Two-and-a-half minutes later people who thought they had the courage for Annabelle may change their minds. This trailer is so high-end and loaded with terror that even the bravest may want to stay away. “Something’s happening and I can’t explain it,” says Mia Form–the (in this case freakishly named) actress Annabelle Wallis. Even in this short burst, without the aid of suspense the film will use, the Annabelle action absolutely grips and tortures the pounding heart. And you can’t write it off as schlock either because it’s so beautiful looking. And the fiery devilish horror tropes–it’s about an evil doll, after all–are given shocking gravitas by the sudden appearance of Oscar-nominee Alfre Woodard’s imperious, pained, beautiful face. She knows the occult, Woodard does.
A movie where the night a satanic cult invades a couple’s home and violently attacks them–where that night isn’t the worst thing that happens but only the beginning? That’s Annabelle, which is a spin-off, sorta prequel to The Conjuring, James Wan’s sick, wicked and popular 2013 thriller. Annabelle starts spooking theaters in October.
