Trailer Trashin’: That Creepy Doll is Back in Annabelle
Hello again, dear readers. It’s the beginning of September, and another summer movie season has ended. Personally, I plan on checking out the new horror film As Above, So Below, which just came out on Friday. And in the meantime, this week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’ looks at another upcoming horror film, the October release Annabelle.
Premise: John Form (Ward Horton) has found the perfect gift for his expectant wife Mia (Annabelle Wallis) – a beautiful, vintage doll in a pure white wedding dress, which she names Annabelle. But Mia’s delight with the doll doesn’t last long. On one horrific night, their home is invaded by members of a satanic cult, who violently attack the couple. Spilled blood and terror are not all they leave behind. The cultists have conjured an entity so malevolent that nothing they did will compare to the sinister conduit to the damned that is now…Annabelle.
My take: One of my favorite movies from last year was the July release The Conjuring. I walked in just expecting a decent scare-fest, but what I got was one of the best horror films of the last decade. And one of the most memorable parts of the film was the possessed doll Annabelle, who managed to be absolutely terrifying despite her limited screentime. While we’re still waiting on an actual sequel to The Conjuring, Annabelle the doll is getting her own spin-off film. This is the second trailer we’ve gotten for Annabelle, and while I don’t expect it to reach the heights of its predecessor, it definitely looks like a solid horror movie.
In a very amusing coincidence of naming, leading the cast of Annabelle is British actress Annabelle Wallis, best known for playing Jane Seymour on the Showtime series The Tudors. Wallis plays Mia Form, the woman who ends up terrorized by the titular doll. TV actor Ward Horton, who recently played “Rothschild Broker #3” in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), plays Mia’s husband John Form, who somehow thought the creepiest doll he could possibly get would be a great gift for his wife. Definitely the biggest name in the cast is award-winning veteran actress Alfre Woodard, who plays a woman named Evelyn, who looks to be shouldering the “give exposition about the supernatural stuff” duties. Tony Amendola, probably best known recently as Marco/Geppetto on the ABC series Once Upon a Time, plays Father Perez, the old priest. Also on hand is Eric Ladin, who plays a detective named Clarkin. Ladin played the character Jamie Wright on the first two seasons of the AMC series The Killing, but he’s probably better known for his voice work in video games, such as Ellis in Left 4 Dead 2 and Cole McGrath from the inFAMOUS franchise. A name I was very happy to see is Brian Howe, who plays someone named Pete Higgins. While Howe has had supporting roles in many films, including The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and Gran Torino (2008), I will always know him as the evil scientist Dr. Roger Fleming in The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001).
Based on this trailer, I think the filmmakers have done a great job of recapturing the atmosphere of its predecessor. Of course, this film is directed by John R. Leonetti, who was the cinematographer on The Conjuring. The 1970s period setting, which I loved so much last time, looks like it’s again being used to great effect. My only real complaint would be that they seem to be going much more in-your-face with the scares here. A huge part of why The Conjuring worked so well is that it took a slow burn approach, with things only getting bat-crap insane during the final act. I hope they haven’t totally discarded that for this spinoff.
But that one qualm aside, I’m still really looking forward to this. This year has already been a good one for horror at the movies, with the excellent Oculus and the quite enjoyable The Quiet Ones and Deliver Us from Evil. And if this trailer is anything to go by, that streak is going to continue into the fall. When the beginning of October rolls around, I will definitely be checking out Annabelle at my local theater.
ANTICIPATION: Come play with us, Annabelle!
Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Alfre Woodard, Eric Ladin, Brian Howe, and Tony Amendola
Director: John R. Leonetti
Writer: Gary Dauberman
Timothy Monforton
