Welcome back everyone to our chronological watch of the Conjuringverse films. Last time, we took a look at (The Nun). It was a true gothic horror of the Universal Monsters variety. I'm still applauding it for it being such a throwback as well as unique to the Conjuringverse films.
Today, we continue our trip down the timeline as we move to a house in the boonies that is welcoming members of a girl's orphanage. By this time, one of them uncovers a lovely old doll. What could go wrong? Yes, we are talking about Annabelle Creation.
The first thing that I'd like to say about Annabelle Creation is that it honestly feels like a solid continuation of the eerieness from The Nun. As the films progress, it begins to feel less Universal Monsters and more blockbuster. So, it's nice seeing the tone start from one end of the spectrum and progresses to the other. Who knows what The Nun 2 will feel like or what it'll even be about?
Back on to the Annabelle front, shall we? The film opens with a nice doll maker, his wife, and daughter. A good moment of showing everyone happy. The doll maker is playing a game of Hide and Seek with his daughter, Bee, who is taking time to drop small notes as to where she was. It's all good family fun. Then, things take a turn as they lose their daughter. The only thing left in the house of hers is a creepy ass doll that wasn't creepy before, but now it's haunting. This is our introduction to Annabelle.
As many know, Annabelle is a very key character in this franchise. Almost a poster child if you will. The interesting thing is the many different pieces of lore that we pick up along the way. In this film, the doll itself was created for his daughter, Bee, by the doll maker himself. I applaud the man for making a doll that became creepy as all get out. He is a man of his craft. My question is why? Why wouldn't they have buried the doll with his daughter? I get that it's a way of remembering their daughter. But let's be honest, it left a huge opening for something to take hold of Annabelle.
After that tragic opening, we are thrown into the thick of things as we see what's left of an orphanage arriving to the farm. They had been given the chance to use the doll maker's home as their own for now. How much money do you think the doll maker was given for this to go down? Do you think he had any idea of what was soon to happen? Or was he just happy to get the money to pay the bills cause his doll making business has been a bit of a bust after the loss of their child?
Now, there are six orphan girls and a nun staying. Yes, for those playing at home, the nun is a member of the same convent from The Nun. There's even a photo that shows them together. Easter eggs, gotta love them. Four of these orphans are assholes. They are very cliquey. So much so that they choose to spend their time picking on Janice, who is suffering from polio. Yet, Janice's friend Linda looks up to the other girls because they are normal. And Linda's a bit gullible as we see a few different times.
Once the board is set, things begin to get creepy. Janice discovers the Annabelle doll and the notes begin to start flying. It's downright terrifying seeing Janice being haunted as all she can do is try to get away very slowly. The pacing for the film is a bit on par with what you can expect. It quickly sets things into motion and then before I knew it, the film was over. I honestly thought I knew where things were going to go, I mean I had seen the film before. However with it being a few years since my last watch, everything hit as if it was a first watch. Though, it does feel like there were a few more jump scares when compared to the previous film.
Now, Sam (the Dollmaker) and his wife Esther. Why? Why would you pray to something out there that you could get your daughter back? Did you really think it would work? Were you happy with the results? Cause I'm sure as hell that Janice was not happy. Once that moment occurred, I was floored. I had completely forgotten about that small piece of lore. It definitely feels very much like a tip of the hat to Pet Semetary. And that great saying still holds true - Sometimes Dead is Better.
Typically with these Conjuringverse films, things tend to end on a bit of a happy note for most. I'll add that addendum of most. I mean Frenchie from The Nun unfortunately doesn't get that. And the same happens with Janice. I grew to absolutely love Janice as a character and wanted to protect her. I didn't want to see any harm come to her. However, I absolutely applaud that they were able to tie this film into the next film. Yeah, they were released in reverse. So at the time, it didn't make a lot of sense as to what was going on. Was this going to be an anthology? However in those closing moments, the film hits ya with the fact that Good doesn't win in this instance either as it leads into the next.
Annabelle Creation was a lot of fun overall. It's refreshing to see Good not triumphing over Evil. Yeah, it's tragic. But typically, we get the big studio happy hollywood endings where everything's wrapped up in a nice bow. Creation continues the trend of what you'd expect out of a Conjuringverse film. It doesn't necessarily break new ground. But it tells things in a very fantastic way in a unique setting where help ain't down the road. Also, by allowing us time with Janice and caring for her, you begin to see the film through her perspective. And it adds wonderfully to everything as a whole. Once I hit that ending, I was ready to fire up the next film. Till next time everyone, have a fantastic day.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
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