Annabelle: Creation, in spite of its flaws, was a pleasant surprise considering the movie is a prequel of another prequel. The film fits in nicely with the two Conjuring films and might even get me to watch the first Annabelle, a movie I really didn’t care much for.
Annabelle: Creation
(2017)
Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
Warner Bros. | R – 110 min. – $35.99 | October 24, 2017
Date Published: 10/26/2017 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.5/5 |
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Not sure why a prequel to a prequel exists, Annabelle: Creation takes place 20+ years prior to the first film. Should be noted, I really disliked that movie never finding it scary and felt it was just plain dumb. By no means is the sequel great, but my god there was no reason it should have been good as it ended up being. Annabelle: Creation follows married couple Samuel (ANTHONY LAPAGLIA) and Esther Mullins (MIRANDA OTTO) who suffers the loss of their child, Bee, 12 years earlier and I guess to bring laughter back, invite several orphaned girls and their minder, Sister Charlotte (STEPHANIE SIGMAN), into their home after being displaced. Two of the girls at the center of the story are best friends Janice (TALITHA BATEMAN) and Linda (LULU WILSON), with Janice suffering from polio and must wear a brace to walk around.
At first, the girls are happy to have wide-open areas to roam but one night, Janice is awakened to find a note under her door, similar to notes the Mullins’ daughter gave to her father when she was alive, leading her to Bee’s previously locked room. She enters and starts snooping around and eventually finds a room containing the Annabelle doll we know and fear. Soon enough it becomes clear that some entity is haunting the home and nobody is safe. I think you can figure out what happens from there. The performances for the most part were good. Never a bad thing to see Anthony LaPaglia in a feature film; Miranda Otto doesn’t get a whole lot to do but has a couple heartbreaking scenes; and Talitha Bateman is engaging and, later, creepy enough to make the character work. But usually kids in horror movies tend to be sinister by default.
I actually enjoyed Annabelle: Creation, it has plenty of atmosphere thanks to director David F. Sandberg, coming off of the surprisingly well made Lights Out and cinematographer Maxime Alexandre (2012 Maniac remake, The Nun, Shazam) and while there are some genuinely scary scenes, the downside of the film is it does heavily rely on loud audio effects and a horror-centric bombastic score (honestly can’t recall if James Wan employed the same sort of thing in the two Conjuring films). This is the kind of thing that generally annoys me but I found the film entertaining enough to overlook the shortcomings. Annabelle: Creation isn’t anywhere near as scary as either Conjuring movie, but at least it fits well within this supernatural-horror universe and is a big step up from the stunningly bad and bland first film. David F. Sandberg already proved to me to be an up-and-coming director with Lights Out (one of the most efficiently made horror films given its only 80-minutes or so) and I can’t wait to see what he does with a bigger budget film like Shazam.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
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This release comes with a border embossed slip cover and inside contains the DVD Copy and a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Audio Commentary – Director David F. Sandberg has probably become one of my favorite engaging filmmakers and it shows with this track as he expands on how the movie was made, giving tid-bits from behind-the-scenes. Deleted Scenes Featurette (12:04; HD) – This is a set of scenes with a commentary by Sandberg explaining why they were removed. These were cobbled together and in one instance, scenes were shown in succession like the deleted background of Sister Charlotte and her dead son. Interesting way of presenting these, but wish we could see each on their own. Directing Annabelle: Creation (42:21; HD) looks at David F. Sandberg and his approach to helming the movie, making this more geared toward aspiring filmmakers. Actually liked this quite a lot as he utilizes some raw set footage to relay his process. The Conjuring Universe (4:51; HD) – This featurette examines the movies within the fledgling universe from The Conjuring to Annabelle and the upcoming The Nun. Features interviews with executive producer James Wan and others. There are two Horror Shorts, Attic Panic (3:10; HD) and Coffer (3:09; HD) which are exactly what they say they are, both written and directed by Sandberg. Previews – It, Justice League, Dunkirk |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Warner Brothers unleashes Annabelle: Creation onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). Despite this being a darkly toned supernatural-horror flick, there is some spots of color that does come through while skin tones do appear natural. What stood out was the picture is quite sharp with nice definition on detail. I did have to dock it for some noticeable banding, otherwise it’s a great looking transfer. |
AUDIO – 5.0/5 |
| Not to be outdone, the movie comes equipped with a robust and incredibly strong Dolby Atmos track. I knew I would be in for a treat when the title card came up and the LFE channel kicks in shaking the room and would turn on for some key haunting sequences both light and heavy. Dialogue levels do sound clear coming from the center channel and even the rear speakers aren’t just there for ambient noises but directional objects or voices as well. |
OVERALL – 3.75/5 |
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Overall, Annabelle: Creation, in spite of its flaws, was a pleasant surprise considering the movie is a prequel of another prequel. The film fits in nicely with the two Conjuring films and might even get me to watch the first Annabelle, a movie I really didn’t care much for, so that’s saying something. The Blu-ray release has incredible video/audio transfers and a very nice selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.