LIFE

Annabelle: Creation is one big horror cliché

Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 11/08/2017

» Forty-four years after The Exorcist, preteen Catholic girls are still brutalised by demons. Annabelle: Creation is a spin-off from The Conjuring universe, expanding upon the tale of the abominable female doll said to be possessed by a spirit. But while The Conjuring and its sequels are (mostly) an effective exercise in scare rhythm, long fright sequences and serious characters, Annabelle seems perfunctory, an afterthought ridden with horror clichés (a spooky vinyl record, a dollhouse, a demonic scarecrow, etc), and devoid of flesh-and-blood characters with which we can sympathise.