Annabelle Creation - a Must SEE for Horror Fans

Annabelle Creation (2017) Starring: Anthony LaPaglia/Mullins Dollmaker, Samara Lee/Bee, Lulu Wilson/Linda, Talitha Bateman/Janice, Stephanie Sigman/Sister Charlotte. I saw this in the theater, and remember that it has some good scares and a decent origin story. I liked when the ‘doll’ was in the closet and comes out but under the sheet. When I was a kid, I had child-sized dolls in our house. My sister and I both got one. They were about 3 ft tall. I used to keep mine in the closet --- and I worried about what might be going on in that closet. I have a wild imagination, I admit. This movie actually played on that fear, which made me have a visceral reaction. Needless to say, I don’t like dolls too much. This film starts out with the painter/artist/ dollmaker. It focuses on his story and his family’s story. It’s set in around the 1930s or 1940s. I liked this story and bought into it pretty quickly. He makes dolls that have a similar likeness to his daughter, who is named “Bee”. The little girl likes to play a game with her dad by writing little notes on paper like “Find Me” to start a hide and go seek game. This pulls from the real folklore story that the doll supposedly left notes in the nurses’ apartment like “Help Me”, etc. In this version, the little girl is killed in a freakish car accident. This part really broke my heart, because the child actress playing Bee,-which is short for Annabelle- was just the cutest little thing. It is abrupt and unexpected, but in a way that keeps the plot moving forward. Supposedly from that, the doll becomes haunted by the child. The idea is posed: is it the child or something else? There is some folklore that dolls were originally created to be like effigies to represent humans, and specifically represent the dead. It is said that people make doll-like figures to represent someone they have lost so that the person who passed on can inhabit the doll, and return to their family members. Like, bringing the dead back to life. Folklore said dolls have been used in rituals like this. In some cases, dolls are used to curse others, who have the doll’s likeness. I don’t really know cause I haven’t done a ton of research, but it makes for a really good back story. Then, in the 50s, the home of the dollmaker’s family was turned into a home for girls. One of the girls is Linda, an orphan. There is also Janice, who also is an orphan, with the added challenge of a brace on her leg from Polio. The dollmaker and his wife still live there, like caretakers. Ah, okay. I’ll go with it. There is also the priest and the nun in charge of the orphanage. Interesting premise. I would have had the family move away and made it into a home for the girls, but it’s a choice. Anthony LaPaglia does a good job as the heartbroken dad/dollmaker. The house is interesting, like a cross between a farmhouse and a gothic church. The front door pattern has crosses in it, but at the top the crosses reverse. The dollmaker installed a chair that goes up and down the stairs against the wall, he said it was for his wife but the wife doesn’t use it. Instead, he lets Janice use it. This comes back around later, as a major plot point. The first time Janice uses it, we can see in a dark hall behind her, the outline of the Annabelle doll. It is very faint, but done in a way that if you are paying attention you notice it. Only like 15 minutes into the film, and I was hooked. It felt like it wasn’t even related to the earlier film “Annabelle”. It felt like this should have been the film that was called “Annabelle” and they should have scrapped the Rosemary Baby wannabe film. However, I did understand the tie in between the two at the end. Janice, already at a disadvantage, gets attacked by the spirit in Annabelle, several times. To top that, the older girls bully her. The demon in Annabelle targets Janice because she is supposedly frail. I had sympathy for little Janice. She was tough as nails, and puts up a good fight,--until the end... When that thing was creeping up behind her I was like ‘oh nope’. Things start rather early in the film, and usually I don’t like when films give too much away up front. This time, however, they are so subtle, and sometimes only the audience sees it while the characters do not. It made the suspense build nicely. Then, we got to the whole chair-escalator thing, and then the wheelchair incident --- after that I was like omg! The home itself, with its gothic style, lends itself to have a dark take on a church - with a personality of its own. I also had a lot of sympathy for the nun in this film. She has a very good heart. When the dumb-waiter thing starts acting up on her, again I was like “oh nope.” I have seen those things up close, and they are cool with the tiny door, but they also look like a troll might pop out at you. Something similar happens, but I won’t say what. Don’t let kids play around those things. Things start to build when Janice keeps finding notes being slid under her door, and sometimes being slid right out in front of her. Again, I was like “ok, nope”. Just a note to anyone who moves into a creepy house --- when the landlord says stay out of a room-- stay out of the room. Leave things well enough alone. When that friggin doll stood up under that sheet, then that reveal--- I might have cried a little bit. Linda is Janice’s best friend, and wants to be Janice’s sister. She figures stuff out, and makes an attempt to get rid of the doll. Still, sometimes, things just want to be found, again and again. Those two girls, though, for kids who know what is happening, they tend to go back into that room… a lot… and it has terrible consequences. I liked the fact that they tie in Janice to the next part of the story, which in reality is the first film. Also, I thought that the nod to the real doll was funny. You can see a lookalike of the real doll in one scene. I found out that it was written by the same guy, but it felt like two completely different writers. I saw the tie in with “The Nun”. I’m not sure how I feel about that, building the franchise, but some people might like finding those easter eggs. However, “Annabelle Creation”, it was a film that felt like it could stand on its own two feet. Much like the doll. (shudder) It definitely is a better film than the first one. PS: If anyone wants to search the real origin of this story, you should check out the information on The Warrens. They were the paranormal experts who handled this case. They were based out of Connecticut. Supposedly they picked up a haunted doll, given to them by a client, and it’s name was Annabelle. It was reported to have had an adverse effect on Lorraine as it sat in their car’s back seat. Later, the doll has also been reported to move from place to place on its own. It is currently locked up in a glass and wood case and under constant supervision. The case itself is blessed and painted with holy water on the inside. I have seen it, and the doll is tied down in the chair on which it sits. When I saw it, there were several prayers and sacred items on the case to keep whatever is haunting the doll…. Inside. If you like horror origin stories, check that one out for yourself! You will not be disappointed.