ANNABELLE: CREATION
DEMONIC possession is child’s play in Annabelle: Creation, a 1950s-set prequel that enriches the mythology of the wooden doll, which wreaked havoc in the 2013 supernatural horror The Conjuring.
Directed by David F Sandberg, this spooky yarn has enough piercing jolts to sate horror fans, who enjoy being scared out of their wits.
Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia) and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) are devastated by the death of their beloved seven-year-old daughter, Bee (Samara Lee).
In the depths of despair, they turn to their faith for solace, yearning against hope for an opportunity to see their little girl again.
Twelve years later, a local orphanage is forced to close and Samuel and his wife offer temporary refuge to Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and her six wards: Nancy (Philippa Coulthard), Carol (Grace Fulton), Kate (Tayler Buck), Tierney (Lou Lou Safran), Janice (Talitha Bateman) and Linda (Lulu Wilson).
Janice is fitted with a leg brace as a result of a polio outbreak so she is consigned to the house while the other girls play outside and excitedly explore the sprawling property.
Left to her own devices, Janice nervously enters Bee’s old bedroom, which is out of bounds.
This transgression unleashes a dark force, which uses Bee’s favourite plaything as a conduit to transform the sanctuary of the Mullins’ homestead into a scream-filled slaughterhouse.
Annabelle: Creation relies on well-worn horror tropes to set nerves on edge, punctuating a linear narrative with explosions of sickening violence directed at the terrified girls.
Bateman and Wilson shoulder the film’s emotional burden, attempting to outrun the darkness in a series of slickly executed set pieces including a topsy turvy chase in a dumb waiter.
Sandberg allows the suspense to build gradually and puts his tearyeyed young stars through the emotional wringer.
Playtime is over.