Audio By Carbonatix
Annabelle, an effective prequel to horror pastiche The Conjuring, surpasses its predecessor simply by virtue of occasionally being scary.
Both films are overreliant on deafening sound effects and sideeye glimpses of underwhelming ghosts. But Annabelle‘s scare scenes are better paced and more thoughtfully lensed. Its hokey, funhouseworthy spooks a satyrlike demon and nightieclad cultist aren’t more frightening, but they are presented in a superior light.
The films are stylistically similar but are only narratively related by a common prop: a haunted, Lady Elaine–esque doll.
That goofylooking toy is one of several formerly inanimate objects that pick on expecting couple John and Mia (Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis) after Satanic cultists attack their idyllic suburban home. Even after moving to a new apartment, Mia fears for her unborn daughter’s life when she’s summarily assaulted by everything from a creaky rocking chair to a black baby carriage.
Will you step up to support Westword this year?
We’re aiming to raise $50,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to this community. If Westword matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
Annabelle‘s percussive series of jumpscares rarely feels monotonous thanks to helmer John R. Leonetti’s assured direction. With a lot of help from cinematographer John Kniest, Leonetti (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, The Butterfly Effect 2) admirably sets up terror that the film usually doesn’t fully pay off, like an early jolt when Manson Family–style fanatics are shown massacring John and Mia’s nextdoor neighbors through adjoining bedroom windows.
Both killers and victims overact abysmally, but Leonetti’s suspenseful choreography and Kniest’s low- contrast, motionsmoothed digital photography make the scene feel like a voyeur’s nightmare. Annabelle‘s similarly inelegant, but surprisingly unnerving.
