Director:
John R. Leonetti

Starring:
Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola

Other notable appearances:
The incarnation of why I’m glad I don’t own any porcelain dolls … and that was even before it became possessed

Running time:
98 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
The Conjuring, Deliver Us from Evil, Thirteen Ghosts, The Haunting

Mia (Wallis) and John (Horton) are the idyllic 60s couple. They have a nice home, go to church every weekend, get along with their neighbours, and are expecting their first child. That is until their home is invaded by satanic cultists who are killed in the process. One of them while holding a doll meant for the couple’s baby. Now it seems that someone else has taken a liking to the doll too …

Annabelle had a lot of distractions with which to contend. There were the people who, upon entering or leaving the cinema throughout the film, would cackle maniacally. There were the people who decided to bring their small child to a movie about a possessed doll. There was snoring that would rival a chainsaw.

Despite all of these distractions, Annabelle was an impressive supernatural horror movie. It has scares in all the right places then a couple more thrown in for good measure. I thoroughly enjoyed The Conjuring, the film for which Annabelle is a prequel/spin-off of sorts. Yet I can almost say that Annabelle was more enjoyable.

The visual effects in Annabelle are quite interesting and are not overused to the point of desensitisation.

As with most supernatural horror movies, a lot of the scares are implied. The sound of a rocking chair; the music reaching an almost unbearable crescendo; the movement of things that you, and the protagonists, were sure weren’t there before.

I found the haunted protagonists of Annabelle to be far more likeable than those in The Conjuring. Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton epitomised the classic American family (with a hell of a twist).

Annabelle is a good example of modern supernatural horror movies and if that’s your bag then this movie is definitely something worth catching at the cinemas. Because really, what’s better than watching a horror movie in a dark room with strangers and inexplicable drafts?

Rating: 4/5

“I like your dolls.”