Grade: B-

Perfectly fine while never being exceptional. And I hope everyone has brushed up on the first film, because this thing pulls a SAW and weaves into its predecessor.

Seriously? I was going to see it with a friend who hasn't seen a Conjuring movie or Annabelle and I thought it would be fine since it's a prequel. Plus I certainly don't remember much of the first and don't want to revisit it.

It only does it at the end, but it definitely threw me for a loop as I haven't seen the first film since 2014 (and CREATION expects you to recognize what's going on).

They should have cut the epilogue. Or at least just end with Annabelle being adopted, and people who care to could notice it is the same actors from the prior film. Continuing into the Manson Family/Sharon Tate-style scene (though the first Annabelle picture's best set piece) is a beat too far.

But I highly, highly enjoyed this in general. It is my favorite Conjuring-universe entry so far, just eclipsing The Conjuring 2. The sense of isolation + the sense of affection and camaraderie among the orphans + a lot of eerie moments and those dynamic, hair-raising David F. Sandberg shots where the viewer has to peer into the shadows for a hint of movement = a very satisfying late-summer horror film.

B+

I also dug the brief Nun reference. Creepy. I hope the movie turns out fun.

It is amusing how Sister Charlotte decides to stay in the house after Anthony LaPaglia is found hideously contorted and dead. Just has the body driven to the funeral home. No big deal. Go to sleep, girls!

That was cool! I actually wondered if they were going to reveal the "Nun"/demon was the same one that uses Annabelle to screw with people.

This was so much more Lights Out than a Conjuring universe movie for me but still turns out great. I really loved the ending and the connection to first movie here, plus a big fan of how jump scares were played here. Agreed with David and TDS on the Nun reference, would be great to see a spin-off version on that as well.

Some things were rushed indeed, like the final while where the doll is sealed in the room at the end, she was able to open the door earlier and nothing specific was done after that to it and yes the scene after the death of the owner is also not handled well.

7/10

I actually enjoyed this quite a bit.

It's very well-made but kind of slow and a typical supernatural horror movie. I did like it though. It's way better than the first and there are a couple of creepy parts. I definitely liked the setting. Made me think of Jeepers Creepers 2 in that regard. Performances from the two main girls were really good.

Due to the slow pace I don't really think it will have much replay value but it's solid for one viewing.

7/10 ( B )

Annabelle: Creation begins with a great set-up and setting and then proceeds to fritters it all away on a stupid story that desparately careens whichever way it can to scrape out some dull-witted scares. What a waste. *D*

I really enjoyed this! It's leagues better than The Conjuring 2 and the first Annabelle movie and comes closest to replicating the atmosphere and thrills of the original Conjuring than any of the subsequent releases so far. David Sandberg did an excellent job with the direction here, there was an undeniable sense of dread present throughout and I liked the way he played with darkness and such. There were quite a few unsettling and scary scenes and the finale was nuts. I also thought the performances from the two little girls were very good. B+

Despite the high praise and some tense scenes, I thought this was more on the level of the first Annabelle rather than the excellent Conjuring 2 and Lights Out. Besides the usual not wanting to see children in peril, I had no reason to care about any of these characters. The polio story could have been used alot more effectively for example , but instead is just used for a few setups to scare scenes. The demon using the stair car against was very effective, but there's too little of this and too much of dumb people walking towards scary noises.

Damn I don't know if it was solely because I didn't have much in terms of high expectations for this, but surprisingly I really enjoyed it. A huge improvement over the first Annabelle IMO, and easily my favorite movie in the Conjuring franchise so far. This is the kind of well directed, strongly acted, tense/suspenseful supernatural horror film that I go for. Major props to David F. Sandberg, because even though I wasn't that impressed with Lights Out I can definitely tell the guy has talent, and if he keeps this up I can see him being the next James Wan in a couple of years.