Annabelle (R)
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This came out in 2014, but I didn't see it until 2025. It's the second film in the "Conjuring" franchise, and a prequel to the first movie, but more of a spin-off that started its own sub-series of films. It did really well financially and rather poorly critically. I thought it was okay. Just okay. There are some things in the movie that I guess are reasonably scary, but overall the movie wasn't nearly as scary as it should have been.
It begins with a bit of stuff from the start of "The Conjuring", then goes back like a year earlier. In Santa Monica, there's a pregnant woman named Mia Form, whose husband, John, gifts her a porcelain doll for her collection. Later, there is a disturbance next door, as their neighbors are killed by their estranged daughter, Annabelle Higgins, and her boyfriend, who are members of a cult. The two of them then attack Mia and John, but are killed by police. But paranormal things start happening in their house. Before long, Mia gives birth to a girl named Leah, and the three of them move to Pasadena for John's new job. But the paranormal stuff only intensifies. Mia befriends a bookseller named Evelyn (Alfre Woodard), who eventually helps her research demonic stuff, in the hopes of finding a way to end their troubles. Mia and John also seek help from their parish priest, Father Perez.
Well, I don't want to give away any more details. But I will say the doll (which as far as I could tell was never referred to as Annabelle in this movie) doesn't do much of anything, itself. It's supposed to be a conduit for a demon summoned by Annabelle Higgins, I guess. We see glimpses of the demon, as well as what appears to be Annabelle's ghost. The movie has a tragic ending, but at least the Forms finally managed to rid themselves of the demon, and the doll.