Annabelle
Tags: horror, murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film starts with the same opening scene of the film "The Conjuring", in which two young women and a young man are telling Ed and Lorraine Warren about their experience with the doll that they believe to be haunted, known as Annabelle.One year earlier in 1970, John and Mia Gordon (Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis) are expecting their first child. At church, the couple talks to their neighbors, the Higgins' (Brian Howe and Kerry O'Malley), over baby names. John is obviously nervous and not completely ready for it, even commenting on that to Mia. She is upset by his attitude toward the pregnancy, but he apologizes to her and gives her a doll that she's been trying to find for ages. Mia loves it and puts it with the rest of her dolls.At night, there appears to be a murder happening in the house next door at the Higgins home. It wakes Mia up. She tells John and he goes over to investigate. He runs out of the neighbor's house covered in blood (not his), telling Mia to call 911. She does and is about to head back outside when she hears a voice telling her it likes Mia's dolls. Mia stands back frightened when she hears it, and a man covered in blood appears from behind her in the closet, stabbing her in the side. John runs in and fights the man, while a woman is also there trying to attack the couple. Police arrive and shoot the man dead while the woman kills herself in another room. She left a bloody symbol drawn on the wall while holding Mia's new doll. A drop of her blood falls on the doll's face and sinks into its eye.A news report is shown that the assailants were Annabelle Higgins and her boyfriend. They murdered her parents and are said to have been part of a demonic cult.The doctors say that Mia's baby is fine but there was damage to her cervix. She is ordered to stay bedridden for the remainder of her pregnancy.John takes care of Mia as she recovers. Thinking the doll is creepy and involved with the mysterious happenings, Mia asks John to throw it away. He dumps it in a bin outside. Later, John is about to make Mia some Jiffy Pop popcorn until she falls asleep.The next day, Mia is sewing and watching TV, while in the kitchen, the stove turns on by itself and heats up the Jiffy Pop. Mia cuts her finger on the sewing machine and tends to it, not aware when the Jiffy Pop catches fire. She smells the smoke and sees the fire. She tries to run out of the house, tripping over a chair, falling on her stomach, she then starts to crawl but is then dragged by an unseen force. A group of men run into the house and pull her out.John, who works at the hospital, runs to find Mia. She is unharmed, and what's more, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. They decide to name her Lea.The family moves into a new apartment since Mia is afraid to return home. In their new place, Mia unpacks her dolls and finds that one doll (whom shall be referred to as Annabelle from here) in one of the boxes. Mia just places it alongside the other dolls.As expected, more strange activity plagues Mia and her new baby. Mia meets two neighbor children that are coloring on the stairwell. The girl tries to introduce herself but her brother tells her not to say anything to Mia since she's a stranger. When Mia returns home, she sees the drawings from the kids, which show a continuous animation of Mia wheeling Lea in the carriage and letting it go in the path of a truck, where Lea is dead. Horrified, Mia shows the pictures to John.On another occasion, Mia is alone and thinks she sees the ghost of a young girl. The door closes, and the girl starts to run to the door, then turning into the adult Annabelle Higgins. She disappears.Mia contacts the detective that told them earlier about the murders Annabelle and her boyfriend committed. He informs her of their history in the cult called The Disciples of the Ram that seeks to summon a demon by claiming a soul. This also explains the symbol that Mia keeps seeing.Mia goes to a bookstore run by a woman named Evelyn (Alfre Woodard). She gets a book called "The Devil's Welcome". From that, Mia determines that the presence that is haunting her wants a soul - Lea's.The couple contacts their church's priest, Father Perez (Tony Amendola). He takes Annabelle (who looks more gray and scary with bloodshot eyes) with him to church. The ghost of Annabelle is nearby, along with a demonic-looking creature. Perez enters the church but is blown back by a powerful force and is thrown on his back. He is hurt badly, and the ghost snatches the doll.John treats Perez at the hospital while Mia meets with Evelyn. Evelyn tells Mia that she had a daughter named Ruby that was around Mia's age when she died. Ruby died in a car accident caused by Evelyn. She was so distraught and guilt-ridden that she attempted suicide by cutting her wrists. However, she claims to have heard Ruby's voice telling her that it wasn't her time.Perez warns John that it was indeed Annabelle's spirit that caused his injuries, and that she will take a soul that night. John rushes to warn Mia. In the apartment, the demonic presence haunts Mia and Evelyn. It pushes Evelyn out of the apartment and taunts Mia by locking her outside of Lea's room where the baby sits beneath the bookshelf. Heavy books fall around her while Mia screams for her baby. Annabelle (the doll) falls down and stares at Mia. Mia breaks the doorknob and runs in to grab Lea. Then, the doll appears to stand up on its own. It then seems to float in mid-air, but it's really being controlled by the demon. All around the room, "her soul" is written in red crayon. Mia grabs the doll and bashes it against Lea's crib and throws it on the floor. The doll then appears to turn into Lea, bloodied and dead. Mia runs over to her and cries, thinking she's killed her baby. It then turns into one of Mia's giggling dolls. She screams and asks what the demon wants. The window then opens amidst whispering sounds, with "your soul" written across it.John runs home as Evelyn is trying to open the door. They both break it open to find Mia ready to jump out the window with Annabelle in her hands. John pulls Mia back in before she jumps, saying there must be another way. Evelyn grabs Annabelle and decides to make the sacrifice, knowing this is the way she can atone for Ruby's death. She plunges out of the window and hits the pavement. Lea is then heard in her crib, safe and sound. John and Mia mourn Evelyn but embrace their daughter.Six months later, the Gordons have moved on and have not seen Annabelle since then. Elsewhere, a woman (the mother of one of the girls in the opening) comes into a store looking for a present for her daughter. She then spots a doll that is said to be a rare collector's item. That's when she purchases... ANNABELLE.The ending text says that the Annabelle doll resides in a case in Ed and Lorraine Warren's little museum, and that it's blessed by a priest twice a month. There is also a quote from Lorraine Warren that says evil is real, and while we can contain it, we can never get rid of it. The camera then lingers on Annabelle as though she'll make a move, before cutting to black.

Review: If that fact alone is enough to get one person not to watch "Annabelle", then I've done my job as a critic.If you went into "Annabelle" wanting to see something along the lines of "Child's Play" or at the very least, a doll-centric horror movie where dolls are either animated in some fashion or at the very least, trip someone as they walk down the stairs, then you will be savagely disappointed.
On the other hand, if you were a fan of the small snippet of Annabelle's story shown in "The Conjuring" and wanted a terrifying and in-depth origins story, then youwill be disappointed as well.Synopsis: With an engaging set up, set against the rampant cult-phobia of the 60's, "Annabelle" is the story of a couple living in California who begin to experience paranormal occurrences after the husband gifts his pregnant, doll-crazed wife a doll, that soaks up blood faster than a Bounty paper towel.
After that, the plot falls pretty flat by turning its focus away from the scary doll element, as the story becomes 10% "Rosemary's Baby", 20% every single haunted house movie ever and 70% watered down scares.Aside from the fact that not for one second did I care about any of the characters here, for the most part director John R.
About 20 minutes in, it becomes obvious that Leonetti is either just going through the motions or doing a rather poor job of plagiarizing much scarier films.Final Thought: Much like the countless throw away, straight to DVD Disney animated sequels to come out of late the 90's and early 2000's (Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True") "Annabelle" (a prequel) is nothing more than a soulless money-grab from this particular production company, attempting to feed off the success of "The Conjuring".
No mention of Ed and Lorraine Warren (real life paranormal investigators from "The Conjuring") no James Wan (the director of "The Conjuring") and not one doll-induced scare, all seemed to have a hand in making "Annabelle" a strikingly forgettable film.
I mean, in "The Conjuring", the Annabelle doll is only used in all of three scenes, but due to some smart direction, those are some of the scariest potions of the movie.
Let me start off by stating that as a devout Horror fan with a special liking to ghost stories, haunts and exorcisms, I have really enjoyed The Conjuring.
Unlike The Conjuring, Annabelle gives the doll a lot more well deserved screen time.2) The cinematography is at its best with the quick shots, giving the audience sometimes less than a second to realize what they're seeing.
In Annabelle, demons are shown, but for a snap shot, leaving much to imagination which serves to add to the scare gauage.3) Plot actually gets pretty intense towards the end, but only towards the end.So all in all, perhaps had I watched this film before The Conjuring I would have been able to be more objective, but seeing as how I am unable to ignore it's shortcomings - I give it 6.5, meaning you should definitely watch it (especially if you liked The Conjuring) but you shouldn't expect it to meet The Conjuring's level..
As a prequel and spin-off of The Conjuring – 2013's highly effective horror film – Annabelle does what it promises, even if it does so one jump and one jolt at a time.
But that's all you get, jumpy scenes done to perfection, with little or no atmosphere and a story that disintegrates before it reaches a satisfying conclusion.One of the most important aspects of The Conjuring and older sibling Insidious (both films directed by James Wan), is the cinematography and how it wreaks havoc with the viewer's peripheral vision.
I'm a fan of the Conjuring as it was a film that made me think the art of a horror movie is back.
There was no depth, no character relation, no story-line, nothing to get you even remotely into the film, except "saw the previews, this is gonna be so good !" feeling you saw when you watched the previews and couldn't wait for this to come out.
We have met the creepy vintage doll Annabelle before in last year's excellent and very memorable horror film "The Conjuring." She was just the front act there, showing up only at the pre-opening credits sequence.
A big part of the success of "Annabelle" as a horror film is the effective lead performance of coincidentally-named Annabelle Wallis as Mia. The character's name Mia, I am guessing, is a tribute to Mia Farrow, who was the star of a horror classic of the 1960s, "Rosemary's Baby." The stroller Mia uses for Leah sure looked like Rosemary's stroller which is seen in posters of that old film.
Leonetti, the cinematographer of "Insidious 1 & 2" and "The Conjuring" makes an auspicious directorial debut with "Annabelle." He learned very well from his his previous director James Wan, who sits as producer of this film.
The timing for the big jump scare was effectively surprising most of the time, even you were sort of predicting it to happen already.This is a film which may divide audiences as to whether it could match the successes of "Insidious" or "The Conjuring." As it is, I liked "Annabelle" more than I thought I would.
This movie is a lot of fun, and (to my surprise) I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a movie with fun scares and ACTUAL substance to the storyline (radical concept for a horror film).
In the first, rather scary, scene in the Conjuring, featuring the Annabelle doll, I wondered, what kind of woman would ever buy a doll that creepy looking?
The amount of either jump scare and suggested are well balanced making it enjoyable to watch, in a nutshell the ambiance that is settled is disturbing and is supposed to be.Only blind spot the actor play that can be qualified as not as good as the overall execution, briefly said if you're looking for a good scare and potentially the better horror movie of 2014 this is a serious contender.Make your impression as well and go see it, definitely worth it.
while I was watching the film at a packed movie theater, I was thinking Chucky has finally met his match in Annabelle.
not that Annabelle the movie is anything like the Child's play films, it is very different and perhaps the only common factor they share is the presence of a doll.the movie was executed professionally, everything was top notch, from direction to Cinematography, and from acting to plot and dialog, everything was in place.
I also loved the 70s vibe, and the lead actress Annabelle Wallis playing Mia was also excellent.the movie had its shares of scares, jump out of your seat surprises but nothing over the top, it might not be as scary as people might be expecting and hence some of the negative reviews here from other users.
However, I thought the movie was well balanced and relied mainly on story and character rather than being overtly scary, which was perfect in my opinion and it what made it so good and successful in my eyes.I highly recommend this, a good Horror film to start October with and prepare for Halloween.
I really wanted to go see Annabelle after seeing the trailer, which made it seem like a good horror movie...
And unfortunately even these scenes could have been made even more scary then they were.This was a story and a movie with a lot of potential, unfortunately it wasn't as good as it could have been.Annabelle isn't a complete waste of time, but if you're looking for a really good, scary horror movie, it's not for you..
Approaching the tension with a slow build rather than a "haunted house" jump scene, was so effective, that during one of the many "Collective Scream scenes" where the entire theater jump- started, yelled or both, one girl sitting 3 rows in front of me, just got up out of her chair and sprinted out the exit door (not sure what she was running to, but i'm almost positive what she was running from).Anyway, i fully expect there to be reviews from the "too cool", arm chair adrenaline junkies who claim to be "unshakable" in their choice of horror viewing and would probable claim no movie will EVER scare them, but for my $13.00 (not counting popcorn and Twizzlers), this movie delivered on average more scary images per minute than any film i have EVER seen in my entire life!!.
Just came back from the cinema AND this is so far the worst horror movie i'v seen i mean it started all good a nice story developed BUT as it was going on it was getting worse and worse it was getting such amateur low budget movie the story got all ruined and all the sound effects were trying to "scare" us but nothing special happened........very disappointed such a good story just done wrong.It is a perfect horror story but it was just so bad that i just wanted to leave the cinema early.
Usually a reviewer will say of a weak film, wait till it hits DVD, but my recommendation for Annabelle is if you want to waste you time on it, pay to see it in the theater where the loud sounds and the big screen will deliver a couple good jolts.
Avoid this movie unless you want to fall asleep like a baby, which is obviously contradictory to this movie's objective.Full Review:For those who don't know, Annabelle is a prequel/spin-off from the movie The Conjuring directed by James Wan. The Conjuring was a great horror movie that kept me up at night, at least for a little while.
That's it, that's all I got.This movie was so bad that I felt like I was watching a parody of horror films.
The rest of the scares are all horror clichés like staring long at the doll with creepy music, or woman walks past a doorway, or now it's a little girl walking a past a doorway.
The actress Annabelle Wallis act so good, I've never see her in a horror movie and she makes a great work.
Will make it short and concise, oh wait IMDb needs 10 f*cking lines before i can actually submit it , so i will write the 10 f*cking linesthis is one of the finest Horror movies in a long time , does not over do things, Gripping cinema .The Direction is Sharp , the cinematography is simple,the plot is will knit , the best thing is they are not trying to overachieve and this is what will sell this movie.
"Annabelle" is an unoriginal horror movie with an evil doll that is a sort of Chucky with skirt.
I really loved Annabelle because I loved the conjuring and I like the way horror movies have been coming up with wonderful ways to scare us lol.
Along with Insidious, there was genuine scares that stuck in your mind and had everyone talking.With Annabelle, first introduced in The Conjuring, we are given more of a slow burning drama, shot very much like its predecessor but not quite as scary.That said, my husband refused to look at the screen more than enough because of the wonderful use of sounds, and the site of the doll itself which I have since used to great effect at home when scaring him!But as a horror film maker and fan, I want something that will scare the crap out of me and have me boasting about it long after.Annabelle carries a few of those moments, but literally, a few.
If you like a good horror movie, I suggest Annabelle.
This movie has a better pace and no dull moments compared to "The Conjuring" but it's not as intense and scary as "Insidious" for example.I like the fact that the movie includes a little bit more than the usual supernatural elements.
It's a good thing that the entire movie doesn't only play at one location and only involves supernatural phenomenons."Annabelle" convinces with its steadily growing sinister atmosphere, a credible acting performance, a solid camera work without any unnecessary shaking, fitting sound effects and an atmospheric soundtrack.
The realistic tone of the film also makes the movie more intense and easier to get into for most people.Even though the movie avoided a few stereotypes such as an exorcism, some parts were still highly predictable: the scared housewife nobody believes in, the wicked demon trying to take possession of a child's innocent soul and the heroic actions of an old pastor attempting to save a young family and community members are elements that horror movie fans have seen numerous times before.
That's why the movie lacked some originality and ultimately tension towards the end as the ending was also quite predictable.Fans of traditional horror movies or more recent outputs by James Wan and his colleagues should watch this movie at the cinema as they are likely to enjoy this film.
How on earth is a quick cash like Annabelle going to be any way decent?Well, miraculously, even if it doesn't compare to the films I already mentioned, Annabelle is a very smart, clever horror film, that manages to create a lot of suspense, only bringing out the big scares after enough of it has been generated.
What that means is that a lot of the opulent, almost overwhelming atmosphere of that film is gone (and it's missed, if I'm honest), but is instead replaced by shorter, sharper shocks, with a lot more focus on the main story and the characters (who are unusually well defined and acted for a horror movie, especially the two female leads; for once, these people don't act stupid, and don't feel like stock horror movie victims - hurray!).Speaking of the story, it's actually pretty decent.
1.) It was following the very successful The Conjuring2.) Scary doll movies had already been done (see Child's Play and Dead Silence to name a couple).
Annabelle Wallis was the best actor for me, playing the lead role of Mia.There are some really cool original ideas to build the tension in this film, my favourite being the elevator scene, which really made you feel on edge.
OK, there are some moments in the film that are a bit slow and sometimes they resort to a cheap jump scare if something hasn't happened in a while, but overall Annabelle delivers exactly what you'd want from a pre-Halloween horror film.
Don't watch this film expecting to see a perfect story line and amazing acting, but do expect to see some pretty cool tense scenes and a decent scare now and then..
So, overall Bishara completes this spin off film with flying colors.In closing, Annabelle at the end of the day is a horror film that is meant to fill time before The Conjuring 2 is released next year.
I don't think horror is the actual genre for this movie it should be drama,romance,mystery .....conjuring was far more better than annabelle total waste of time...
All the horror part was used in the trailer ..nothing was left for movie....first half was full of drama...nothing interesting Also people say this is the prequel of THE CONJURING I didn't get a connection to that because the doll was shown at the house of the couple at the end of the movie and had no link whatsoever with haunted house ....had high expectations was disappointed .....should have opted foe a sequel that would have been interesting ...something dealing with haunted house or possessed person ........
With an average script and mediocre acting, Annabelle is by no means the best horror flick, technically speaking (does not measure up to the likes of The Conjuring).
I'm really at a loss after reading some of the other reviews that are praising this movie for things like character development, a suspenseful story, 'genuine' scares, and being the perfect movie to start the Halloween season.
I like to watch a good scary movie with a nice, or at least plausible or appealing story.
Very soon, creepy, sinister things will start happening to them.This is a sort of prequel of a well regarded horror movie I haven't seen, called The Conjuring.
All the other things like the pacing or close-ups on the doll are more than bad and destroying every horror aspect the movie could build up.I could write more, but I don't want to.
Leonetti Review O sweet a creepy doll movie, that's a prequel to the conjuring one of my favorite horror films, I mean what could go wrong.
"Annabelle" is a horror movie in which we watch a couple being attacked at their own house by some members of a satanic cult.
There are not so many scary scenes and the few they are in this film they are old school, they do scare you but I expected more because I compared it with "The Conjuring".
Some likely waiting to compare it to The Conjuring, others followed the fact that a spin-off cant make a good movie.
While this is John Leonetti's most competent film, it pails in comparison to its much better prequel "The Conjuring"; the scares and story (save for elements of the ending & a somewhat creepy basement scene) left me wanting.
Greetings from Lithuania."Annabelle" (2014) is a prequel or a spin off, call how you like it to a great horror film "The Conjuring".
"Annabelle" story is very simple and generic even for a horror movies - trust me you saw this kind of plot hundreds of time before.
Annabelle is the type of horror film you'd expect to come out around Halloween.
when I saw the Conjuring, like everyone else, I found that doll really creepy so I could not wait to see Annabelle when I herd about it.