Indubitably inferior to The Conjuring but, for me, indubitably better than, for example, The Babadook.
The story is interesting and it have some good moments, but sometimes is a bit too convoluted and this ruins the immediacy of the movie.
Can't say too much about the actors because it seems that most of the weight of the movie is on Annabelle's shoulders and on the general atmosphere. Anyway they all do a pretty decent job.
Sometimes it reminded me a bit too much of Rosemary's Baby and, in a specific thing, Insidious.
Anyway worthy to be seen
Those (cheap) sewing machine close up shots are the scariest part of this movie.
So they tried to throw an expensive, antique, collector coveted item in the trash...? Having someone dying with it really would not decrease its value if it remained in a perfect state, and her dress was not even stained.
The doll could be haunting the unaware new happy owner who would buy it, if they were thinking straight. And maybe Annabelle would have been an entirely different and much better movie...
It was more funny than scary. Laughed most of the time
I liked very much the references from Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and others. Lots of jump scaries. Great [movie] to see with your girlfriend attached to your arm.
Pregnant lady kinda deserved it since she had a weird ugly-doll kink. I don't make the rules.
Very horror, they have so many jumpscares, the end was very tragic.
Not terrible but not good. There are some cool scares but overall this was kinda dull and boring.
This movie, if I had to describe it in two words, was cliché and generic. No originality in the story....not at all. We did have some scary moments, but those lazy jump-scares were way to often for my taste. The main problem was that we all knew what will happen, more or less. And those camera movements....very amateurish in my opinion. 4/10
mmmm..... meh!
A gripping, underrated horror film that relies on it's characters and old fashioned cinematography to step up it's game. Leonetti coming up being the camera operator for many old and new classic horror films like Poltergeist and The Conjuring, uses simple direction to his advantage. I miss horror using laidback tricks and basic blocking to deliver the scares, all too many now rely on stylish or even action choreography to create it's jumps, but Annabelle opts for looks that reminisce 70's and 80's horror, fitting for the story's time period. No offense to James Wan, but this is the best looking (and sounding) out of the Conjuring series. The leads and film's social commentary though are what really strike with me. Many fail to understand the point of the Annabelle trilogy, being it's all a story of the destruction of the family bond and even the nuclear family image. Repeatedly at the start of the film, it's made clear that times have changed, it's not okay to keep your doors unlocked anymore, and the innocence of the American family has been destroyed. The nail in the coffin is their attack by the occult members and a fire damaging the house, prompting the couple to leave it behind and have their newborn baby in an apartment. All a great metaphor for the changing times. The importance of religion to the story can not be understated, that every action has it's roots deep in biblical and satanic text, the film is built around the idea of the corruption of innocence, the separation of a mother from her child, and the sacrifice to save a life, even if it's resolution is twisted. God honors sacrifice, and our sacrifices touch God's heart, and move his hand. Something simple as the demon waiting for Mia at the end of a staircase, shrouded in black is an unforgettable image. I love the bevy of details like Mia trapped on the basement floor of her apartment, but the elevator won't go back up. She hits the floor 6 button 3 times, by which point, the demonic activity rapidly increases and she's forced to ascend the staircase herself. As Mia had stated earlier in the film to Father Perez, there are some things we have to do ourselves.
The best I can give this one is "Fair"...and that's being generous. For one thing, I'm old and getting more and more jaded not only to "scary" movies but to people in general, and there were just too many stupid things in this movie that made me sit back and think "You deserve whatever's coming to you, you brainless moron." When I can't connect with any of the characters in a movie, it's not going to get a good review, and in the case of this movie, not only did I not connect...I actually was hoping for the demise of the idiot wife who can't slobbering all over herself and her poor husband about how bad she had it. Guy was working himself to death to provide for her and their infant, but all she was worried about was "I never get to have any adult conversation." Wahhhh... Boo hoo, you sniveling little twit. It's a shame she got interrupted before she could jump; the husband and child would have fared a lot better off without that self-centered little snot. The movie has some "jump" scenes in it that will scare you, but it is, overall, dull, plodding, and makes you root for the doll than for the people. Yay, Annabelle! They're too stupid to get rid of you, so they deserve whatever mischief you can wrack up. Come to think of it, I should change my rating to "This movie blew chunks and I would caution against anyone ever sitting through this slop." I'm still mad that the stupid mother didn't die.
just another waste of time.. i was expecting something as good as "Curse of chucky" but it was horribly horrible and not scary at all
i'm very excited for the parody-remake though its gonna be really funny
never seen such a bad movie!
This is an horror... But not an horror movie !
It's only Jump-scare and strident music. That's all. Nothing to be afraid.
The result of the work of lazy writers and a bad director.
I decided to watch all the available The Conjuring franchise films a week ago. Thank you, HBO Max!
I think I watched Annabelle a long, long time ago... and I actually found it not as "catchy" and interesting as the first time, when I was young and impressive.
The film is sort of a classic in its "haunted dolls" niche, but it can impress you when you are in a mood or in an age when such films can impress you.
The only character to die in the movie is the single black character. Insane tbh.
Already with the second film, the Conjuring franchise delivers a real stinker. While "Annabelle" starts off quite promising, after the opening, the quality goes downhill fast. What remains is just one jump-scare and spook cliché after another. The titular doll is definitely creepy, but it also loses its appeal quickly. Otherwise, there is no room for creativity. This is probably also due to the change in the director's chair. James Wan was a far better fit than John R. Leonetti, who was responsible for the terrible "Mortal Kombat Annihilation", among others. The cast is also considerably less impressive. Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton definitely can't compete with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. The bottom line is that "Annabelle" is, above all, boring. This also keeps me confused as to how the Conjuring series became such a megahit. I really can't explain it to myself.
Ok, I’ll admit, a few scenes looked a bit cheap… but I globally enjoyed the movie, specially the scene on the elevator and the stairs, shit myself up :joy:
I said "What a sh*tty movie" various times throughout the movie. Not a good sign!
Absolutely awful. A snorefest, with a light sprinkling of jump scares. The only creepy parts are toward the beginning.
I cannot for the life of me understand why Evelyn (the bookstore owner) would jump out of the window at the end. So incredibly cheesy and lazy writing.
Like most of the branch movies in the Conjuring series, Annabelle lacks the same punch that the feature films do. Part in my opinion because of James Wan's direct involvement, and part because the character development is so poor. However, it is passable and expands the universe in which the Conjuring takes place and I appreciate it for that reason, though Annabelle Creations does a better job of that. What this movie really does is let down Alfre Woodward, who is acting Black royalty, and her role is subjected to the sacrificial negro trope, a huge disappointment.
Watch this movie only in a complete Conjuring marathon, never as a stand alone movie.
After a really excellent first movie in the Conjuring universe, this spin-off was created in just a year after "The Conjuring", and the focus on the doll was also a financial one, as it was one of the famous characters of "The Conjuring" where it just played a side role to explain who Ed and Lorraine are and why the family heard of them. And unfortunately, the really short production time has a highly negative impact on the movie.
The plot is rather predictable due to the main points being already discussed in "The Conjuring", but even worse - the things that could have been original and made a story like this interesting, are also taken directly from "The Conjuring". So in the end, we get a demon that wants the soul of a child... well... yawn. However, there is a little plot twist, which could have worked pretty well in my opinion - if the movie wouldn't spoil it by explaining it, right before it happens! All the other story points you see coming a mile away, so in the end, the entire story is rather boring. Then again, a horror movie mustn't be extremely clever or original. Horor movies should be scary, and "The Conjuring" managed to build up a really scary atmosphere and dramatic scenes, has a great spooky setting and manages to give you the chills. Annabelle doesn't even try this; instead we get a bunch of jump scares, that again you will see coming from a mile away. The acting is okey, but nothing special and because Leonetti doesn't spend half the time that Wan spent to introduce the characters, they stay pretty one dimensional, making it hard to sympathize with them.
This leaves you with a rather boring movie, which actually started of really great; I really enjoyed the first third of the movie - up to the attack everything was great, especially the scene in the neighbors house that you get to witness in the background through the window - that was a rather great shot and promised a great movie - a promise that the movie couldn't keep.
John R. Leonetti directed this movie, and if you don't know what other movies he did, well he did such movies as: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and The Butterfly Effect 2. Yeah, this is going to be painful talk about.
I have seen so many film with a dreadful script and stupid movie characters that are as thick as a brick. Annabelle is nothing different, actually this might be the worst horror movie that I've seen so far this year.
The acting was god awful and the writing was full of cliches that even a good horror film would avoid. This movie is filled with loud lazy jump scares that are so predictable. The movie became a one big joke. Now I bet your asking yourself's, "Well if the movie isn't that good, is there anything good in the movie?". No, I can't find anything good about this movie. The movie failed to scare me, and it failed as a horror movie itself and that's why this movie was freaking terrible.
While it’s a bit lacking in story, Annabelle delivers some intense scares. The plot follows a young couple that become victims of a cult that raises a demon, who then precedes to stalk them. The directing is quite good, doing an impressive job at creating a creepy and atmospheric tone. In fact, the directing almost does too good a job, as it creates a certain expectation of scariness that the plot never quite reached. But even so, the film still delivers a lot of frightening imagery and some terrifying moments. Annabelle oversells itself a little, but comes through with plenty of suspense and terror.
A weak, popcorn horror flick that throws out jump scares and not much else. The plot is thin outside of it's matchstick connection to The Conjuring Universe, but serves as an acceptably dumb, loud and bangy horror movie for peripheral fans of the genre.
A very effective film. It’s a good reason if anyone ever needed one to not buy dolls. I can’t for the life of me understand why she wanted such a patently ugly thing in the first place.
I know there would be no movie without it but I always end up shouting ‘Move out!!’ I mean. Why stay when all that’s going on. I’d be long gone. :exploding_head:
I think the most scary scene was the lift that wouldn’t move, always opening at the basement and then the climb up the stairs being chased. You’d have a heart attack!
The couple are absolutely boring but the doll makes the movie. Some actually creepy moments and overall worthwhile watching even if there is way too much talking.
It has seemed poor, all the fear and suspens Warren files here absent
Wonder if Chucky knows Annabelle, and if so - who copied who? ;)
aah well at least watchable i mean there's moment that scares you but the rest just talk,actually most of this movie is talk and talk!! but watchable as i said.
Better than expected. Really enjoyed the nods to Polanski.
Nothing that stands out. The Conjuring had an excellent story, but in this case, set aside the history and everything went wrong. Very wrong.
This movie is horrible, literally. Don't waste your time and money on it.
A big piece of shit.
Not bad, a few jumps but nothing more than other similar movie. The Conjuring was so much better
I've seen 150 2014 releases and Annabelle is in the bottom 3 easy. What a load of shit.
Shout by AlexanderZBlockedParent2016-01-28T15:34:24Z
As a horror film, Annabelle is technically effective but lacks a good story and the finesse of a seasoned film maker.