Annabelle 2014

Annabelle is a 2014 horror film directed by John R. Leonetti and written by Gary Dauberman.

The film begins with the scene in The Conjuring in which a young woman and her friends came across the doll and have it examined by the Warrens. It then goes back in time to Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and her husband John (Ward Horton), who are expecting their first child. John surprises Mia with an antique doll that she had her eye on. All seems well until a brutal murder happens to the next door neighbors, and Mia is then attacked by one of the intruders. The female intruder then has her blood drip into the doll's eye. Soon after, sinister things begin to happen, and Mia is convinced that they need to move out of the house. However, despite their move the presence follows them, and the events continue. The couple then enlists the help of Father Perez (Tony Amendola) and one of their neighbors Evelyn (Alfre Woodward) to help solve what is going on. Is the doll suddenly coming to life, or is there something far more darker happening that puts not only the lives of the couple in danger, as well as their child.

The setting of this film is in the 1960s in a California suburb. Young couple John and Mia are expecting their first child. One day, John surprises Mia, who was a vintage doll collector, with a huge antique doll with painted ivory face wearing white satin dress adorned by a red bow. It just so happened that same night, crazy satanic cultists attack their home and there was resulting bloodshed. However, since that night, there was no more peace in John and Mia's household, especially after she gives birth to their daughter, Leah.

I liked the throwback look of this film, with its faded color palette and meticulous production design. The architecture, interior design, fashion, hairstyles, television shows, pop music all captured the era so well. Even the look of cutie baby Leah was vintage. These things also contributed to the scariness factor because of the limitation of technology that the characters have on hand.

A big part of the success of "Annabelle" as a horror film is the effective lead performance of coincidentally-named Annabelle Wallis as Mia. The character's name Mia, I am guessing, is a tribute to Mia Farrow, who was the star of a horror classic of the 1960s, "Rosemary's Baby." The stroller Mia uses for Leah sure looked like Rosemary's stroller which is seen in posters of that old film. Ms. Wallis has an elegant beauty and her acting was sympathetic without becoming cheesy.

Of course the creepiest thing in this movie is none other than the doll herself. I will mention that I,myself, is not a fan of dolls. I find them very creepy. In this movie we are given an exponential increase in that factor, the seemingly innocent doll being scarier than the thing tied with it. Her cold lifeless stare has a menacing glare to it behind those, pristine blue eyes. The charismatic grin holding a comfortable welcome laced with malice and evil and all of it is wrapped in a porcelain white package. What adds a little more scariness to it, is seeing the doll wind up in the strangest places. As the trailers state, it starts with a simple change in poster, but gradually turns to her ending up in the weirdest places that will make you cautious in your own room.

I really enjoyed this film. Been hearing a lot of people moan about it not being scary, but I believe that it delivered in that aspect. Those people must want nothing but gore and cat scares all the time. (Cat scares are when a cat jumps out and shrieks) I recommend you see this in the theater because the soundtrack is amazing. Really gets you to look around you to make sure your alone.

8.5/10

IMDB score: 6.1