Reviews: Annabelle (2014) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Demons, Monsters
Subgenres: Demons, Supernatural, Dolls, Featured Phobia, Phobia, Suburbs
Horror fans searching for a breakdown of Annabelle (2014) will find our review covers the plot, themes, and the shocking ending everyone talks about.
Annabelle (2014) is an American supernatural horror movie touched on in The Conjuring (2013). Director John R. Leonetti (The Conjuring (2013), The Mask (1994), Insidious (2010), Mortal Kombat (1995)) did not fulfill my expectations. I was expecting a movie that surpasses The Conjuring (2013), but it did not. The Annabelle doll is supposedly possessed by deranged Annabelle Higgins, who committed suicide. The movie contains violence, suspense, sitting on the edge of your seat moments, thrills, frights, cults, possession, and one creepy-looking doll.
Annabelle is about newlyweds Mia (Annabelle Wallis - X-Men: First Class (2011), Body of Lies (2008), The Lost Future (2010)) and John preparing for the arrival of their first baby in the Los Angeles suburb in 1967. John bought a rare vintage doll for his wife as a present because she has a collection of dolls. Mia and John (Ward Horton - The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Christmas Wish List (2005), Guiding Light (1952)) are awakened by their neighbors fighting and debating whether they should call the cops. After a few events, Mia and John are struggling with the satanic cultist’s killers. Mia is stabbed in the back by one of the killers as the officers shoot him seconds after. The second killer was the neighbor’s grown-up daughter - she committed suicide in the unborn baby’s bedroom while holding onto the doll John gave to Mia. The couple starts experiencing strange paranormal activities soon after the deaths in their home. John is a medical student and has no choice but to move to Pasadena, CA, to complete his residency.
The couple finds it is best for them to move to Pasadena, California, and have a new start in a new house after all the bad things that occurred to them in their current home. The couple was in for a surprise when they arrived in their new home. Mia is experiencing paranormal activities in her new home and started to research hauntings. John is not with Mia to share all the bizarre happenings. The Annabelle doll appears to be possessed since she is seen operating a sewing machine, record player, and other things. Mia met bookstore owner Evelyn (Alfre Woodard - Primal Fear (1996), K-PAX (2001), Dinosaur (2000), Trek: First Contact (1996)) while trying to find out more information on hauntings. Evelyn showed Mia the cult section in her store, and they both found the cult that Mia’s previous neighbors belong to but did not use the helpful information they found. It makes me think, why to go through the trouble to find information if you are not going to use it - makes no sense. There are some loose ends in this movie. Another open end was when we were introduced to two children that predicted the baby would be hit by a truck - I never saw the kids again and have no clue where they came from. They know that something has attached itself to Annabelle and later discover that the doll is a host to a demon and needs an innocent human soul to reside in. So basically, we see two young parents who will do anything in their power, even go through hell to save their baby’s soul.
Annabelle was not as scary as I expected it to be. It was an excellent movie, but it lacked scare factors. Although it was nicely put together, it was an easy movie to look at without guessing too much about what was going on and why. It appeared as though the doll was built for evil because it looked hideous from the beginning, even before it was possessed by a demon. It would have been nice if the doll was made to look innocent and then transformed into looking evil after it was possessed. One thing that was so cliche was having someone sacrifice their life for someone they do not know well. The movie was great, and all horror fans should watch it, but I am not sure if it is worth it to pay to see the film in theaters or wait until it comes out on Blu-ray / DVD. I was reminded of Insidious during the movie. The set, cinematography, actors, and special effects were all exceptional.
Similar films like Annabelle can be found in demon movies, demon movies, monster movies, and monster movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Annabelle.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Annabelle Rating Scores
- Our Score: 7/10
- Overall Score: 5.05/10
- IMDB: 5.5/10
- MetaCritic: 3.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 2.8/10
Look here for more movies starting with A and here you can find 2014 movies to watch on your favorite streaming service.
Browse: Must See Best Demon Movies / Demon Movies List & Demon Movies List
Browse: Monster Movies List