Annabelle
Annabelle serves as a prequel to The Conjuring (2013) by portraying events that happened in 1967, detailing the origins of the possessed doll. The narration follows a couple, John and Mia Form, who are expecting their first child (played by Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis). As a surprise, John gets Mia a rare doll made of porcelain resembling the infamous Annabelle doll from The Conjuring for their nursery.
Their life takes a dark turn when their house is invaded by a gang of a satanic cult. One of the cultists – Annabelle Higgins – gets killed while possessing the doll and hands over the doll to a dark entity. After this instance, Mia has to go through a myriad of strange phenomena which brings forth a life or death battle with an unearthly entity that is hell bent on destroying their family.
The couple turns towards a priest, Father Perez, and their sweet neighbor, Evelyn in the search of help to get rid of Annabelle’s growing evil. But is it possible for them to break free from the grip of the demon that dwells within the doll?
🏆 Awards & Nominations
“I am not a darling of critics,” said Annabelle, “but rather a commercial success, making over $257 million internationally while being on a $6.5 million budget.” The movie also received nominations from Fangoria Chainsaw Awards and iHorror Awards for its effects and disturbing premise.
🎭 Cast & Crew
- Annabelle Wallis as Mia Form
- Ward Horton as John Form
- Alfre Woodard as Evelyn
- Tony Amendola as Father Perez
- Brian Howe as Pete Higgins
- Eric Ladin as Detective Clarkin
- Tree O’Toole as Annabelle Higgins (the cultist)
- Joseph Bishara (as the demon) – in addition to portraying the demon, he was also the one that composed the soundtrack of the film.
🔹 Produced by the one and only James Wan who created the superb The Conjuring universe, Annabelle secures his unmatched legacy of supernatural horror films.
📊 IMDb & Audience Reception
IMDb: 5.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% (Critics) | 35% (Audience)
Box Office Returns: $257 million international
Despite its financial success, the critics were split. The tension building routine, as well as the filming styles received praise, though most were let down by the lack of depth and originality when compared to other movies in the franchise like The Conjuring.
The section of Annabelle I was most excited to watch was to see how the franchise expands on the lore of the cursed doll, and it did not disappoint. Sure, it doesn’t reach the terrifying heights of The Conjuring, but the title does successfully add some much needed story to the franchise lore.
While Annabelle gets most of its story from the possessed doll lore, it draws much of its inspiration from the real life Annabelle doll. This doll is said to be possessed, held captive, and locked away by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. This case alone provided the genesis for the entire Conjuring universe and great addition to the already unbelievably deep lore of the universe.
Although this installment, Annabelle, lacks the psychological horror elements, it largely makes up for it with tradition jump scares. It is entertaining and engaging, but doesn’t leave a lasting impression like some of the other entries have. If you enjoy supernatural horror, this indeed is a good watch, and especially so if you will binge the entire series.