AS far as cult horror flicks go, the ’70s have been known to produce some of the biggest and most iconic films for the genre.
Personally, 1973’s The Exorcist is the best horror movie to have materialised from Hollywood and the William Friedkin directed movie has attracted its own following over the years.
Traditionally, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, aliens or even human psychopaths have been the key antagonists in a variety of horror flicks.
Recently, the allure of the genre has somewhat faded from its previous grandeur.
Hence, when director James Wan released The Conjuring, a movie said to have been based on true events, in 2013, horror movie fans like yours truly were intrigued by what this meant for the genre.
Wan, of course, is responsible for bringing to life one of my absolute favourites, Insidious.
Disappointingly, The Conjuring was no The Exorcist, but there was something to be said for the movie which spurred a second instalment.
This month a spinoff was released for The Conjuring universe featuring Annabelle, a doll which gained prominence in the first movie.
Annabelle: Creation seeks to shed light on the origins of the doll, which lie with a dollmaker Sam Mullins and his wife Esther, who lose their daughter Annabelle in a car accident at a young age.
The movie follows the story of the Mullins and their attempt to move on from their daughter’s death and opening their home to a nun and six orphaned girls, all of whom start to face horrors unimaginable in their new home.
Things begin to go south when one of the girls enters Annabelle’s old bedroom and unlocks a doll which seems to be alive.
With a relatively simple storyline, it doesn’t take long for Annabelle: Creation to become painfully predictable, dragging the horror movie on for at least two hours.
Having said that, it is not rocket science as to why this instalment raked in over $30 million during its opening weekend, according to Forbes.
There are moments of horror, moments which didn’t make sense to me and “aha!” moments as certain storylines in the other films start to make sense.
Despite its flaws, the movie is certainly better than 2014’s Annabelle, which by the way was another movie.