Annabelle (2014)


REVIEWER RATING: 
6/10


Feeding off the success of The Conjuring comes Annabelle, the spinoff/prequel that focuses primarily on the creepy doll we knew little about. In this film we revolve around a young married couple named Mia and John, where their seemingly perfect life is shattered one night when some occultists break into their home and attempt to slay the family. They fail, but not before the female cult member expresses her love for a particular doll in Mia's collection. Thus, we have the origins of Annabelle or so it would seem.

It's not long before Annabelle starts trolling the couple or primarily Mia since the husband is always out working (being a doctor and all). This leaves Mia to deal with things like a chair rocking for no reason, a TV shutting off suddenly (noooo!!), the sewing machine coming on, and lastly, making popcorn on the stove when nobody's there (*shivers*). Joking aside, there are actually a few solid scares in the flick. For instance there's one great memorable sequence involving Mia making a quick trip to the storage area in the building. I'm not ashamed to admit that I got legit creeped out during that scene; good stuff there. There are a couple other notable scenes, mostly involving the black demon that's attached to Annabelle.

Aside from some above-average scenes, Annabelle is unfortunately nothing special. The script definitely needs more work, as we're introduced to characters that serve no real purpose other than to be victims to the doll's wrath. This is especially the case towards the end, when we're given a convenient cop-out climax. There are also some pacing issues in the first half (where it's mostly Annabelle trolling Mia) and nothing scare-worthy occurs (in my opinion anyway). Regardless, I dug the flick to an extent (still like Conjuring more though) and there a couple great scenes in the flick that'll probably be sticking with me for a while. It's just too bad the script couldn't have been tighter, but it's clear that the studio really wanted to rush this one out.

Annabelle is a decent effort that manages to deliver some successful scares, but nothing more. The script is weak and there are some pacing issues in the first half. However, evil doll or Conjuring fans may still dig it to some extent.
OVERALL: 
Annabelle is a decent effort that manages to deliver some successful scares, but nothing more. The script is weak and there are some pacing issues in the first half. However, evil doll or Conjuring fans may still dig it to some extent.


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