Annabelle (2014) Review – Chucky For Chicks?

It’s totally not Chucky for chicks, but if you’re looking for a somewhat decent horror flick, I invite you to check out Annabelle — if you’re not afraid of dolls, that is. I was slightly impressed, and I’ll give you a few reasons why. But before I give you those reasons, I’ll just give you an idea of the opening weekend sales. Annabelle debuted in second place, under Gone Girl with the annoying Ben Affleck, earning only $37.2 million. That’s right, a chick flick topped the box office over a highly anticipated horror film. Obviously, my money went toward the second horse, and I had high expectations, especially since Annabelle was dubbed as a prequel to The Conjuring.

Now if you’ve ever seen a horror movie that involves dolls or some kind of inanimate object, then you’ll guess everything in this film. There were many cliches here, so I’ll focus on just one. Avoiding one trope, Annabelle, the possessed doll, didn’t move its head or eyes, but she did somehow float. Whoopty-frickin-doo… seen it before!

How many horror movies have featured a newborn baby? Or, better yet, how many have involved a doll? Chucky, Puppet Master, Dolls, Dead Silence, Blood Dolls, Demonic Toys, and a story in Tales from the Hood. I won’t keep listing movies because it’s pointless.

Back to Annabelle. In addition to the cliches involving a doll in a horror movie, and without spoiling the movie for you if you haven’t yet seen it, the plot here was thin and I wasn’t impressed one bit. I’ll probably watch it a second time because I saw it at a drive-in theater, so the screen was slightly darker than I liked, but I’m sure the second viewing won’t make me like it any more than before. Oh well, it was still something to watch, I guess. As pessimistic as that sounds.

The Verdict:

If you're into a half-assed plot with a killer doll and cults and babies and mothers being haunted, then feel free to check out Annabelle. That’s exactly what you’re going to get. My view is mine, and I'm sure you'll have yours.