Getting right into it, the greatest thing about the Annabelle movie primarily lies within the idea of it being a significant part of a much bigger cinematic universe led by 2013's The Conjuring. So as a result, we're given a nice spin-off prequel horror entry knowing that it connects to a hopefully expansive and well crafted franchise of future horror titles worth collecting. Speaking on the titular Annabelle doll itself, I was happy to see that the filmmakers didn't give into the modern temptation of making it actually physically interact with things through the use of shoddy CGI or anything immersion breaking. As a matter of fact, I'd say that the doll was actually pretty creepy at times due to the admirably minimalistic sensibility of having these supernatural occurrences happen around Annabelle as she stares blankly at the screen. It reminded me of what made the first Child's Play movie so effectively terrifying until we actually saw Chucky come to life via animatronics.
It's a concept that, on its surface, feeds on a very real psychological fear of a supposedly lifeless human-like object coming to life and terrorizing you when you lease expect it (Automatonophobia I believe it's called). This is brilliantly executed in scenes where Annabelle is perfectly stationed with no implications of being alive before or after something horrifying takes place. All of the attention is shifted towards her emotionless face which never remotely twitches, but through the power of the viewer's imagination, she can be seen grinning with a diabolical plan in the works. This is the type of clever filmmaking that I feel has become rare ever since we've entered the "anything is possible with CGI" mentality. The powerful concept of "less is more" understanding the exploitative tools of atmosphere and tension to genuinely force the audience in a position of vulnerability feels like a lost art now.
Unfortunately, the movie is certainly not without its flaws as Annabelle does suffer from uninspiring cliches set by older films of the same genre in addition to bland performances by the main cast. Although, I will say that there are a couple of noteworthy scenes of terror that shouldn't be skipped over by horror fans. One scene involving a malfunctioning elevator in a dark basement legitimately kept me in a state of hyper awareness as it masterfully played on the filmmaking tactics that I mentioned before. I found myself genuinely afraid of what I was about to see or experience which is exactly what a great horror release should offer up. Cinematically speaking, thanks to clever use of sound design creepy lighting, this entire scene is the equivalent of forcefully having to tag along with someone as they navigate through a nightmarish fever dream. The artistry really is something worth admiring here.
However, the issue with this film regarding the scares is that there simply weren't enough scenes like the elevator bit that kept me entertained throughout. This made Annabelle's re-watchability considerably weak in the grand scheme of things coupled with the uninteresting central cast and overall unmet potential. Unless you're a huge fan of The Conjuring, I see no reason for you to rush out to see this film when there's cheaper rental options eventually available. If you're really looking for a chilling story going by the concept of the film alone, I would highly recommend actually reading up on the true Annabelle story. That's right, this prequel is loosely based on an actual story surrounding a Raggedy Ann doll and one that will definitely encourage nightmares upon finding out what supernatural terrors supposedly happened.
Rating: 5/10
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