ANNABELLE review by Mark Walters – if ya ask me, dolls have always been scary

ANNABELLE review by Mark Walters – if ya ask me, dolls have always been scary

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One of the more memorable elements from James Wan’s hit horror film THE CONJURING was Ed and Lorraine Warren’s collection of supernatural memorabilia, which includes a rather unsettling looking doll named Annabelle. It stands to reason when something is popular the natural progression is to milk that popularity, especially in Hollywood, and with that thinking comes the new film ANNABELLE.

Set in the mid-1960s (I’m guessing based on cars and clothes, and a report about Charles Manson and cults on the TV, as I don’t believe the film ever actually says), the story follows Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and John (Wade Horton), a young churchgoing couple expecting a baby. While getting the nursery ready, John presents his lovely wife with a large doll to add to her collection, one that has eluded Mia for some time… Annabelle. That night their neighbors are violently murdered by a male and female cult member, both of which end up in their house, but are disposed of just in time. A drop of the female cult member’s blood falls into Annabelle’s eye, in the ominous of ways. We soon learn the female was in fact the missing daughter of the couple next door, and the sacrifice of her parents was done for satanic purposes. As the days that follow go by, mysterious things start happening in the house, and Mia begins to feel as if something is out to get her. It eventually prompts John to ditch the doll in the trash and move them to an apartment. But Annabelle reappears in their boxes, and after their child is born the strange occurrences continue. Mia meets Evelyn (Alfre Woodard), a book store owner who becomes a soothing voice she desperately needs, and John even turns to their church leader Father Perez (Tony Amendola) at one point for guidance. But what is haunting our young couple may be more powerful than anything anyone could imagine.

ANNABELLE doesn’t exactly present us with anything new, but rather serves up an all-too-familiar storyline filled with plenty of jump scares and creepy imagery to have us laughing uncomfortably for a few hours. Director John R. Leonetti (who was the director of photography on THE CONJURING) makes the most of light and shadow, delivering some of the most effective moments in an ambiguous way. There’s demonic images in this film that are very effective and unnerving, perhaps even more than anything was saw in THE CONJURING. And let’s face it, dolls, even at their most sweet, can sometimes be creepy just as they are. Annabelle as a doll slowly and methodically gets more dirty and distressed as the story plays out, to where by the end she looks like a doll no one would want in their room. But the real star of the film is what’s guiding her nefarious ways, and is something I can’t go into too much detail about without ruining some surprises.

The cast performs well, Ward Horton is a nice fresh face as the naive husband, and Annabelle Wallis (yes, the lead actress is named Annabelle in real life) is excellent as the terrorized wife who bears the bulk of the evil presence. Alfre Woodard is also quite good as the wise voice trying to help Mia, and Tony Amendola is (as always) great at Father Perez. Everyone does a fine job playing their parts, but it just all feels so been there, done that. Even the pacing and unfolding of the story seems predictable – husband having to be away with work while the terror ramps up, wife turning to a voice of reason, a priest being overcome by the evil at hand… we’ve seen it all before. That’s not to say ANNABELLE is a bad horror film, quite the opposite, it’s rather effective. But in the end we wonder why there’s not just a hint of freshness injected in to throw up for a curve.

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About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.