#Review- Anabelle: Creation is a Jump-Scare fest on a Skeleton plot!

Annabelle did not live up to the popularity that The Conjuring garnered but Annabelle: Creation does! The movie from the very beginning sets up its characters right. Janice, the cripple and her attempts to escape the evil spirit is sure to have your heart racing, the film has the archetypal horror motif of the doll to rely on and the spirit of a child to back up the thumping noises of running around through the wooden board floors of the house. A particularly scary scene is the one where Linda is hiding under the stairs and is shown what Janice is haunted by.

There are flashes of ghosts in mirrors, the appearance of the doll at all the right times and the demonic possessions taking over even in broad daylight. We liked the parts where the nun of the small convent is holding out a cross and attempting to rid Janice's body of possession rather than the priest in a white collar that we're all used to seeing. The movie has a lot of jump scares, every turn has or contains the potential to hold an "i gotcha" moment. The setting being a remote location and the home being as big as it is, allows the haunting to be effective with plenty room to run and hide (and of course, to be cornered).

Our favourite part has got to be the near ending where everything just adds up and the audience has the "so this is where it all began" air about them. In all, the film is well-rounded, has the scares and thrills to keep the genre's lovers pleased and it gives the series a little something to brag about.

While the plot has buckets of potential, the film justifies everything apart from the backdrop in which the jump scares are placed. The events though slowly unveil the magnitude of the danger the characters are in, are staged (in some parts) a little too deliberately. There's a whole sequence where Carol, one oft he older girls walks into a shed although she has little motivation to do so by herself as the rest of the girls helplessly wait outside the locked door.

The movie is a constant chase as the danger looms large enough to strike terror and have even hardened horror fans gasp a little. Even though the story of demonic possessions, an evil doll and the home full of room for haunting isn't new, the director manages to bring suspense, shadows and effective camera work to the fore-front. Annabelle: Creation will have you leaning in and searching, and that's exactly where it gets you.

The moments that don't fit into the plot seamlessly are easy to overlook due to the stellar performances, a barrage of scares and camera work that gets you hooked. We like how the events are connected and the ending comes as a pleasant justification to knowing glances among the viewers. More than anything it comes as a redemption to The Conjuring universe, it improves on the franchise and is a must-watch for those who want to see a better movie than the last one.