Judging from its trailer, this spinoff of The Conjuring, not directed by James Wan, will underwhelm, like many of its genre peers. Instead, Annabelle exceeds its meager expectations. A young couple (the unrecognizable, unmemorable Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis) are terrorized by some Manson wannabes, but surviving the encounter matters little when the spirit of one of the killers possesses the expectant mother’s new doll. The movie does little out of the ordinary, but it does the ordinary effectively.
Despite a trailer that threatens to give away all the scares, Annabelle produces some shivers, which is more than can be said for its competitors. Maybe I’m being generous because it’s October, but Netflix is more than flush with bad horror. Annabelle may not be a new classic (see 2007’s Trick ‘r Treat for the best horror movie you’ve yet to watch), but it’s better than nothing, and it’s got at least a few scares. That alone beats recent horror hits like Deliver Us from Evil.
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