Friday, 18 August 2017

Annabelle: Creation - The scoop and digest

Production team of James Wan and Peter Safran is unchanged, but John R. Leonetti makes way for David F. Sanberg to direct prequel number 2.

Stephanie Sigman - Sister Charlotte
Talitha Bateman - Janice
Philippa Coulthard - Nancy
Lulu Wilson - Linda
Anthony LaPaglia - Samuel
Miranda Otto - Esther

12 years after the death of their child Bee (Annabelle), former toy maker Samuel Mullins (doll's creator), agrees to provide shelter for Sister C and orphaned children.

After the formalities of settling in, a message shoved underneath Janice's door has polio sufferer sin and enter Bee's now mysteriously unlocked bedroom.

Key found inside doll house is used to unlock nearby closet, where a certain ugly plaything sits.

Oh dear.

Demon begins to have fun by terrorising the girls in a variety of ways.

One night, Janice is thrown high in the sky and brought back to earth with a nasty bump, condemning her to a wheelchair.

Evil presence 'escorts' Janice to shed where demon, in the form of Bee's spirit, vomits icky substance into mouth.

The Conjuring's antagonist Bathsheba possessed Carolyn in exactly the same way.

An angry Samuel makes the fatal mistake of flashing handmade crucifix at demon.

It was nice knowing yer' pal.

Sister C visits a bedridden Esther, who explains via flashback, couple believed demon to be daughter's ghost, giving entity licence to use doll as a conduit to claim a human soul.

Before disappearing, Esther was left hideously disfigured.

Priest blessing house and Samuel imprisoning porcelain apparently contained situation.

Unfortunately, evil woke up.

While Janice is taking forty winks, Linda takes doll and throws it down the well, but like a bad penny...

As things come to a head, Esther is killed off-screen and Janice attempts to murder Linda, but Sister C saves the day by barricading her and doll inside closet.

Survivors escape and witness demon wrecking house during a tantrum.

The police search for Janice, but only find doll.

Mr and Mrs Higgins adopt Janice at an orphanage and rename her 'Annabelle'.

Their gift is an excellent replica of the real raggedy doll.

12 years later (or 1967), satanist cult member Annabelle dispatches adoptive parents, sparking off events of 'sequel'.

Unlike 2014 film, murder is shown inside the house.

A post-credits scene shows candles are frightened of Valak in the Abbey of St. Carta, 1952.

Solid

Much like Ouija: Origin of Evil, this wipes the floor with predecessor.

While shit your pants moments are effective, first half has too many, leaving final act slightly underwhelming.

Nevertheless, there's plenty to appreciate.

Crucified scarecrow is a neat reference to Esther's gruesome demise.

Performances are largely impressive and dialogue contains zero cheese.

One question.

With all the shit going down in Bee's room, why the FUCK does Janice keep going back for more?

Fair enough, demon could easily force her to, but even so.

For the benefit of those who missed it, Sister C shows Samuel a photograph taken while she was in Romania, and sinister religious figure can be seen in the darkness.

Guess what?

Corin 'The Hallow' Hardy will bring The Conjuring 2 spin-off/prequel The Nun next year.

I'll be there.

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