Annabelle: Creation

After the disappointing first Annabelle, director David F. Sandberg stepped in to reset the franchise. Coming off his micro-budget hit Lights Out, Sandberg brought a patient, atmospheric approach to this prequel set in 1955. The story follows dollmaker Samuel Mullins and his wife Esther, who open their remote farmhouse to a nun and several orphaned girls. What they don't tell their guests is that a sealed bedroom contains a doll inhabited by a demonic entity.

With a tight $15 million budget, the film pulled in over $306 million worldwide, proving audiences still had appetite for the Conjuring universe. Sandberg's direction emphasizes slow-burn dread and practical scares, with strong performances from young leads Talitha Bateman and Lulu Wilson. The haunting rendition of You Are My Sunshine became an instant horror touchstone, and the film's ending directly connects to the 2014 original. [edit]

In 1943, dollmaker Samuel Mullins, his wife Esther, and their seven-year-old daughter Bee live on a remote farm. Tragedy strikes when Bee is killed in a tractor accident. Grief-stricken, the Mullins attempt to contact her through a Ouija board. They unknowingly invite a demonic entity that poses as Bee's spirit. The demon demands they house it within one of Samuel's handmade porcelain dolls. Realizing their mistake, Samuel locks the doll in a bedroom wallpapered with Bible pages to contain the evil.

Twelve years later, in 1955, a nun named Sister Charlotte arrives with several orphaned girls after their orphanage closes. The group includes Janice, a sweet girl with a polio-weakened leg, and her best friend Linda. The Mullins reluctantly house them, warning that certain rooms are off-limits, especially the sealed bedroom.

Janice, plagued by nightmares and curiosity, discovers the doll. She becomes the demon's prime target. The entity torments her with sleepwalking, levitation, and a demonic voice. It manipulates Janice's desire for a family, convincing her to open the bedroom door fully. Sister Charlotte, a former skeptic who lost her faith after a personal tragedy, grows alarmed as the hauntings escalate. She discovers the Mullins' backstory and learns that Esther was attacked by the demon, losing an eye and now wearing a porcelain mask to hide her disfigurement. Samuel reveals he has been praying daily to contain the evil, but the orphans' arrival has given the demon new vessels.

The demon fully possesses Janice, using her to attack the other girls and Sister Charlotte. The nun must confront her crisis of faith to fight the evil, while Linda desperately tries to save her friend. The story builds toward a climactic confrontation where the characters must decide whether to destroy the doll or risk the demon escaping into the world.[edit]