Annabelle: Creation
2017
Director: David F. Sandberg
Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Samara Lee, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
See what happens when you give a horror movie to someone with some actual talent in the genre? You get the rare sequel that is miles better than the awful original. So here is the TL;DR version of this review: It’s a surprisingly good movie, get it. If you want to know my thoughts a little more in-depth, grab your dolly and let’s get to it.
After a doll maker and his wife lose their only daughter, they open up their big, old farmhouse to a nun and a small group of orphan girls without a home. Once on the farm, the girls start to get terrorized by the titular doll in a prequel that explains how the toy got to be so evil.
This film has excellent acting by all, not a stinker in the bunch, and that’s amazing with the amount of kids in the cast. In fact the standout for me was one of those very kids, little Lulu Wilson. She does adorable and scared like few children ever have, and she must be the “they made a sequel to that?” good luck charm because she was also in the better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be sequel: Ouija: Origin of Evil. The direction is spot on and it’s safe to say that in a very short amount of time I’ve become a fan of his work and I can’t wait to see what he does next. Perhaps the only drawback I have with the movie is sometimes the demon behind all the high jinks just isn’t all that scary. That’s a problem I have with a few movies in the James Wan universe, which this film is a part of, and no surprise, the man is one of the producers here. That said, I usually like these films so much that I can happily turn a blind eye to such things, as I can do here.
Ok, on to the extras that Warner Brothers has given us on this three-way (Blu-ray, DVD, digital) combo pack. First and foremost there is a director’s commentary that was very good and extremely informative. Then there is a featurette on directing the movie, or good advice on directing any movie, with David F. Sandberg that was really well done and a surprising 42 minutes long. This should be mandatory viewing for all aspiring filmmakers. There is a five-minute featurette on the ever expanding Conjuring universe, which was fine but I got to admit, I hate that every studio is so desperately trying to have their own “universe,” but that is a rant for another day. What’s really cool is the addition of two short horror films: “Attic Panic” at just over three minutes and “Coffer” that is also three minutes long. Remember, David F. Sandberg is the guy that gave us the excellent “Lights Out” short that launched his feature film career. It has millions of views on YouTube, took the internet by storm, and might be the best tiny terror flick I’ve ever seen. Is also shows a love for the genre by Mr. Sandberg that is clear and why this sequel to an outright crap movie was so damn good. To round things out, there is a collection of deleted scenes from the film.
Annabelle: Creation is a great movie that can stand on its own and doesn’t require the viewer to suffer though the first film. Gee, can you sense that I’m not a fan of the first Annabelle film? Anyway, this one is a winner, the BD from WB is really good, so I can easily recommend picking it up.
