Film Review: "Annabelle: Creation" (2017).

"The next chapter in The Conjuring universe" comes Annabelle: Creation. This supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg, written by Gary Dauberman. It is a prequel to 2014's Annabelle and the fourth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Samuel and Elle embed their daughter's spirit into a doll, only to realise it is a demon. Years later, they open their home to a nun and six orphan girls, one of whom finds the doll.

In October 2015, it was confirmed that an Annabelle sequel was in development; it was later revealed that the film would be a prequel rather than a sequel. In March 2016, Sandberg replaced John R. Leonetti as director, with Dauberman returning to pen the prequel. He has described himself as a fan of the franchise, especially the first one, since they were "more of a classic, old-school horror movie in many ways." James Wan and New Line Cinema approached Sandberg to helm the sequel during the post-production on Lights Out (2016), after they were impressed by the early cuts of the film. Sandberg and Wan had met each other during production of Lights Out, as the movie was produced by Wan's Atomic Monster Productions. Sandberg was initially reluctant to direct the film, due to his general dislike of horror sequels. He changed his mind when it was clear he would be making a standalone prequel, with no major obligations to connect it to the larger franchise beyond a few brief references to the other films. The fact that it was a period piece made it more appealing to him. By late June, Stephanie Sigman, Miranda Otto, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Lulu Wilson, Grace Fulton, and Philippa Coulthard were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in mid August. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California, at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank lot. In late November 2016, Benjamin Wallfisch was hired to compose the score. Originally scheduled to be released on May 19, 2017, the film was moved to August 11, 2017 to avoid competition with Alien: Covenant (2017).

The film stars Sigman, Otto, Bateman, LaPaglia, Wilson, Fulton, and Coulthard. The cast gave memorable performances ad characterizations that were vast improvements over the performances and characterizations of its predecessor.

Annabelle: Creation swerves its franchise's planchette unexpectedly to YES with a surprisingly scary and dramatically satisfying follow-up to its lackluster predecessor. It is better in every conceivable way, from casting to story to atmosphere. one overstuffed horror movie recipe, with a dash of The Exorcist and a spritz of The Conjuring among its tasty ingredients. It may just be the latest entrant into that small category of sequels and prequels that manage to improve upon their predecessors in every way. The film is genuinely frightening and smart, the rare horror prequel able to stand on its own merits and deliver a full-bodied story that succeeds without any previous knowledge or trappings. It is easily Sandberg’s best film yet.

Simon says Annabelle: Creation receives:

Also, see my review for Lights Out and Annabelle.