Movieman Madness: Cinema Spotlight V - David F. Sandberg (Part 2): "Annabelle: Creation"

Impressed by his work on Lights Out, James Wan offered David F. Sandberg his next movie that would set in the Conjuring Universe. An offer, Sandberg was hesitant to accept seeing the bad reputation of Horror sequels. It didn't help that the proposed project would be another Anabelle movie, with the last one to star the demented doll being widely despised. But when told that it would be a standalone prequel and have little to no connection to its predecessors, he accepted.

The Mullins.

After a prologue that sees the creation of the not-yet-evil doll and the family it resided with, we cut to the year 1955, twelve years before the events of the first Annabelle movie. Having lost their daughter years ago, Samuel and Esther Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto) open their house to Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and several orphan girls, as a way to cope with their loss. Only one rule is meant to be followed: Never enter their daughter's room and unlock the closet door. It doesn't take long for that rule to be broken as curiosity gets the best of handicapped and polio-afflicted Janice (Talitha Bateman) and her friend Linda (Lulu Wilson) who start to notice creepy things happening around the house.

Linda (Lulu Wilson)

A prequel of a prequel, Annabelle:Creation was better received than its previously panned porcelain predecessor. The characters were more interesting and the scares were scary, thanks to Sandberg who already proved to be a fright expert before coming to Hollywood. It ties in the Conjuring Universe rather nicely and set's up the next movie à la Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Nun; end credit scene included.

Janice and Annabelle.

So why was I not fully on board? I've enjoyed other sequels and prequels in the Horror genre like Insidious and Sinister. Maybe its the fact that I'm a stickler who prefers a happy ending but even then I've still liked some movies that end on such a note. Maybe its because the movie relishes too much on its ghostly graphic imagery and little time on the light and hope angle. It doesn't help when at times it descends into riff territory with scenes that are unintentionally funny, or silly.

I appreciate the portrayal of Catholicism and its use against the demonic but even then its a mixed-bag. On one hand, you have Sister Charlotte hearing a confession from one of the orphan girls, where in reality the sacrament of reconciliation can only be done by a priest or bishop. While holy water, pages from the bible, and a blessing from a priest are effective on keeping Annabelle contained, why the doll is not taken to a more secure and far away area is beyond me. On the other hand, a nice detail that was included is the use of a crucifix. While a demon will react to it, it's more effective when blessed and on how strong the user is in their faith; this isn't a vampire who will run away if put you put two sticks together in a cross shape.

Janice and Sister Charlotte

Though a product of Hollywood's vision of Catholicism, I did like the character of Sister Charlotte. She had a bigger backstory that was deleted from the final cut explaining how like the Mullins, she too lost a child. She was pregnant around the time she decided to be a nun and had to give away the baby. Seven years later she discovered that he drowned in a frozen lake. A choice that still haunts her as in another deleted scene the demon takes the form of her deceased son as a means to break her. Had it been kept in, I can only assume it would have connected to The Curse of La Llorona, though that project wouldn't be announced until October 2017, whereas Creation premiered on August 11, 2017. La Llorona, is a Mexican ghost story.; adding to the list of coincidences, Stephanie Sigman who plays Sister Charlotte is Mexican-born. While there are no reports if the actress will reprise her role it would make sense since La Llorona is the ghost of wailing woman who lures children to their watery grave.

If you aren't looking for anything deep or unique and will settle for a good scare with creepy dolls, Annabelle Creation will satisfy fans who were disappointing with the Annabelle's first solo outing and fix a few loose ends in the story.