Annabelle: Scare me once before the end..please!

‘Before The Conjuring, there was Annabelle’, said the teasers that told us that this movie was coming. It was indeed a smart move to remind the audiences of The Conjuring, which was very well received in Indian cities. But, what the makers may have overlooked is that with the mention of The Conjuring, there would also be expectations; to be spooked, chilled and thrilled in the same way, or maybe in even better ways. Annabelle was the opening note of The Conjuring, and also made a significant impact in one of the story’s turning points, and so it is indeed exciting that an entire movie is focused on the demented doll and its doings in this world. Question is, does it make for a good horror movie?

Let’s get one thing clear, Annabelle is made in much the same way as The Conjuring. Many horror

film buffs had felt that The Conjuring was a bit too underplayed, with too few spooks and chills than normal. They said, it was not exciting enough. But, those who prefer more substance than shrieks and screams had found it very interesting. Annabelle tries to take us down that path. The makers have banked on a solid screenplay built around a good story. There is very little in terms of intentional scary stuff, be it graphic visual representations or curdling sounds. The director does not try to put scary things in your face and make you jump out of your seats or shriek in horror. Yes, there are moments when things come out from behind doors, there are dark corners, flickering lights, rain beating down on the window panes, creaking chairs, a big church with a weird looking statue; all these tell tale signs that something supernatural, or extranatural is lurking about. But, sitting through the 100 minutes of the movie, I never once felt my heart beating faster than it normally would, nor did I gasp. Yes, I did empathise with the young woman and her baby for being caught up in a warp of inhuman presence, but I never felt afraid, which is where perhaps Annabelle fails as a horror flick.

I have a theory about horror flicks. When we go to watch a horror film, we know what we are getting into; so there is no question of being surprised when a ghost appears on screen. The success of a horror film lies in planting the seed of eerie expectations in our mind about what is going to happen. It is about giving us clues about which corner or which door might reveal the supernatural. It is about getting us all wound up and then surprising us just a second before or a second later than we expect. It is that moment of uncertainty in which the horror film comes alive. Annabelle hardly ever comes to life like The Conjuring did. The moments like ‘hide and clap’ and the ‘hanging corpse’ that caught us unawares in The Conjuring are hard to find in Annabelle. I don’t know, maybe we have become familiar with the director’s style as a result of which he is not able to stay a step ahead of us. At least, that is how most of the audience reacted! There wasn’t any nervous shifting, no uneasy screams or an eerie silence in the movie hall, a sign that a horror flick hasn’t caught the audience by the scruff of their neck.We also miss the methodical approach, of exorcism or incantations that we have enjoyed in other horror flicks.

Some might call comparisons with The Conjuring as unfair, but the makers invited it by almost

branding Annabelle as a prequel. Make no mistake, this movie does a good job of narrating the story of the Annabelle doll, has well defined characters and portrays the mental disintegration of the protagonist in a very believable manner. Thanks to these two movies, even the most rational of minds now clearly knows the differences between ghosts and demonic spirits. But all that doesn’t add up into a good horror flick. It fails in its primary objective- which is to scare! Annabelle finally ends up diluting the aura of fear that was built around the Annabelle doll by the cameo in The Conjuring.

Annabelle – Good story, fails to thrill!

1.75/5.