CREDIT: WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Creepy dolls again have their place on the big screen, as Annabelle hits theatres just in time for Halloween.

Oh, the ‘60s. Such a simpler time. A time of prosperity. A time of innocence. A time of spousal neglect, creepy homicidal dolls and murderous satanic cults.

This is the time of Annabelle, the story of a new family that has their happiness snatched away by what has to be the worst present idea since Furby.

The story is a prequel to The Conjuring, despite having no real connection to it at all and tends to remind one of Child’s Play, right down to the doll being possessed by the spirit of a murderer and becoming slowly filthier as the movie progresses. Why people in these movies never clean the expensive collector’s edition dolls will always be a mystery.

The main character of interest is the wife in the previously mentioned happy family, Mia (played by Annabelle Wallis), who begins the movie pregnant and somewhat obsessed with disturbing dolls. Sadly, any hopes of her entire collection coming to life and rampaging down the streets of small town America are disappointed.

While Mia is a fairly likable character, and the baby is rather adorable, most of the other people in Annabelle are, at best, negligent and indifferent. The husband is generally absent for the duration of the movie, only showing up every once in a while to completely ignore the fact that his wife is obviously having some serious problems – whether psychological or paranormal is a matter up for debate.

Even after bringing up her concerns with a large number of people, Mia is left alone with an infant for the majority of the time, and she often leaves the baby alone in another room in the haunted house, which may not be the best parenting style.

Despite the logical problems with the movie, credit really has to be given to the prop, make-up, and costuming team that worked behind the scenes. The ghost-demon- monster-things are genuinely creepy and disturbing to look at, the Annabelle doll is well designed and always carefully arranged in a way that somehow manages to avoid being campy and even the outfits of auxiliary characters contain plot hints and foreshadowing for the observant viewer.

It’s rare and refreshing to see such attention to detail, and it adds significantly to the value of the movie.

One of the surprises was the almost complete lack of music. Where many horror movies rely heavily on the visceral feelings of a creepy tune, we’re instead treated to those silent moments that precede the truly terrifying.

While lovers of horror movies will see many of the same tactics used as in Poltergeist or The Exorcist, Annabelle still offers moments of genuine fear and originality. Anticipation is built up well with decent pacing, and although the filmography was occasionally a bit awkward, overall the camera angles and lighting were used to great effect.

This film will leave you wondering exactly what it was you saw in that dark window, and every creak of the floors will have you wondering if you are ever truly alone in your home. After all, even the most innocent object could be the conduit of true evil.