Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Annabelle’

Written by Scott Edwards 

Overall, life breaks down into one battle, good versus evil. There is nothing in between and in reality, we see evil winning more often than not. It has to do with the news coverage, since when good things happen, it does not keep the viewers intrigued. It is frightening to know that this is how the world has changed and for anyone trying to find the good out there, they have to look much harder. There are so many people that will not even try to look for the good these days, since it takes so much effort, but for those who are willing to walk the extra mile, their lives appear to be that much better.

Mia and John Gordon are expecting their first baby, but John is starting to get very concerned. Working on his residency in the local hospital, he does not know how good of a father he is going to be when having to be at work all of the time. When he voices this concern, Mia gets upset and does not believe what her husband is saying. Knowing that anything that comes out of his mouth next will be taken the wrong way, John pulls out a present that he was holding on to until the baby was born, but with how things are going, he needs to win the love back from his wife. Opening the box, Mia sees that her vintage doll collection has been completed.

But the happiness does not last long as Mia is woken up by a scream from her neighbor’s house. As John is a doctor, he walks over to investigate, but when he comes out of the house covered in blood, Mia is told to call for an ambulance. But there is someone in her house and while dialing the hospital, she is attacked by her neighbor’s daughter and boyfriend who are part of a cult. As John comes back into the house to see his wife being assaulted, he tries his hardest to fight off the intruders, but his wife gets stabbed in the belly. As the police show up and gun down the intruders, they find out that Annabelle has taken her own life while holding onto the new doll that Mia had received.

Making sure that the baby is alright after the attack, Mia is afraid to go home again, but will not voice her opinion on the matter, but knows that she wants to rid herself of the doll that cultist woman was holding when she died. Throwing the doll out is not a problem for John, but during their first night back in the house, strange things start to happen. Losing the signal for the television and having Mia’s sewing machine kick on for no reason are harmless happenings, but when John is out of the house, the events get more violent. When the stove is turned on and catches the kitchen on fire, Mia tries to escape the house, but is pulled back by an unseen force. Giving birth to their first baby, Mia will not return to the house again and needs to get far away from the entity that is trying to hurt her, but when the new family moves into their new penthouse, they find that the doll has made the voyage as well. Although the couple thinks little about the doll, the strange occurrences once more start to happen in their new home, but now there is an alternative motive behind these occurrences, one much more sinister that involves their baby.

I am a pretty big fan of The Conjuring and was over the moon when I heard this movie was coming out. Since Annabelle plays a small role in the previous movie, I wanted to see what she could bring to the table in her own story. Although she does not move on camera, it does not make it any less scary when her power is greater than any doll you will ever see. Winding up in different parts of the house and being able to scribble whatever she wants, whenever she wants, she is one doll that I still would want nothing to do with. Plus, there seems once again to be more to the story than was put on the screen. Now I want to know more about the cult that Annabelle joined and what their practices were, since when she was in the house carrying around the doll, she seemed to have a plan, and with taking her own life, she knew that there was something more to be had. With plenty of scares, a sewing machine and an awesome Hi-Fi record player, this is a movie that you may want to second guess about watching when you have any freaky dolls in the house. Stay Scared.

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