“Annabelle” continues to scare

Directed by David Sandberg, and released Aug. 11, Annabelle Creation is the second Annabelle movie, but the fourth in the Conjuring series.

The story takes place before any of the previous films and tells the story of how Annabelle came to be a possessed doll. After an orphanage for girls moves into a new house, one of the girls, Janice (Talitha Bateman), wanders into a forbidden. Janice finds the doll, which allows the demon to leave the area it has been confined in for 12 years.

The actors were very proficient, especially with over half of them being children. The characters though, mainly the secondary characters, were not that interesting. Two boy obsessed teenage girls leave out the younger ones who always wanted to join them in their discussions. The younger girls had little story to them other than being orphans. The two main child characters, Janice and Linda (Lulu Wilson) moved the storyline along. Then the adults offered more background into Annabelle’s history. The adults included Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman), Samuel (Anthony LaPaglia) and Esther (Miranda Otto) Mullins.

The pacing of the story felt about right. It could have moved a little faster, but there were plenty of creepy, entertaining scenes from beginning to end. The angles, shots and the coloring the director chose to use really helped the tone of the story. The climax wasn’t as exciting as it could have been, but seeing children run around to escape from a demon was kind of humorous.

The movie could’ve used more strong adult characters, like Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring. In fact, a small scene with a nun might have hinted at another movie, The Conjuring 2.

The ending completely ties into the 2014 film Annabelle, leaving the audience,wanting to go home and rewatch the first one. All in all, it was a well-directed, well-acted, entertaining movie that brings excitement for what the series has to offer next. Overall, Annabelle Creation earns 7/10.