Did you miss her?

The possessed doll returns in this prequel to “The Conjuring” to make her story known. The movie starts out the same way as “The Conjuring” and then goes to mother to be Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and father to be John (Ward Horton).  The movie is set in the 70’s, around the of time of the Charles Manson murders. With this setup, the young couple is the victim of a brutal attack by a duo of Satanic cultists, one who happens to be named Annabelle Higgins. Soon Mia starts to hear strange noises and see shadowy figures, but of course John is best at showing up just seconds late to miss the event and think his wife is going crazy.

The characters aren’t hard to keep track of because we are really only focusing on four, Mia, John, Father Perez (Tony Amendola), and Evelyn (Alfre Woodward). Evelyn befriends the young mother and her past allows her to assure Mia that she is not crazy, that something evil is after her family. Despite the small amount of characters the movie does keep you guessing whether if any one of the other characters is possessed or not.

The movie plays off of the audience not seeing the doll move. Instead we hear the slow creaking of the rocking chair and the sweet, melodic sounds of the baby’s mobile. This builds up the suspense, wondering when we will see the dastardly Annabelle strike. Pan shots (moving the camera horizontally right or left) are a favorite in those scenes so that we are able to see what is lurking in the dark.

If certain parts of the movie seem familiar this is because there are undertones to other classic horror films like “Rosemary’s Baby,” the young couple’s apartment and the pushing of the baby in the carriage, and “The Omen,” the presence of the priest and realizing the true evil that lies within. One may want to see “The Conjuring” before seeing “Annabelle” because if you do it adds to the darkness that is Annabelle. This movie did leave me with a few disappointments. I was hoping for a bit more of Ed and Lorraine Warren and particularly what was the horrible thing that happened to Lorraine that they spoke of in “The Conjuring.”

This rated-R film definitely provides terror through the blood-filled eyes of Annabelle. This is your classic horror movie where evil prevails, but unlike in other movies it is obvious that it has to end this way. This movie is about Annabelle’s beginning and its sets up the future of Ed and Lorraine coming. “Annabelle” is a horrifying film that will have you wanting to leave the theater because of its terror, but can’t for the of fear missing the next great scare.