Watched this on HBO On Demand a few nights ago...pretty effective thriller even though it's extremely familiar. basically a cross between "the exorcist", "the amityville horror" and "poltergeist". and if it weren't for the earnest performances by lilly taylor, ron livingston, vera farmiga, and patrick wilson, the cliches probably would've made this a borefest. instead, i found it interesting, especially since it's allegedly a true story (at least the characters really did exist).

james wan is a disappointing filmmaker. he is very technically sound and gifted in creating a creepy atmosphere. some of the false scares weren't just cats jumping out of nowhere...but he insists on the same-old "creepy old house", "creepy old doll", "creepy old witch lady" and i think it's a mistake to *see* so much--ghost stories are so much more effective when you can't see what it is...seeing it takes away from the mystery.

but overall i enjoyed it. i heard "anabelle" (the prequel) isn't as good and it's not made by the same people...that one may just fall apart due to the cliches.

anabelle is a real doll (not to be confused with RealDoll). it's not a porcelain doll though, it's just a ragdoll. i actually think it's creepier that it isn't scary at all...check it out:



that's the thing with james wan. he has to make it sooo scaaaarryy...but doesn't seem to understand that the mundane ordinary world can be way scarier than the "creepy world" in which he revels in.

out of

looks like a hillbilly dropping a deuce in an outhouse

I thought the movie was decent. Anabelle lost my interest and I didn't finish it.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I watched this movie on cable just so I could decide once and for all if Vera Farmiga is hot or not. Sadly, I still haven't drawn any final conclusions.

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i wouldn't taunt annabelle if i were you...bad things have happened to those that do.

TM, it's a lost cause. she has two face syndrome.

I really liked this movie. Thought it was one of the best horror movies I've ever seen and one of the best films of the year it came out (2013?).


Different stories as to how much is true, but can't deny that the backstory was great lore.

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i've read that the warrens embellished and sometimes outright lied about some of their experiences. yep it was 2013, and i agree it's one of the stronger 21st century horror flicks, mainly because i liked the performances so much.

This movie was decent, but ultimately overrated. The scariest scene was given away in the previews. (The hide and go seek clapping thing).

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She hasn't aged well.

You cannot watch Up In The Air and not conclude that Vera Farmiga is hotter than the supposedly hot and decades younger Anna Kendrick

She is hot in the same way Joan Allen is hot

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

The initial doll story was pretty fucking creepy. After that, the rest was just OK...

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"I'm not smiling because I thought what you said was humorous. I'm smiling because one day I know you'll be dead..."

She's kind of like the two-face from Seinfeld.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

i'm still tempted to try "annabelle" (the prequel) but from what i've read, i'm bound to be disappointed. i will say one legit creepy moment in the film was when the old woman was holding the doll in the occult room. that image has stuck with me.