Respond to these rapid questions in our Annabelle Creation quiz and we will tell you which Annabelle Creation character you are. Play it now.
According to a fairly reliable rule of filmmaking in the past, sequels to inferior horror films were even more worthless than the original. After all, how do you construct something out of nothing? “Annabelle: Creation” is a vast improvement over the monstrously awful “Annabelle” from 2014. It was widely and correctly considered superior to the dull original, and 2017 continues that shocking trick with “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” which is widely and correctly considered superior to the dull original. Instead of feeling like a hasty attempt to cash in on the success of “The Conjuring,” director David F. Sandberg’s follow-up doesn’t feel like it was conceived solely for the sake of profit margins or focus-grouped to death. As with the original film, it relies more on atmosphere and less on cheap scares than either “Annabelle” or “The Conjuring 2,” resulting in an exceptionally effective horror film. Despite the fact that it is not perfect, it is far more close than anyone could have predicted.
While the title makes it clear that this is the origin story for one of the most terrifying dolls in film history, the film also establishes its own characters and universe in which to play, one that more closely resembles the construction and themes of James Wan’s original film than any of the works that have come after it in terms of quality. “Annabelle: Creation” is essentially a haunted house film, with a new group of young girls confronted with things that go bump in the night, similar to the success of the previous film, which featured a group of sisters trapped in a nightmare. Specifically, it is a group of orphans who are allowed to live in a large, isolated home after their orphanage closes. They are described as The girls, led by Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman), are a diverse group of ages, much like the sisters from the original film, but the focus is immediately on Janice (Taliha Bateman), who has been crippled by polio, and her sweet best friend Linda (Lulu Wilson). The weak and the kind are always the first victims of evil, as any good horror fan knows well.
As a result, it is Janice who is the first to notice that something is wrong in the Mullins household. Despite the fact that Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) appears to be a nice enough guy, he is overly concerned about anyone entering the room where his deceased daughter Bee used to live. And Esther Mullins (Miranda Otto) is even more mysterious, having been injured and rendered bedridden, as well as ringing a bell whenever she requires her husband’s assistance. However, Janice is the first to notice that Bee’s locked room is open in the middle of the night, and it is she who then discovers the damned doll in Bee’s possession. Souls are being fought over before your eyes, lights are being turned off, and religious imagery is being subverted everywhere. There are several themes in these films, but one of the most prominent is the complete and utter failure of religion to protect us from genuine danger. Sandberg enjoys casting light through crosses on windows, and he gets a lot of mileage out of imagery that recalls the crucifixion in the final act of the play.
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Yes, believe it or not, “Annabelle: Creation” possesses something that the first film lacked so glaringly: a strong visual style. Sandberg and his team do an excellent job of building tension through traditional horror movie techniques such as forcing us to remain in the perspective of our terrified young ladies. As their eyes widen and the hair on the back of their neck stands up in curiosity about what is making that creaking sound down the dark hallway, yours does as well. Sandberg is well aware that the unknown is the source of the greatest amount of fear, and he has a blast experimenting with sound and light in “Creation.” Chairs creaking, footsteps in the hallway when everyone should be sleeping, and that damn bell Mrs. Mullins rings are all masterfully utilized in the first half of the film.
Annabelle Creation Quiz
Of course, we’re aware of all of these ruses. And Sandberg is well aware that we are aware. Rarely have I seen a mainstream horror film that engages in more playful dialogue with the contemporary horror audience’s awareness of the genre. In the case of an open door leading into a darkened room, Sandberg knows that your gaze will be fixed on the darkness, searching the edges of your vision for movement, glowing eyes or whatever else might be there to catch your eyeballs. Because no one is paying attention to the foreground if he places Annabelle in the background, he will succeed. While working on the set for “Annabelle: Creation,” he seems to have a great time building things out of cardboard boxes. Afterwards, Sandberg and his team unleash their wrath in the final half-hour of the film by staging some of the most memorable mainstream horror scenes to emerge in recent memory. One such sequence, which takes place in a barn, had the poor large gentleman sitting next to me just whispering “no, no, no.” That’s when you can tell if a movie is truly effective. When it reduces grown men to single syllables, it is considered offensive.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Annabelle Creation quiz.
“Annabelle: Creation” is not without flaws. In addition to being overlong (109 minutes), it occasionally appears to be inventing its own narrative logic as it goes along. This makes the film feel more like a ghost story told around a campfire rather than a literal origin story—a mix of religious imagery, grieving parents, weakened children, and otherworldly evil—and the inclusion of an urban legend element could have allowed Sandberg and writer Gary Dauberman to lean into the absurdity of their concept even further. The aforementioned barn sequence is a great example of when the film knows it needs to go crazy, but the film also feels like it is pulling back from true risk-taking on a number of occasions throughout. It can be a little too restrained at times, which is surprising considering the film is about a possessed doll, and a few too many of the scariest scenes end ineffectively with jump scares that don’t pay off as well as the excellent build-up. However, once again, it is more important to determine what could be causing the creaking sound in the hallway than it is to identify the heavily staged demon that is actually present. The majority of the time, “Annabelle: Creation” recognizes and understands that fear. As a result, it’s now part of a completely unexpected trend that’s tearing down the very thing that this critic dreads the most: the horror movie sequel.
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