'Annabelle' - A Recycled Jamboree Of Scare Flicks

FILM: "Annabelle"; Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, and Alfre Woodard; Director: John R. Leonetti; Rating: **

Director John R. Leonetti's "Annabelle" comes with the baggage of its predecessor "The Conjuring". It is the back-story of "that doll" which haunted its audiences.

Here we learn how the doll was christened "Annabelle" and initiated into the horror series.

At the very onset of the film, a static plate states, "Since the beginning of civilization dolls were used as conduit for occult, good and bad" and the film rolls on with a scene from "The Conjuring" where two nurses give an insight to how terrified they were when they came in contact with the doll and then abruptly flashes back to begin its tale.

Set in Santa Monica in California, the narration takes us straight into the lives of a young couple -- Jon and Mia Form (Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis). They are expecting a baby. The doll is Jon's gift for his wife.

What follows is a series of untoward events beginning with the murder of their neighbours, the Haggens, by their wayward daughter Annabelle. The incident spooks them out of their house and they shift residence to Pasadena in California. The doll follows them and so do their miseries, which include paranormal activities and hallucinations.

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