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Annabelle: Creation *Minor Spoilers*

It's come out in the UK today. I braved the cinema alone for this one.
Usually, I'd see films with the boyfriend, but he hates horrors, and sometimes it is nice to not have, occasionally funny, but mostly inane, comments whispered to me throughout. This was one of my least anticipated films of the year, because, well, did you guys see Annabelle? If so, I'm sorry, I know how you feel. Least anticipated, until a couple of weeks ago, when I saw a very positive review, and then I was quite excited.

This film exceeded my expectations. And I'm going to try very hard to not include any major spoilers, but there will be some minor spoilers, because this review would be very short without some.

Annabelle: Creation is the origins story of the Annabelle doll. Samuel Mullins is a happily married doll maker, his wife is Esther and they have a young daughter called (wait for it) Annabelle. 12 years after losing their daughter in a horrific accident, they allow a nun and several young orphaned girls to move into their house. We then follow Linda and Janice, two of the orphans, as they discover the evil within the house.

The film looks great, with some lovely cinematography and really well thought out cuts. Every scene is cut in a fantastic way to build tension, and it is tense. It looks and feels very much like The Conjuring, which makes sense as it is part of the 'universe' they've decided to create. It sounds great too, the score adds an extra layer to the tense and unsettling atmosphere of the movie.

The acting is impressive, especially from Talitha Bateman and Lulu Wilson, who play our main characters. Anthony LaPaglia plays his role as Samuel Mullins very convincingly, being concerned and creepy as hell all at once. The more minor orphaned characters are a little less believable, but not in any way that would affect the film. There is quite a bit more character development than was expected, so you end up caring about characters, which is so nice in a world of cardboard cut out horror movie characters.

There are a large amount of jump scares within the film, but what else were you expecting? Although jump scares are a pretty easy way of creating tension, however short lived it may be, Annabelle: Creation doesn't slip into the annoying habit of having 'fake' jump scares too much, you know, "OH IT WAS JUST A FRIEND". When the music drains out, the audience are aware that something actually scary is about to happen. And the imagery is creepy. Really creepy.

There are some really cool hints in this film, one to The Nun, which is supposedly the next Conjuring Universe film, and another that shows the original Annabelle (real life) doll! Yeah, that was kinda cool.

Overall, Annabelle: Creation is a great little horror film, and although it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, it is scary and fun enough to keep audiences entertained.

7/10


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