Director: John R. Leonetti
Writer: Gary Dauberman
Running time: 99 minutes
Rated: R (for intense sequences of disturbing violence and terror)
Reviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Society
What is it about ordinary looking dolls that make them ripe for the picking as fodder for horror movies? Hollywood horror films have a rich tradition of scary dolls in their films. Take for example Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise, he is probably the most well-known of the group, then we have the Puppet Master franchise, Magic and that’s to name only a few. Hollywood’s fascination with creepy dolls goes back to the 1930’s. That brings us to 2014 and the latest creepy-as-hell doll to be added to the list is Warner Bros. spinoff film, Annabelle.
Annabelle was featured briefly in the hit 2013 film The Conjuring. Her side story in that film proved to be so popular that she got her own spinoff film this past year. Upon its theatrical release this past October, Annabelle proved to be a huge hit as well, grossing $255 million worldwide on a budget of only $6.5 million. It’s safe to say they will be milking more out of Annabelle in the near future. The Blu-ray of Annabelle was just released this past Tuesday and that’s what I’ll be reviewing along with the film.
Annabelle is based on a true story, or at least part of it is. The film is set during the late 1960’s as we are introduced to a young couple who are expecting their first child. John and Mia Form played by Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton live in a picturesque house in Los Angeles. John, a med school student and Mia are preparing to bring their bundle of joy into the world. As a baby gift, John gives Mia a rare white doll in a wedding dress that she has not been able to find to add to her doll collection.
One horrible night, two members of a satanic cult invade their home, terrorizing the couple and attacking them. Blood is spilled and before the night is over, the cultists transfer something into the doll, an unimaginable evil that is now Annabelle.
As the Forms begin to notice strange occurrences happening and a series of sinister events, they recruit the help of their priest, Father Perez (Tony Amendola) and a neighbor, Evelyn (Alfre Woodard) to do battle with the malevolent force that now resides in Annabelle.
Annabelle is a fun film. It’s a slick Hollywood production that looks incredible with great acting, but falls off in its direction. Beyond all that, the film is lacking something…frights, tension and suspense. With as good of a film as The Conjuring was, I was expecting a great deal out of Annabelle – I guess I expected too much. The film was predictable; there was nothing in the film that we haven’t seen before. The film was just a series of failed jump scares. There was no real tension behind the story, I can’t help but feel with a director more capable with horror, and the film could have turned out much differently.
As I said, the acting was superior with outstanding performances out of the supporting players. Tony Amendola as Father Perez was great in his part, as was the always impressive Alfre Woodard; it’s too bad their talents weren’t of much use here.
The horror in the film is bland and predictable. There is not a huge amount of blood in the film as it’s a more subdued story, but there is some decent effects work with a cool looking demon that you only get a couple of brief glimpses of. As far as the titular Annabelle doll, it is rather creepy looking after it becomes dirtied up, but looks alone are not enough to save this film from mediocrity.
The Disc
Blu-ray Combo Pack includes the film in HD on Blu-ray, DVD disc of the film, and a digital version of the movie in Digital HD with Ultraviolet.
The Blu-ray of Annabelle is average. Picture quality is good with no real disc anomalies noticed. Sound quality is adequate with its DTS HD Master Audio track.
Blu-ray Special Features
- The Curse of Annabelle
- Bloody Tears of Possession
- Dolls of the Demon
- A Demonic Process
- Deleted Scenes
Unfortunately, the special features are severely lacking as each of the four documentaries and deleted scenes are only about five minutes each in length. There are no commentaries or other special features included.
The film: 
2 ½ out of 5 Pentagrams!
The disc: 
2 out of 5 Pentagrams!
Watch the trailer for Annabelle here,
