Rainbowpug
Okay, I'm a horror junky, I admit it. Being as that is, I don't scare easily. Slasher movies most often suck unless they're based in some form of reality, and ghost stories have to have a strong, psychological aspect to get me good. Dolls...something about them is just the peak of terrifying. My generation grew up with movies such as "Magic" and "Trilogy of Terror's Amelia", which were subtle, yet psychologically dismembering. Imagine my disappointment when Annabelle came out in 2014 and didn't give a single shudder! I left the theater more disappointed than I'd been in a long time. There was nothing scary about it, at all. When Annabelle Creation came to theaters, I avoided it like the plague. When it finally came on one of the pay channels, I decided I'd suffer through it just so I could say I did. Okay, wow. Annabelle Creation was scary. More than just the scary doll that almost completely lost its scariness because of the first movie, was that skinny, black creature you barely see, but is always there in the dark with glowing eyes. The isolation and darkness of the movie being set in the 1950's/60's, is probably what got me the most, though the sounds of incorporeal footsteps trailing behind them and getting louder each time they turned to look, sure did it's job in building up the terror. Most, not all, of the acting was impressive, too, though I didn't think the main character showed enough of a reaction to many of the things she was experiencing, I can only attribute that to possibly the naivete (or stupidity) of the character, or poor directing. I only know for sure how I would've reacted if something like that happened to me and there's little doubt I wouldn't have stroked out during the first encounter, even as a child. If I happened to survive that first encounter, there would've been NOTHING preventing me from running down that desolate dirt road like a banshee with its hair on fire. But if all the characters reacted like I would've, then there wouldn't be much of a story, right? All in all, this movie produces enough terrifying events to make you think before turning out the lights at night, and definitely before you do something stupid like getting into antique doll collecting.
paulclaassen
Too many fake and cliched scares at first, but the film then soon turns really scary and disturbing, as you'd expect from 'The Conjuring' franchise. Evil knows no boundaries in this installment, as evil keeps haunting/hunting the children. The visual effects towards the end are really excellent. The child stars are very good. The sound effects were also really good. Stephanie Sigman was unfortunately not very convincing as Sister Charlotte. The children, especially Samara Lee and Lulu Wilson (who was also excellent in 'Ouija: Origin of Evil') carries the film. I enjoyed the setting in the big old farm house.
Neil Welch
Doll-maker Samuel Mullins and his wife lose their daughter Annabelle ("Bee") when she is hit by a car. 12 years later, they take in 6 orphan girls and their young supervisory nun when their orphanage closes. Polio victim Janice experiences strange occurrences at night, and it gradually transpires that something unspeakable may have happened to Bee after her death.
If you're going to make a doll, why on earth would you make it so that it looks as creepy as possible? Because the one thing you can be sure of is that if a doll looks creepy, it IS creepy.I liked the main location here - one of those hot, arid farms where all they seem to farm is dust. And it was good to see Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto playing parts which are a little off the beaten track for them. The youngsters are all fairly good, and the story meanders nicely on its way to setting up the events in Annabelle, itself a prequel to The Conjuring (which was not a prequel despite being followed by a sequel, The Conjuring 2). The destination is no surprise, but there is some interest in the view during the journey.It is, however, not even slightly horrific. There are sufficient loud noises etc. to make you jump fairly frequently, but that tends to be solely the result of a sudden assault on the senses, not because of anything inherently scary.
Other than a creepy doll.
