Halloween Horrorfest: Annabelle

The film Annabelle, a spin-off from The Conjuring, arrives for the Halloween season. It claims to be a prequel exploring the origins of the infamous Annabelle doll that was a plot point in the previous film. Of course, the movie is complete Hollywood hokum and not based on a "true" story, unlike the previous film. The origins of the doll prior to it's purchase in an hobby store by it's last owner's mother are unknown. That said, the film is still a pretty freaky little movie. 

The film focuses on a young married couple, Mia (played by Annabelle Wallis) and John (played by Ward Horton). John has just graduated from Medical school and is getting ready to start his residency while Mia is pregnant with their child. She is also a seamstress and a doll collector. Early in the film, John gives her a present. No points for guessing, but it's the Annabelle doll, of course. Strange events begin to occur, each one escalating from the last until it's full blown chaos. 

I hesitate to give away much more of the film since one of the best things it has going for it is it's surprises. Much like the first film, the best thing to do is go in knowing only the basics for maximum effect. That's how I went in to this and I have to say it kept me guessing. With allusions to both other evil doll films (I noticed one in particular to Child's Play, or more accurately, it's main hero, Andy Barclay.) and other demonic themed films, in particular Rosemary's Baby. I kept wondering if the ending was going to turn out along those lines, but was relieved when it did not. Still, it did have the same sort of vibe with a young mother in peril against demonic forces. 

Still, the film isn't perfect. It takes it's time to get going without anything much happening, although that may have been intentional on the part of the filmmakers because once it kicks into gear it is rather shocking. There were also a couple moments that I had trouble believing, for instance a small house fire that takes one of the main characters far too long to notice. To be fair, these moments are few and far between. The movie does a good job of covering itself logically, with the audience asking why not just get rid of the doll? They try that and it just shows back up again. They also try bringing in their priest to take care of the disturbances once they tie it to the demonic, with typical results. In short, the couple act about as rationally as possible in the circumstances, so there were minimal instances of wanting to yell at the screen. 

In the end, while it pales in comparison to the film it was spun off from, Annabelle, is a fairly decent little scary movie and looks to be the best bet for theatrical Halloween entertainment.