‘Annabelle’ Review By Jorge Carreón. Who didn’t love “The Conjuring?” It was everything Latino fans of the horror genre have embraced for generations. It hit all the right notes of “cucuy” and then some. And none registered strongest than that pinche doll called Annabelle. Sure, she’s an easy rip-off of the clown doll from another classic, “Poltergeist,” or even Talking Tina from “The Twilight Zone.” But her creepy mid-50s look of being a Pippi Longstalking joneseing for a dime bag all but assured her a place in the pop culture pantheon. Well, la Annabelle loca is back with her own movie. At first glance, it was a shrewd move. “The Conjuring” screamed for a sequel, but instead we received a prequel. Why not explore the origins of this devil doll? In fact, the opening sequence, which made for an effective teaser trailer, will decidedly freak you out. Cribbing from the Manson Family murders, a most perfect, God fearing, young Santa Monica-based couple witnesses the horrible murders of their neighbors. When the killers invade their own home, pregnant Mia (Annabelle Wallis) is stabbed, nearly becoming victim three before being saved by the cops. Yet before one of the deranged murderers succumbs to her wounds, her evil blood spills into a precious doll. Thus, a sinister legacy of the damned is born, pushing Mia to the edge of madness through abject horror. I was four-years old when I first saw “The Exorcist” and as a devout Catholic, don’t think these images of occult and satanic worship didn’t scare the shit out of me. But I was also baptized into the sacred order of movie fans that day. It wasn’t about gore, mind you. Terror, horror, suspense, drama, loud noises and smash cuts! Those are our gods! They are all the elements of artificial fear that turn cinema into a veritable roller coaster ride. “Annabelle” is not that ride. It’s hard not to feel that “Annabelle” is the outlet version of a high-end item like “The Conjuring.” I missed the element of plausibility of that film, which was represented by the emotional authenticity of its ensemble. Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston, and especially Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, sold that story with a vengeance. Director James Wan nailed the period details, plus mined the perfect psychological landscape on which to explore the nature of true evil. Handing over “Annabelle” to “Conjuring” DP John R. Leonetti, the standard set by the original film comes crashing down. Oh, it looks amazing, albeit a little too overdesigned considering these young married sure found the biggest real estate Los Angeles has to offer. (It harkens, cheaply, to “Rosemary’s Baby,” by the way.) But the dramatic momentum feels oddly listless, hitting clichéd moment after moment. It has its scare moments, but only because the sound mix and score are pushed to MAXIMUM just in case you stopped watching the screen out of boredom. As for the cast, they are left with little else to do but look surprised, anguished or just plain confused. The tony ensemble of “The Conjuring” was just as important as the technical requirements of building suspense and horror. “Annabelle” lead players Annabelle Wallis and Ward Horton are just generically pretty. Worse, they are bland in terms of personality, which diminishes any emotional connection to their plight, a key reason why horror movies, good ones, work. I sincerely thought Wallis was indie queen Brit Marling until the end credits rolled, which was probably the biggest jolt the movie provided me at last week’s press screening. (No, I didn’t read the production notes before the lights went down.) Horton fares worse since he is merely a reactive character, witnessing Wallis’ descent into madness like he’s part of the audience and not part of the film. And what the hell, Alfre Woodard? You deserve better, that’s all I have to say. You know things are bad when it is the baby that breaks out of the pack, hitting marks of precious and reality the adults miss by a mile. That’s not what you want to walk away from in a movie like “Annabelle.” If you are going to beat the heat this weekend at the movies, go see “Gone Girl.” That is one hell of a ride and not just liberal media elite hype, either. As for “Annabelle?” I have this message for the filmmakers: Don’t engage your B-team to rush the next one out. Put this doll on a shelf until you figure out how to create a movie worth screaming over. “Annabelle” is now playing nationwide.
