Annabelle Creation Review – Spoiler Free
Annabelle Creation is the sequel to 2014’s Annabelle (although is really a prequel to that story). The film comes directed by David F. Sandberg and stars Stephanie Sigman, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia and Talitha Bateman. Annabelle Creation is the story about the creation of Annabelle, a doll which has appeared in quite a few horror films lately and is becoming quite well known in the horror movie scene and could potentially be an upcoming iconic character.
Even though the first Annabelle film wasn’t something I would consider to be the best ever horror movie, for some reason the concept of the Annabelle doll did stick with me for some time. I don’t mind this type of horror film and there’s so much that can be done with the doll. Being a fan of the Chucky films, this one has some appeal and I knew something interesting might come of it should they return with another Annabelle film.
With the second film for the series, I wasn’t sure really where to set my expectations. Sure I like the idea, but as horror films generally aren’t so great story wise and judging from the first one, with sequels generally being not as good, my expectations were slightly lower, but still I was excited. Coming out of the cinema I found myself to be delighted with the film experience. Annabelle Creation had a great mix of jump scares and a story that was a little weird which made me uncomfortable enough at times throughout it to think all of it was rather horrific (in a good way).
The actors all do a fine job. There’s a lot of young actors in here, mostly young girls as their characters move to this dodgy home as orphans where Annabelle seems to reside. I thought that Lulu Wilson who plays Linda, one of the kids, did quite well with her role. I was a bit surprised to see Anthony LaPaglia in the list of cast members, horror movies usually have a lot of unknown actors in the cast and he is a fairly big name. I thought he was good with his role, but his character wasn’t so special for the story and didn’t leave much of an impact I thought, strange that he chose this role.
The directing from David F. Sandberg who some may know for his work on Lights Out (2016) was impressive. Annabelle Creation felt like a step up from the first film and did build on the story well enough and in a scary enough way that I think will interest audiences going to see it. There’s a few jump scares, Easter eggs and a variety of little moments scattered all throughout the film and those who do follow The Conjuring universe of films will enjoy these all.
Overall Annabelle Creation was an entertaining horror film which builds on the first in the series. If you’re a fan of films from The Conjuring Universe or enjoyed the first Annabelle film, then this one is sure to please you. It’s a step up from the first, both in story and in directing technique and may even make you a bit scared once leaving the session. I wouldn’t say it’s super scary though, it’s a fun horror film about a doll who can do some very sinister things, but it certainly has its moments. One bit at the end in particular caught me off guard and that’s always fun at the cinema.
