Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation is a film that everyone expected to release but was not nearly quite as disastrous as the first film in the franchise. Financially Annabelle did wonderfully, but speaking of sheer artistic value - well, aside from a few creative shots, Annabelle did nothing with it's poor story, scripting, and acting to draw the audience in. However, this cheesy sequel and fourth film in The Conjuring series took the silly premise of a haunted doll and capitalized solely on that. What equated was a stupidly fun, but not altogether scary, supernatural horror film that was more moody than the first.

Following a group of orphans sent to live in the Annabelle doll creator's home turned orphanage, it's immediate that the film focuses on Janice. When one person becomes the focus in a horror film, that can only mean one thing: she's going to be tortured to bits. And this all turns out true. She's the first one to find the titular Annabelle doll in a closet full of biblical passages, and is also the first to be followed and haunted by said spirit. She's pushed around, tossed in the air, and eventually locked in a barn and possessed. 

Her best friend, Linda, also becomes a point of focus as she notices her friend's behavior is extremely different. As all horror films go, though, no matter what goes wrong in this house everyone continues to stay and attempt to have a good time rather than getting up and leaving like most normal people would. A harrowing sequence towards the end shows the possessed Janice attempting to murder her once best friend all thanks to the demon's influence.

The film does build a lot of tension, but is also too willing to give it up by the same manner. During the final half hour when all Hell breaks loose, there are too many moments with play and pause action. That, to me, does not build tension but rather builds annoyance and extends sequences further than they should be. Sitting at one hundred and nine minutes for a silly film, Annabelle: Creation should have shaved off twenty minutes at best.

Where I will give praise to the film without a doubt is in its mood setting and dynamic lighting. Director David F. Sandberg used the house, natural, and man made lighting to present the house and surrounding area to make you see what he wanted you to see and nothing less. As with most horror films, there will always be a point of focus on the screen during tense scenes, but it's the surrounding area that you'll be wanting to pay attention to in order to catch those little details.

Annabelle: Creation was legions better than it's sister film, but it is far from perfect. It is a playful horror film and continues to focus on the whole "religion can't do shit against demons" philosophy that has been brought to prominence since the original Conjuring film. For all horror buffs, Annabelle: Creation will be a stupid film that will not scare, but can at the very least be a distracting thought on a lazy Monday evening. 

The film is still in theaters as of right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it saw a DVD/Blu-Ray release by the end of the year.