Annabelle: Creation (Mini Review Series)

Initial release date: August 11, 2017

Studios: Warner Bros/ New Line Cinema/ Atomic Monster/ The Safran Company

Tagline: You don’t know the real story

Plot: Former toy maker Sam Mullins and his wife, Esther, are happy to welcome a run and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse. Years earlier, the couple’s seven year old daughter Annabelle died in a tragic car accident. Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own.

Cast

Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace) - Samuel Mullins

Samara Lee (Annabelle Comes Home) - Bee

Miranda Otto (Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) - Esther Mullins

Brad Greenquist (Call of the Wild) - Victor Palmeri

Lulu Wilson (Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House) - Linda

Talitha Eliana Bateman (Netflix's Away; Countdown) - Janice

Stephanie Sigman (CBSs SWAT) - Sister Charlotte

Mark Bramhall (Vice) - Father Massey

Grace Fulton (Shazam) - Carol

Philippa Coulthard - Nancy

Writer: Gary Dauberman (It: Chapter Two; It; Annabelle Comes Home)

Director: David F. Sandberg (Shazam; Lights Out)

Rated R for horror violence and terror (109 minutes)

Continuing on with giving the ‘Conjuring’ series another look tonight!

‘Annabelle: Creation; is one of those rare horror installments that is way better than the previous entry. And, this is a prequel, not a sequel, to the 2014 ‘Annabelle.’

‘Creation’ is very scary, and unlike the 2014 movie, the scares and chills don’t even come close to being dull. There are several moments that are extremely tense and the horror feature is very fast-paced.

All of the jump scares and the frights are completely unpredictable. That was one of the major issues with the first ‘Annabelle’ - it was WAY TOO PREDICTABLE!

The backstory of the story is rather creepy and works really well and gives the ‘Annabelle’ origin a nice touch. The last act delivers some of the best scares of the movie and is a perfect lead in to the 2014 movie.

So, overall, ‘Annabelle: Creation’ is a very huge improvement of the first ‘Annabelle.’ It;s truly scary and gives a creepy vibe in most scenes.

Here are some interesting tidbits about ‘Annabelle: Creation’:

• Tree O’Toole who played the adult Annabelle Higgins is usually a stunt woman and has been a stunt performer for Vera Farmiga in the other ‘Conjuring’ films. She also played the adult Annabelle in the 2014 ‘Annabelle’ movie.

• This is the first ‘Conjuring’ related movie in which the Warrens aren’t featured or mentioned in any way.

• David F. Sandberg was initially reluctant to direct the film, due to his general dislike of horror sequels. He changed his mind when it was clear he would be making a stand-alone prequel, with no major obligations to connect it to any other films, beyond a few brief references to them.

• The design of the framework around the front door of the farmhouse shows regular crosses and upside down crosses, which may symbolize how there’s both holy influences and dark forces at war in the home.

• Originally scheduled to be released on May 19, 2017, but was moved to August 2017 to avoid competition with ‘Alien: Covenant.’

• When Sister Charlotte shows Mr. Mullins her picture from Romania, Valak (from ‘The Nun’ and ‘The Conjuring 2’) can be seen in the darkness.

• The mask that Ms. Mullins is most likely the same within the Warren’s haunted objects room in the first ‘Conjuring.’

• There was originally much more of Ms. Mullins in the film’s final act; after her violent death, her corpse would reanimate and become the main antagonist for much of the rest of the film. It was originally Ms. Mullins who threatens Linda while she is in the dumbwaiter, and who attacks the girls in the barn; however, in re-shoots, Ms. Mullins’ role was replaced by the horned demon and the scarecrow.

• There is an after-credit scene that shows Valek (The Nun) floating down a hallway.

• In October 2015, it was confirmed that an ‘Annabelle’ sequel was in development.

• Sandberg drew references from the look of the 1963 psychological horror film ‘The Haunting,’ due to its use of CinemaScope cinematography, and cited the score of ‘The Shining’ to be the biggest inspiration for the film’s chilling music. He also borrowed inspiration from the “old school” feel of the first ‘Conjuring.’ He decided he would rely upon tension and suspense, as opposed to jump scares.

• The ‘Annabelle’ prequel premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 19, 2017.

• ‘Annabelle: Creation’ grossed $102.1 million domestically and $204.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $306.5 million, against a production budget of $15 million. With its release, it pushed the ‘Conjuring’ franchise past the $1 billion threshold, making it only the third horror series to cross that mark, after the ‘Alien’ franchise and ‘Resident Evil’ series. The ‘Saw’ franchise hit the $1 billion mark this year with the help of ‘Spiral.’