Annabelle: Creation review round-up — Predictable chills, lazy script and a creepy doll

The first time we saw the apple-cheeked, ever-smiling malicious doll with those pigtails, we had goosebumps. That was 2013, when director James Wan presented us with the spine-chilling horror-flick, The Conjuring. The success of the film, which was absolutely well-deserved, has made it a franchise that has given us a series of nail-biting experiences with, Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), and now the prequel, Annabelle: Creation. While both the Conjuring films have been helmed by Wan, Annabelle was directed by John R Leonetti and the latest prequel flick has been directed by David F Sandberg. Annabelle: Creation is produced by Peter Safran and James Wan and stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, Lulu Wilson to name a few. The horror franchise’s latest prequel to the diabolical doll, released on 11 August and has opened to mixed reviews. While some felt that the movie has many illogical loopholes with no attention to the causal-affect relationship of the events that proceed in the film, there are some who have felt that the director has been able to run a chill down his audiences’ spines. [caption id=“attachment_3721259” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Annabelle: Creation. Screen grab from YouTube[/caption] Here are some excerpts from reviews across the globe: Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly writes: “Annabelle: Creation isn’t a terrible film. Not exactly. The set-up is promising, and it offers some decent early jump scares. But eventually, the thinness of the material becomes overwhelmingly obvious. Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out) and apparently edited by no one, the film is a bloated grab bag of chiller clichés that throws everything at the proverbial wall where nothing really sticks. " Peter Debruge from Variety says: “Clearly aware that he’s been stuck with a lazy script (from Annabelle writer Gary Dauberman), yet eager to capitalize on the momentum of Lights Out, gifted Swedish director Sandberg appears to be using this project as practice, trying nearly every trick in the book, while never repeating the same stunt twice. That means it’s virtually impossible to figure out ’the rules’ that govern Annabelle’s behavior. Better just to embrace the fact we’ve come to be startled and let Sandberg do his thing.” Wendy Ide from The Guardian writes: “This prequel to the possessed doll series that started with The Conjuring features a toy-maker whose creations seem expressly designed to chill the very soul, a demon locked in a cupboard and a load of winsome orphans who insist on opening every sinister locked door in their new home, an isolated house with a paint job the colour of sun-bleached bones. But if you can get past the utter, utter stupidity of pretty much everything every character does when faced with spooky peril, there are some effective scares here.” Chris Agar from Screen Rant opines: “Annabelle: Creation makes for a fun ride for horror enthusiasts – especially those who have been following the Conjuring franchise from the beginning. Sandberg is clearly in his element, and though the film does follow much of the genre’s typical playbook, he throws enough change-ups at the audience to make Creation enjoyable. It doesn’t exactly break new ground, but the prequel is a fine addition to the property, indicating there’s plenty of life left in the series for future spin-offs and sequels.” Here’s the trailer: