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Film Review: Annabelle: Creation

09:18 August 14, 2017
By: David Vicari

Annabelle: Creation is an origin story and part of The Conjuring movie universe. The creepiest-looking doll in the world gets possessed by an evil spirit. Here's how it happens:

It's the early 1950s and after losing their beloved daughter, Annabelle, in a horrible accident some years ago, a dollmaker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife (Miranda Otto) open their home up to a group of girls from a defunct orphanage. One of the girls, Janice (Talitha Bateman), is stricken with polio and is also the most inquisitive of the group. So, she's the one who goes into the room that is off limits and finds the doll, thus unleashing its demonic tendencies into the rest of the house.

Annabelle: Creation is directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out), and the film is well-made, but I feel it would have been much more effective if it had been edited down by, say, 15 minutes, because there is just too much filler here. There are many creepy little set pieces throughout and, in and of themselves, they are clever and frightening, but they become repetitive and don't really move the story along. A couple of these scare scenes could have been removed without any damage to the movie, and it would have actually helped the pacing. 

The final act, when the terror really cuts loose, is scary fun. So, Annabelle: Creation does deliver the goods in the end. It just takes a while to get there. 


** ½ out of four

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