Annabelle
Warner Bros. | Release Date: October 3, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
12
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
TheWrapInkoo KangOct 2, 2014
The late-60's Satanic panic and housewifely ennui make for a surprisingly complementary mix of fear and paranoia in Annabelle. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithOct 2, 2014
Annabelle is mostly a grab into the Great Big Bag O’ Horror Clichés: sound-bombs of shrieking violins explode randomly, doors slam unbidden, rocking chairs creak by themselves, machines suddenly whir to life. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 2, 2014
Each time a character gets tossed in the air by some manifestation or another, the effect is cheesy. Still, I've seen worse. For the record, the violence in Annabelle is far less copious and sadistic than the stuff in the Denzel Washington movie everybody's going to. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 2, 2014
Annabelle works enough devil figurine juju to make for a modestly hair-raising prequel to the more satisfying scares of its predecessor, "The Conjuring." Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 1, 2014
As a blunt object, a machine built to put nerves on edge and fingers over eyes, Annabelle is still crudely (and cruelly) effective. Fear comes cheap. Read full review
50
VarietyScott FoundasOct 2, 2014
When it comes to Annabelle’s five or six big stinger moments, Leonetti manages to deliver the jolts, and if audiences are sure to head home complaining about how dumb and predictable it all was, many may also find themselves nursing their significant others’ lightly bruised forearms. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergOct 2, 2014
Annabelle is less cluttered with creepy bric-a-brac than “The Conjuring.” (The original director, James Wan, produced here.) But Mr. Leonetti embraces the potential of negative space. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughOct 2, 2014
Though it features a plucky female protagonist, Annabelle still possesses the same medieval attitude toward women as “The Conjuring,” reducing the gender to the extremes of self-sacrificing mother and malevolent toy. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 2, 2014
The scares don't stay with you. They're the horror-movie equivalent of junk food. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubOct 2, 2014
The script highlights an annoying lack of self-preservation on behalf of the protagonists. But the movie tries to be more than just a creepy doll freakout, and delivers the requisite scares. Read full review
50
The DissolveKeith PhippsOct 2, 2014
There’s real craftsmanship to the film, but it’s in service of a story that can’t quite support it. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreOct 1, 2014
There’s nothing surprising about this late ’60s tale, including its connection to the modern ghost stories told in “The Amityville Horror” and “The Conjuring.” But what it lacks in originality it makes up with in hair-raising execution. You will scream like a teenage girl. Read full review
42
HitfixDrew McWeenyOct 3, 2014
Leonetti doesn't seem to have any particular knack for the staging of suspense or fear. Read full review
40
EmpireKim NewmanOct 6, 2014
A couple of good jumps but this Conjuring spin-off is led down by poor writing, anodyne leads and and overwhelming sense of familiarity Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 3, 2014
Centrally, the title character remains an impressive piece of propwork, and Leonetti's restraint in never animating it (à la Chucky) is the only thing worth appreciating here. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniOct 3, 2014
Sadly, Annabelle, a cheap, sleazy, low-budget prequel meant to explain the origins of that particular doll, is as undistinguished, uninteresting, and unscary as the worst of the Chucky films. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 2, 2014
Annabelle invites unflattering comparisons with scary movies that came before, but its disparate parts never coalesce into a genuinely fearsome thriller. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineChristopher GrayOct 2, 2014
It's all a far cry from James Wan's The Conjuring, which embraced the thrill of the paranormal even as it respected its frazzled, earthbound characters. Read full review
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 2, 2014
Annabelle is so lazily coat-tailing on Roman Polanski, they should have called it “Rosemary’s Barbie.” Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 8, 2014
While it’s possible that Annabelle might give a few audience members goosebumps, anyone who’s ever seen "Rosemary’s Baby" –or pretty much any film James Wan’s had a hand in since helming 2007’s "Dead Silence", the "Saw" franchise excepted – will figure out what’s going on within the first 30 minutes. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckOct 2, 2014
Gary Dauberman’s haphazard screenplay merely piles on the cheap scares, with director Leonetti cranking the volume up to 11 to accentuate the frequent jolts. It all adds up to a compendium of horror movie clichés. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoOct 3, 2014
It offers surface level scares without the undercurrent of humanity needed to make them register. Read full review
25
The PlaylistDrew TaylorOct 2, 2014
If "subtle" horror movies are going to be this devastatingly boring, maybe it's time to bring back the buckets of blood. Read full review
25
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 2, 2014
Despite its deficiencies, Annabelle is not without a modicum of verve. It has its unnerving moments, but they’re outweighed by the sheer stupidity and predictability of the story. Read full review
20
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 3, 2014
Familiarity is not always a bad thing, though. "The Conjuring" breathed new life into old clichés; it showed that those creaking doors and possessed closets and white-robed figures still had the power to scare us. But that was a movie made with sensitivity and purpose. The blunt, lifeless Annabelle, on the other hand, sucks that life right back out. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsGraham FullerOct 2, 2014
Wallis is commendably restrained and Alfre Woodard adds class as Mia’s wise ally. But Annabelle is a vortex of visual clichés beyond rescue. Read full review
0
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonOct 2, 2014
For a superior experience, go buy a disturbing-looking doll that says ''Don't go see Annabelle'' when you pull its string. Read full review
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