Title Of The Film: Annabelle
Year It Came Out: 2014
Genre: Horror
The Director(s): John Leonetti, Melody Harrop, Douglas Cumming, Milos Milicevic, Ivan Kraljevic
Lead Actors: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Eric Ladin, Tony Amendola, Brian Howe, Ivar Brogger
I love horror films, and I’ve seen The Conjuring so when Annabelle came up and it being the film before The Conjuring, I just had to see it! When I went on a ghost walk in London, I was told that Annabelle is a real doll, that is locked in a cabinet in a museum in America. The same doll is used in the film. Here is a review of my scary experience.
John and Mia are expecting their first child. John gives Mia a doll that she has been wanting and trying to find. Mia puts the doll, Annabelle, with the rest of the collection, where it fits perfectly. However from the moment Annabelle gets placed, frightful things start to happen.
I think the actors did really well, and made it sound realistic enough. Usually I find that actors aren’t very good in horror films, which makes it less unrealistic, however this one stepped it up. The only things I would say is, I’ve not heard of a lot of these, so I don’t think I would remember them in the future, unless they started acting in more known films. Also the connection between Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton on screen felt rather distant. They are suppose to be having a baby together and it just didn’t seem that way, other than that, there isn’t really anything to pick up on.
I really liked the choice of time period for this film. All the scenes fitted in perfectly, from the old fashioned pram, to the choice of costume and hair cut. I also like the fact that the horror happened straight away. They did not mess around. I’d say it was about 10-15 mins in, that you got your first jump or scream. I also liked the fact that they used a doll, I don’t like dolls, which made me suspicious of the film and wanting to watch it to see if I was right to not like dolls. It did exactly that.
There are some things that I can criticise about this film though. One of them being that the storyline got confusing at times. For example why the doll was actually evil in the first place. It just got a bit muddled. I think this could also be because, moving on to my other downfall, that in places the film felt rushed. You could have a long part of the film and then all of a sudden something quickly, dramatic would happen and then you would go back to another long part again. Does that make sense? Haha. However if you did understand it, then feel free to comment below!
Overall, I liked how this film was made jumpy, it wasn’t like a typical horror film. Yes there was creaky floorboards etc, however it did catch you out in moments you thought it was okay to look, so don’t be surprised. It’s just a shame the storyline brought it down a bit. Let me know your opinions on this film, or if your going to see it soon! 🙂
Rating: 8/10
A x
littlemissminor 