How many times have we seen a group of sisters caught in a nightmare? How many times have creepy-looking dolls made you jump up scared? How many times have a haunted house given you the jeepers? Well, Annabelle: Creation is all that and some more.
This Conjuring spin-off offers a peek into how Annabelle came to be known and is a fitting prequel to the scary movie franchise, which is slowly getting us into the “Conjuring universe”.
For those uninitiated, Annabelle is a possessed doll that made minor appearances in The Conjuring and its sequel, locked up in trophy room of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The movie itself has been inspired by “real events” though over the course of time, the storyline has veered-off the original premise. Annabelle: Creation is the origin story, and it circles back to 1957, when ex-toy maker Sam Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) and his bed-ridden wife, Esther (Miranda Otto), welcome Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse.
Among the orphaned girls are a polio survivor Janice (Talitha Bateman) and her best friend Linda (Lulu Wilson). Years earlier, the couple’s seven-year-old daughter Annabelle died in a tragic car accident. Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own.
The kind of horror you see in Annabelle: Creation isn’t those gory-types. It is more of “silence… silence… BANG!!”, that plays a lot with your mind and heart. The way David F. Sandberg, the Director of the movie, uses the doll is extremely effective, especially during a few very clever stunt scenes that will remind you of The Conjuring. However, these scares are quite fresh enough to deliver a fun, unique thrill you don’t see coming.
You also see a glimpse of the demon nun from The Conjuring 2, Valak, when in one of the scenes, Sister Charlotte shows a picture of herself and a group of Romanian nuns. Also, you might want to stay back for the post-credits scene which is essentially a clever way of pointing to the next installment in The Conjuring series, The Nun. A must watch for all horror-movie fans!