The Conjuring Universe: Ranking Every Film

The second Annabelle film is burdened by cleaning up the mess that the first film made, both narratively and formally. Thankfully, it is supported by a much stronger narrative and David F. Sanberg's keen eye behind the camera.

Technically a prequel to the first Annabelle, Creation goes even further back and retcons the entirety of how Annabelle became haunted in the first place. Gone is the strange and flimsy 'blood drop possession' from the first film, replaced by a much more thorough and compelling backstory that makes her that much more frightening.

Focusing the story on a group of orphaned young girls is an inspired choice that works really well, and Sanberg and his team even find some really inventive ways to bring Annabelle herself to life in a way the prior film didn't.

Having said all of that, the film does still suffer from its inability to ever really deliver pay-offs. The film is over-populated with great set-ups, like the toy gun sequence, but features shockingly few great pay-offs.

Most of these sequences end with a pointless jump scare that goes nowhere or an anti-climax. It's all in the interest of generating suspense, which it does at first, but the technique becomes more grating as the film goes on.