Movie Review: ANNABELLE

ANNABELLE
Director: John R. Leonetti
Starring: Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola

If you saw The Conjuring, you may remember that it opened with scenes involving a possessed doll named Annabelle who the Warrens later took possession of and kept in their artifacts room. It should come as no surprise that with the huge success of that film, a follow-up was rushed into production. This time the studio decided to go the prequel route by telling the story of Annabelle and her time with Mia (Wallis) and John (Horton). They live in a cozy house and are expecting their first child. The baby’s room is decorated with a wide variety of dolls, many of which seem far too creepy for any newborn. One day John brings home a huge box with Annabelle inside and Mia couldn’t be any happier as it’s hard to find and completes a set. I’ll tell you why it’s hard to find. It’s old, cracked, and scary as hell. Why oh why would you put that in a baby’s room?

Soon after Annabelle arrives, their house becomes a haven for disaster. One night Mia is awoken by the sounds of her neighbors being brutally murdered. The killers make their way over to Mia and John’s house where one of them starts whispering for the doll. One of the intruders proceeds to kill herself while clutching the Annabelle doll. Strange occurrences start to happen throughout all hours of the day forcing Mia to have the baby early. Like many possession stories we have seen before, Mia and John move to a new house hoping to rid themselves of their problems. We all know this never works and the demons follow the couple to their new apartment.

The Conjuring was based on a true story and the real Annabelle doll is an old Raggedy Ann doll instead of a porcelain doll that's used in the movie. While that film stuck fairly close to the real life story of the Warrens, I am curious as to why they decided to give Annabelle a completely fictionalized story instead of using the true story that goes along with the real Raggedy Ann doll. There seems to be plenty of information out there regarding it, but maybe this was the faster and cheaper way of cranking out a paint-by-numbers script. I’ve seen enough of these types of movies that always seem to have a priest character (Amendola) and a mysterious neighbor character (Woodard). Is it so hard to create a different type of character that informs John and Mia that Annabelle is a conduit for evil spirits? Even the ending feels unoriginal and tired.

I was relieved to see that the film does stick to the 1970s timeline. I would not have been surprised if they were going to call it a prequel and than randomly set it in a contemporary timeline. The 1970s was one of the smartest choices they went for as it provides for some interesting design concepts to make up for the unoriginal story. The names John and Mia may ring a bell for you as they are clearly named after John Cassavetes and Mia Farrow who played the couple in Rosemary’s Baby. It is very apparent that director John R. Leonetti was inspired by Roman Polanski’s film. Leonetti was the director of photography on The Conjuring so he knows his way around lighting and shooting a horror film. The film sticks with using real effects to give it a more natural feel over relying on CGI. It makes sense with the time period and how horror films were shot in that decade. Don’t worry, the Annabelle doll doesn’t walk around or do silly Chucky type moves.

This may be the biggest project yet for stars Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis. Horton had a small role in The Wolf of Wall Street and has had numerous one-episode appearances in a variety of television shows. Wallis has had some television work on Pan-Am and The Tudors. They are both strong enough actors to keep the characters grounded without feeling like they are ever over-acting or being the bimbos we often find in horror films. I just don’t feel like there is anything interesting about John or Mia. Maybe the point was to make them very normal and bland people. How can you make a movie work with two fairly unknown lead actors playing characters we don't really want to invest our time in?

I wish I could say that Annabelle is as exciting and scary as its predecessor. There are a couple of jumpy moments, but most of the scares tended to be dragged out longer than they needed to be. James Wan is attached to the film as one of the producers. He is the top-notch horror director behind The Conjuring, Insidious, and Saw, and I would have expected it to be better with his involvement.

Is It Worth Your Trip to the Movies? Go revisit The Conjuring or Rosemary's Baby instead.

RATING: 2 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

Movie Review: THE CONJURING

THE CONJURING
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King

If you are familiar with the Amityville Horror case in Long Island, the names Ed and Lorraine Warren may ring a bell. Ed (Wilson) was a noted author and demonologist and his wife, Lorraine (Farmiga) is a clairvoyant and medium. The Amityville case was just one of thousands of cases they investigated involving spirits, possessions, and hauntings. The Conjuring focuses on the Warren’s work and one particular case that occurred in Harrisville, Rhode Island.

At this point in the career, the Warrens are still very active in their cases but they are also teaching seminars about their past work at universities to fascinated college students. While some of their cases are truly out of the ordinary, they can easily debunk a majority of claims by pointing out old water pipes or warped wood in an attack. Carolyn Perron (Taylor) sits in on one of their seminars and is intrigued and knows they are the only ones that can help her family.

Roger (Livingston), Carolyn, and their five daughters moved into an old home in Harrisville looking for a new beginning and fresh start to their lives. I feel like these types of stories all start like that. Carolyn begs of their help and the Warrens agree to stop by their home. Ever since they have moved in strange occurrences keep happening throughout their house and property. The clocks all stop at 3:07, there is a smell of rotting meat that lingers, the temperature often gets quite cold, birds frequently fly into the house and die, and bruises keep appearing on Carolyn’s body for no explainable reason. One of their daughters sees an imaginary young boy named Rory. The moment Ed and Lorraine arrive at the Perron home, Lorraine immediately feels the presence of a dark spirit that lingers on attaching itself to various members of the Perron family. I am going to stop right there in regards to any more plot details. I would hate to divulge any spoilers or secrets that could lessen the scare factor.

The film is set in 1971 and it feels like director James Wan set out to make the film have the same tone and aura of those horror movies from that era. While there are some spooky moments and jumps earlier on in the movie, it has that slow burn effect as it leads up to the insane ending where the shit hits the fan. It is imperative to have the audience gets to learn about and have a connection to these characters so we have an emotional reaction to what happens to both the Warrens and the Perron Family. Farmiga, Wilson, Livingston, and Taylor are exceptional at bringing the beliefs and fears of these people to life. I think that any good horror film should have a haunting score behind it. Adding to this throwback feel is the score by Joseph Bishara and Mark Isham which is reminiscent of the music heard in the horror films of that era. It elevates the suspense and tension making every jump all the more frightening.

James Wan is a growing into a fine director of the horror genre. The "torture porn" of Saw does not really interest me, but Wan's Insidious is one of the best horror movies of the past five years. If a movie is going to scare me, it needs to be based in some sort of truth or possible reality. I find demonic possession and cases of haunted houses and lingering spirits fascinating. The Conjuring is right up my alley in the kind of horror film that really grabs hold of me. Knowing that it is based on a true story makes the film even more terrifying to me. Regardless of what details in the story are accurate or made up for dramatic purposes, I found the film quite fascinating. The real Lorraine Warren was interviewed many times for research into the story and Wilson and Farmiga spent time with her for preparation. The movie also includes pictures of the Warrens and Perron family over the final credits. I always love when movies based on true stories share photographs, news clippings, and updates from the real case.

I love scary movies. Always have and always will. I think that through all of my years of watching scary movies, I have become somewhat desensitized and a little less likely to jump or scream in a movie. No nightmares for me if I stay up late watching one. The trailers for The Conjuring appealed to me right away and I knew it could be a film that would cause me to jump. I was right as there were a few scenes that got a physical and vocal reaction out of me. The rest of the moviegoers in the theater seemed to be even more spooked than I happed to be. If you feel like the horror genre has been ho-hum lately, rest assured as The Conjuring is one of the best horror films that has come across the screen in the last decade.

RATING: ****1/2 (4.5 out of 5 stars)