Welcome to The Attic! Don’t unlock that door…

I went into Annabelle: Creation with high hopes and low expectations. I’m a huge fan of the Conjuring franchise, and that’s no secret. Each film has created new and terrifying characters to extend the universe, and the Annabelle spin-off was fantastic. I was thrilled at the prospect of getting to see more of her, but I was concerned it would be shoehorned in where it didn’t belong.

I kept wondering how they were going to make this prequel scary. In the first film, that girl bled onto the doll, worked some crazy magic, and presumably possessed it with an evil spirit. Why, and how, could the creation of the Annabelle doll be anywhere near as scary before that? Or even make any sense? Those were the biggest questions in my mind when the movie started.

A couple that has tragically lost their young daughter decide to take in a small group of orphaned girls. Initially the girls are thrilled with the prospect of living in a large farmhouse, and they even remark how they don’t ever want to leave. However, those feelings would soon begin to change.

One of the girls, Janice (Talitha Bateman), discovers the deceased daughter’s former bedroom. She is caught by their new host, and he tells her that the room is off limits to all of them. But later that night, something lures Janice into that room. She finds Annabelle locked in the closet. As you can imagine, this is a very bad decision. One by one the girls all have their own terrifying experiences, and it becomes clear to the parents that an evil spirit they had locked away so long ago has now been released.

Even though this film is the origin story, that doesn’t mean it’s any more tame. I would dare say that this one is possibly even scarier and more in your face. Remember the demon face we saw over the carriage in the basement of the first film? That subtle face returned and delivered one of my favorite moments in the theater. But it doesn’t stop there… Prepare for a whole lot of devilish fun in Annabelle: Creation.

Of course, nothing can outshine the star herself, and there are plenty of fantastic scenes with my new favorite doll. I adore Chucky, and always will, but there is something perfect about a possessed doll that attacks in a different way. She doesn’t walk or talk, she barely ever moves, and that makes it so much scarier. She simply sits, like a Queen on a throne, while those around her wreck havoc on her behalf. She’s not a character herself so much as she’s a catalyst for a much darker entity.

The ending absolutely floored me. Maybe I’m blind, but even near the conclusion I had no idea where the connection was going. Aside from the doll, how does this tie into the first Annabelle film? Well, I got my answer, and I loved it. I was so excited, whispering “OH!!!” to my husband (there were only two other people in the theater, and far away from us. I swear I’m not that person) while grabbing his arm. It was a fantastic way to connect the two movies. They even made a point of adding in a nod to the real Annabelle (a raggedy Ann doll) that the Warrens locked up so many years ago.

The Nun (The Conjuring 2) has already been announced as the next spin-off, but it was still a pleasant surprise when they managed to work in a subtle reminder. I grinned in fearful excitement at the image; The Nun was what scared me the most in that movie.

Overall, I absolutely loved Annabelle: Creation, even more than I was expecting to. Is it more of the same? Yes and no. It doesn’t break any barriers and it doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It does, however, give a different atmosphere than the first film did. The rural farmhouse makes the story feel so much more isolated, allowing for a more claustrophobic fear. The demon’s presence was more in-your-face, and the scarecrow reminded me of the childhood fear I had after reading Goosebumps for the first time. I highly recommend this movie if you enjoyed the first.

The Good: Great set-up for the first film. Great pacing. Lots of scares.

The Bad: Nothing very new here. Some moments were very predictable.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess