ANNABELLE

New Line Cinema

Directed by: John R. Leonetti

Starring by: Ward Horton, Annabelle Walis, Alfre Woodard

I’m doing different ways for this movie because the continuity of Conjuring must be treated in differently, and this time I hold my opinion on my blog till almost everyone in Jakarta watched it then upload it later on the third weeks from premiere. How did I know everyone in town had watched? Well, I dont ! I'm just patronizing but anyway, Annabelle attracts many people to go to the cinema in tremendous way, even for people who hates horror…perhaps it’s the real story behind the doll. Nevertheless many of them criticized this movie as dull, boring one, and it lacks of good effect for it depends on shocking scene or loud noise. Well it’s normal because audience expected something as good as Conjuring, so they make comparison of both unfairly.

Funny to found out that the main star of this movie was also has a name of Annabelle…Annabelle Walis as Mia. The film started with early scene which taken from Conjuring when three friends are being haunted by living doll Annabelle. But I lost the scene where the doll gives the three that word of ‘Miss Me’ thing. From there it goes backward a year later in 1967 when couple of John and Mia encounter terror on their neighborhood, Higgins family was slay and Annabelle, the Higgin’s daughter, and her boyfriend that becomes follower of an occult sect attacks Mia inside her house. Annabelle died by police shoot and her blood cursing one of Mia’s dolls which would be possessed by Devil.

The terror in Mia’s house didn’t stop, it almost kill her with burning house or appearance on basement storage and Mia was aware that it caused by the doll which followed her family anywhere. The terror keeps playing even until the baby’s come. What the ghost of Annabelle had done by look over the baby, playing with the baby, throwing the baby with books from the shelf lead us to think that the baby is being hunted by Annabelle ghost…to be honest I also think that Annabelle make baby Leah as object for she wanted to trade place with human as Chucky did…but I totally wrong for the soul taken desire…

John and Mia asked help from Father Perez to deal with the possessed doll, it was unusual for horror movie for couples easily to believe that their partner got troubles with supernatural thing, usually they think their partner went nuts so they took a shrink to face the problem. Instead, the devout Christian John believe his wife and go to Father Perez which also mention a little about Ed and Loraine Warren as couples who helps church to deal with demons, from there he was attacked by the demon. Father Perez realized that the demons not targeting baby Leah because the soul that sought by the occult sect should be submitted voluntary so he warned John about Mia. Did John succeed to save his wife? I think you should go out to cinema to check it for yourself…

But still there’s some scene that begs question for me, like when Evelyn jumps from the window where John and Mia has live it turns out that it was on top floor meanwhile on the scene where they move to that apartment Mia often heard a noise of people who lived among them. Is it some mistake? Or is it something to scares audience by occupants of the upper floor that are not exist. Pitty, the trick isn’t works because I know most people not thinking about non existence occupants. The scene which might be seeded as a top scene where little Annabelle ghost turns to adult ghost after bumping the door is also not so special for me…if I have to choose I’d rather like lift scene when she couldn’t get away from basement floor even though she had pushed the knob three times.

Still there’s wrong continuity where Mia was handles by the creature on basement after she pulled the blanket inside trolley. It obvious that it was on the back of her hand but how comes the symbol scar marked on front side of her hand?

There’s missed continuity at the scene when the priest take photo of Mia and baby Leah, he hold camera in horizontal but at the last scene where he give Mia the result of photograph he’s been taking earlier it shapes vertically. And how about the boy and the girl that Mia meets on stair? John asked to look after for them because they’re doing creepy picture but they’re not follow it up and we don’t know whether both kids are real kids or just another appearance to scares Mia. The scene was just become some patch of the next scene which didn’t have any correlated at all.

Last scene that bothers me is when John brings Mia food to home. She chooses pickles and French mustard which sealed. She opens the pickle jar but not doing the same thing with the mustard but the next thing you know she picked one pickles and dipping it to the mustard, that supposed to be closed.

Well, though this film has many disturbing scene and rather slow in pace but I think it’s ok to be watched if you want to see how demon experience describes as real as possible. There will not always be floating chair or stabbing knife but you will experience whispering voice or weird appearance of thing that goes for itself. 

So, if you interested to know more it just click @ The real story of Annabelle the doll

Which make me think there would be a sequel for Annabelle because I, and you probably, want to know what happened to the nurse who got the doll as present from her grandmother before it end up in Warren’s drawer, don’t you think so?