016 horror flick. The work done in that movie with the use of lighting and repetition is just as suspenseful here (if not more so, in some scenes). Sandberg thankfully stamps what could have been run-of-the- mill horror scenes with his signature creativity. Horror largely relies on the talent of the director, and this is a case of the direction only elevating the film. 

While Lulu Wilson is a definitely a standout in her second straight horror movie role, her counterpart Talitha Bateman also gives a great performance. As in most horror movies, most of the scares are seen through the eyes of the children in the film. Luckily, the two youngest actresses here–Wilson and Bateman–practically act circles around the rest of the cast. In fact, there were quite a few moments when I felt as though these two actresses deserved a better script. The pair definitely do the best they can with what they are given however, adding a great deal of character to this film. 

The bar is low when it comes to horror film scripts. Even the best of the genre still have the occasional cringe-worthy line or plot hole (The Conjuring 2, I'm looking at you). All this to say, I'm going to go easy on the faults of Annabelle: Creation's script. The writing here is not bad by any means. There are cringy lines here and there, but that is to be expected. The characters make extremely poor choices, but even that is to be expected. The problem rests almost solely in the dull first 30 minutes of this film.

Look, I'm all for slow burn horror movies. But when the star of your horror film is an inanimate object, you just can't afford to have a slow opening act. However, once this film starts picking up with the scares in the latter half of the film, much of that first act can be forgiven. The film goes in some unexpected directions towards the end of the film which adds some surprising creativity.

No spoilers of course, but the way the first Annabelle is tied in to this film is outstanding. So outstanding that it almost makes up for the 90 minutes I wasted sitting through the garbage that was that first film. Almost. 

Credit to director David F. Sandberg for rescuing this franchise from a tedious first film. Annabelle: Creation is legitimately scary, which is all you can really ask for from a horror film.