Let’s Talk Horror Movies…Annabelle: Creation

So, I took myself to see a movie this week… Annabelle: Creation.

2017 film Annabelle: Creation movie poster

Yes, I took myself. Yes, I truly enjoy seeing scary movies alone. Though there were two other people in the theater, *sigh* they didn’t scream or bother me, so I let them live.

Let’s be honest…Annabelle, The Conjuring movies…I’ll happily go see ANY AND ALL of them. Possessions. Demons. Ghosts. Creepiness. These are a few of my favorite things.

So, we all know Annabelle, that is based on a real doll tucked safely away behind glass guarded by priests and the Warrens.

We saw Annabelle…one mother’s fight to save her daughter. But how did Annabelle begin?

Annabelle: Creation answers that question…kind of. How Annabelle came to be is part of the backstory of this movie. I found this show more…how Annabelle escaped out into the world, which they did link to the original movie. BONUS!

Overall I enjoyed this movie. My heart was pounding. I was on the edge of my seat, dying to see what horrific scene would appear next. The images it left burned in my brain are super awesome! Glowing eyes. Black oozy footprints. Dolls moving by themselves. Stuff of nightmares. And my Fitbit didn’t tell me I had been asleep, like when I saw The Bye Bye Man…yeah. We won’t go into that movie.

Though my heart was spinning in happy creepy circles after the show, my mind had questions. Storytelling questions. Was there a better way to tell it? Were there more layers crying out to be added? Everyone will react differently to these questions. It depends on what you want out of your horror. Me? I like a deeper emotional impact, this movie lacked that for me. I began connecting with the friends Janice and Linda, but that never really found its footing. The characters were there…things happened to them…then they were gone. What did all this mean to them?

Backstory. I love putting all the scary clues together and figuring out the past…little things here and there, a picture, a scrap of paper, a bit of dialogue…Annabelle: Creation started to do that, then, just as I was loving all the clues, just as I was forming all the questions about how it all fit together, they dumped the answers on me. That was a bit of a let down. Also the story at the beginning…I don’t know if they needed it. I think the audience would have figured it all out, would have loved figuring it all out. Learning the history as we went would have been pretty darn powerful.

They went more for the scares. Which isn’t bad! Dude. I went to be scared. It had great effects. It had wonderful new images, things I had never seen, things that made me want to jump up and scream OH HELL YES! I didn’t. I wanted to, but there were people there.

Will I buy it and watch it again?

YUP. YOU BETCHA.

And let’s, for a moment, talk about before the movie, about the trailers, about how Stephen King’s face filled the screen as he introduced a scene of IT! Let’s talk about how I might have squealed…sorry, two other people in the theater. Let’s talk about how I bounced in my seat and waved my hands in the air. Let’s talk about how I cannot wait to see IT!

Until next time, fellow scary movie goers, happy horror watching!