Film: Annabelle
Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard
Director: John R Leonetti
Rating: 3/5
I guess John Leonetti's Annabelle is on top of your must-watch list. Not your fault though. The antagonist, a porcelain doll named Annabelle has gained its popularity since The Conjuring was released in 2013. The Conjuring is one of the best old manor style horror movie of the decade. You must be thinking that Annabelle would give you the same bone-chilling effects for almost two weeks like The Conjuring. Its an obvious thing to think about after the epic film as Annabelle is a spin-off film of The Conjuring. Hang on! You're wrong here...
In short, this prequel is not even half scary as The Conjuring. We always expect more from James Wan as he is the guy who offered us Saw, Insidious, Dead Silence, etc. We just cannot expect such a ridicule from him.
Well, getting back to Annabelle, you remember that hideous porcelain faced, blonde braids, rouged cheeks, obscenely dark lipstick and thread-like eyebrows drawn high up the forehead, right? Yes, the one that was hidden away in their celebrated basement by the ghost-hunting couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The film looks interesting at first. It starts by promising monster of some sort. Add to that enough cringe-inducing melodrama, the non-believing husband and the new mommy in 1970s America. The strange occurrences, rearranged household items, the troubled neighbors, it all feels really played out, very “been there, done that” kind.
Then suddenly you see Mia (played by coincidental namesake Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton) fight the demon to save their child, and their priest actually helps the distressed couple. I don't remember much about what happens after that and neither would you.
The second half is only slightly better, but Annabelle herself is not exactly terrifying. She’s not the agent of evil we expect her to be. But that said, there are eerie moments in the film. The appearance of a horned demon in Mia’s basement in their second house makes for one effective sequence: the lift doors close, we breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s jammed on that floor and poor Mia is stuck in the haunted basement, with flickering light bulbs and sounds of babies howling. Now that was no LOL (Laugh Out Loud) even for the dopamine-seeker who lives for such psychological thrills.
Annabelle still doesn't scare us. Once John throws the doll in the trash, it again appears inside an unpacked box when they move to another apartment. The thing which I didn't understand is why the heck did the dumb couple keep the doll again even though it had become dirty and more scary-looking. Also the reason for why did the wife collected dolls is not clear.
Annabelle is not terrible, but it's not very good either. The premise is flimsy and the leads are tolerable, but the film never manages to rise above mediocrity. There isn’t much suspense and the scares are minimal.
In short, watching this movie in theater is worthless...
Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Alfre Woodard
Director: John R Leonetti
Rating: 3/5
I guess John Leonetti's Annabelle is on top of your must-watch list. Not your fault though. The antagonist, a porcelain doll named Annabelle has gained its popularity since The Conjuring was released in 2013. The Conjuring is one of the best old manor style horror movie of the decade. You must be thinking that Annabelle would give you the same bone-chilling effects for almost two weeks like The Conjuring. Its an obvious thing to think about after the epic film as Annabelle is a spin-off film of The Conjuring. Hang on! You're wrong here...
In short, this prequel is not even half scary as The Conjuring. We always expect more from James Wan as he is the guy who offered us Saw, Insidious, Dead Silence, etc. We just cannot expect such a ridicule from him.
Well, getting back to Annabelle, you remember that hideous porcelain faced, blonde braids, rouged cheeks, obscenely dark lipstick and thread-like eyebrows drawn high up the forehead, right? Yes, the one that was hidden away in their celebrated basement by the ghost-hunting couple, Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The film looks interesting at first. It starts by promising monster of some sort. Add to that enough cringe-inducing melodrama, the non-believing husband and the new mommy in 1970s America. The strange occurrences, rearranged household items, the troubled neighbors, it all feels really played out, very “been there, done that” kind.
Then suddenly you see Mia (played by coincidental namesake Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton) fight the demon to save their child, and their priest actually helps the distressed couple. I don't remember much about what happens after that and neither would you.
The second half is only slightly better, but Annabelle herself is not exactly terrifying. She’s not the agent of evil we expect her to be. But that said, there are eerie moments in the film. The appearance of a horned demon in Mia’s basement in their second house makes for one effective sequence: the lift doors close, we breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s jammed on that floor and poor Mia is stuck in the haunted basement, with flickering light bulbs and sounds of babies howling. Now that was no LOL (Laugh Out Loud) even for the dopamine-seeker who lives for such psychological thrills.
Annabelle still doesn't scare us. Once John throws the doll in the trash, it again appears inside an unpacked box when they move to another apartment. The thing which I didn't understand is why the heck did the dumb couple keep the doll again even though it had become dirty and more scary-looking. Also the reason for why did the wife collected dolls is not clear.
Annabelle is not terrible, but it's not very good either. The premise is flimsy and the leads are tolerable, but the film never manages to rise above mediocrity. There isn’t much suspense and the scares are minimal.
In short, watching this movie in theater is worthless...
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