Film: Annabelle
Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton
Directed by: John R. Leonetti
A year after becoming the breakout star/inanimate object of The Conjuring, the doll known as Annabelle has been given a solo film so disappointing it may kill any chance of seeing doll-related horror in theaters for years to come.
Beginning before the events of The Conjuring, Annabelle aims to tell you the story of how the creepy little doll in the cabinet became a magnet for demonic events. That story takes about 20 minutes to tell–if we’re being completely honest–and everything that follows feels like a lackluster attempt at making another version of Insidious, only without the talent or star power of Patrick Wilson.
Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton star as Mia and John, a young married couple in the midst of having their first child. Over the course of several months and multiple locations the family experiences a series of strange events, all taking place after John gives Mia a doll she thought she would never own. Mia has suspicions that the doll may somehow be connected to the bad things happening around her, but she can never quite prove it. John, on the other hand, is too absent to notice. It’s a tale you’ve heard a dozen times or more and it plays out the exact way you’re expecting, complete with priests and a lengthy explanation of possession.
Scares are extremely few and far between, as is any sense of tension, but Annabelle does boast a cast that knows how to get the most out of mediocre material. Horton is the shining light of the film, delivering a compelling performance while working through dialogue that is anything but. The supporting cast is strong as well, with Tony Amendola filling in the role of the priest.
Annabelle’s biggest problem is that the doll itself is never all that terrifying. We don’t know who or what the bad guy is going in, and once it’s revealed it’s not all that shocking. Director John R. Leonetti does his best to make the doll seem strange and unsettling, but more often than not she just looks like a rather ugly doll. There’s a sense that the script wants you to believe she could be the next Chucky, or at the very least Tiffany (the Bride of Chucky), but that is not at all what is being presented. Annabelle is merely a token, and at no point does she spring to life like the many famous movie dolls of yesteryear. I’m not saying that is what the film needed to be a hit, but it certainly would have helped.
Speaking of Leonetti, he’s done amazing things on recent films like The Conjuring and Insidious: Chapter 2, but I could not fight the feeling that Annabelle looked a little stale. There has also been a muted feel to the universe these films inhabit, but it’s applied in extra thick layers on this project. The only highlights come when moments of tension arise, which unfortunately is a surprisingly rare occurrence.
With a villain that cannot be discussed or revealed without giving away the only real scares the film has to offer, Annabelle struggles to find tension or suspense for much of its running time. The doll, while creepy, is not scary enough to carry the weight of a feature length story. The cast makes the entire affair bearable, but there is never much entertainment to be found. I wanted this film to launch a new franchise, and it’s clear from the final moments that the producers likely hoped for the same, but after witnessing the final results I would prefer that we all act like the entire idea was never approved in the first place.
If you must see Annabelle, wait for Netflix. I have no doubt this film will ruin many a Halloween date, and really that might be the greatest sin of all.
GRADE: D
Review written by James Shotwell Follow @utgjames
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KUgCe12eoY
