Cinepals - ANNABELLE (2014) Reaction & Review!

Episode Date: March 25, 2024

Achara and Michael watch the second installment in the Conjuring Universe, "Annabelle". Starring Annabelle Wallis (The Mummy, Malignant, X-Men First Class), Ward Horton (The Gilded Age, The Equalizer), Alfre Woodard (Star Trek: First Contact, 12 Years a Slave, K-PAX) and Tony Amendola (The Mask of Zorro, Stargate: SG-1, Lone Star).  Watch our full length reaction on Patreon https://www.Patreon.com/JabyKoay or watch the cutdown to this reaction on our YouTube channel https://www.YouTube.com/@CinePals  SOCIAL MEDIA ~CINEPALS~ Twitter, Instagram & TikTok: @TheCinePals ~MICHAEL BOOSE~ Instagram: @BooseIsLoose ~ACHARA KIRK~ Twitter & Instagram: @AcharaKirk YouTube: @Achara

Senna. Pals. Hi guys. I don't like the evil laugh. Michael saw what was on the screen and he was like, oh no. The immediate panic ensued. We looked everywhere for one of these. Never did find one.

It's a collector's items, supposedly. That's clever. Did you see the Raggedy Ann in the back? Annabelle is actually a Raggedy Ann doll. The actual Annabelle's a Raggedy Ann. That's funny. nice little nod oh oh my god my mom had some books in her classroom and she had those like scary stories to tell in the dark books you know like yeah yeah like creepy like arl stein type

stuff yeah yeah i got jump scared by a book like that's how on edge ghost stories get me i got jump scared by a book i was reading like whatever scary story whoever did the publication did it perfectly because it was like getting towards the climax of the story and i turned the page and There's this spooky illustration on the other side. I jumped full out of my chair with a book. This is why I don't do horror movies. That's pretty good. We did it.

We did it. We made it through. Yeah. We survived. We survived. Okay. That was a good story. That was a good story.

That was a good story. From a technical standpoint, I still think there was another way to get the baby back other than her leaping out the window. Because the priest even said that a baby cannot willingly give it soul. So, like, why didn't husband explain that? I know. He was being dumb. He was being dumb. Use your words. Yeah, like, come on. Quickly, they can't take the baby's soul. But they, but the problem is they can take the baby's body. And if the baby starves, she will die. I know. So, you know,

it was pretty crucial that they get her out. I just feel like there would have been a better way or another way. But I guess in the moment, you know, they got the baby back. That's okay. Yeah. You know, like, I thought that it was. quite well done. It's like a tightly done little horror story. There were definitely some good jump scares and scary moments and stuff. And I do like that they incorporated the nice lady who was a friend. And she had like a really great backstory as well. I understand exactly why she did what she did.

Because she was a grieving mother who regretted that. The loss of her child. Yeah. And it was kind of her fault. fault, you know? And the clue happened when she was like, I didn't even get a chance to, you know, beg God to take me first. And then I was like, as soon as she said that, I was like, oh, I know where this is going. Oh, no. She's going to do something. And like also, I mean, it was really great. Just them showing us the type of person she was because she really did love Leah, right? Yeah. So she's

out there, like, getting her gifts and like being grandma and all that. And so yeah, of course, it made sense that she would ultimately sacrifice herself in the end. But, yeah, this was good. I enjoyed it. This is what my hubris got me. There was a point kind of early on in the film. I think we were still in the house in Pasadena or maybe even into the elevator,

like right before the storage room scene, where my brain, I was like, this hasn't been as bad as the first conjuring movie. Like, I'm handling this. This is all right. And that's almost immediately as soon as we got into, like, the storage room bullshit and everything. I was like, I get it.

I understand. I won't talk shit anymore. My bad, my bad, my bad. It's scary, you're scary. I get it, you're scary. Even the same as with the conjuring, right? They do really good job of just ratcheting up the tension. So in the beginning, obviously, you know going into this, this is a horror film.

So you're fully expecting to be scared. And then it's just like gradually, it's just very slowly. You know, you're like, oh, my God, your finger's going to get mangled by the thing. By the thing. Yeah. I think was like the most intense thing for like the first thing. third of the movie. Yeah. But they kept coming back to it. Like, they did a really good job of just like technically, like you said, ratcheting up the tension and the terror just about her finger

going into a sewing machine. I will admit, that's the beauty of these movies is they're really well done horror because it takes until like halfway through the movie before you actually start seeing the monster, but you're already so tense and like white knuckling everything. Yeah. When the monster comes around, it's such a huge payoff that it feels infinitely more skin. than if you had, like, the monster right at the beginning or things like that. Well, yeah, and talking about, like, the monster, right, the demon, honestly, kind of goofy looking. Yeah. But because we were just, like, so petrified just of the concept of the monster, right?

Like, the idea that there's this terrible demonic being, it's like, yeah, I'm really scared right now. And so even though it maybe doesn't look the best, it wasn't not scary. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I've definitely seen like worse horror makeup. Yeah, but it was just like, you're terrified of this thing. I really enjoy the story

because I do kind of have a morbid curiosity about these types of like possession stories and ghost stories and stuff like that. And like, I remember when I was a kid, there was this urban legend about like the China doll or something. I can't remember exactly what it was now, but it was basically about like

a China doll that was. possessed and it came alive in the middle of the night and then like killed the family that oh okay yeah yeah and then my mom got one oh good and then there was a period where she was collecting dolls and i was like okay and in the light of day i was all like yeah i'm not scared come at me little doll whatever i got you not scared not scared and then night time rolls around and like i remember being the last person downstairs and it was like on a in a glass case and I had to like turn off the light and then go upstairs but I was just like

light off run that's kind of how this movie makes me feel like right now in the light of day I'm like I'm fine that's fine that's a fun story that's cool but then also I know that come nighttime yeah going home I'm going to be like

I hope there's nothing in the next there was a point there was a very real point where I was like I know everything that is behind me right now. I've seen the backdrop so many times. But like I really wanted to like lean over and check our self monitor over there but we had it blacked out so I don't get distracted

and I'm just like feeling like there's something behind me and I'm like the funco pops are moving aren't they? I mean that's that means it works. It did its job. It did its job. Yeah. 100%. But I'm curious now because you said

so you know a little bit about the actual Annabelle so she was a rag. Yes, she's a Raggedy Ann doll. Despite not having watched The Conjuring movies and things like that, my wife is a huge horror fan, and so I get a lot of this vicariously through her. The original Annabelle, like the actual Annabelle doll that the Warrens have in their locker room, is a Raggedy Ann doll.

So the Raggedy Ann in the corner at the... Oh, at the antique shop. The antique shop is like a nod to the original actual Annabelle doll. Because she doesn't look that creepy. And so, like, they needed to make her look creepy, so that way you'd get like the heightened scare because if it was just a raggedy and doll in a case, that's not nearly as terrifying as like wide-eyed,

like burned, scarred, cut up, creepy doll, right? That's true. I mean, they did make a doll that understandably, like looking at it, I'm like, I can understand why this doll is so rare because they probably made one and then we're like, this doll's ugly as hell. Yeah, right?

It's scary looking, we're not making anymore. Limited run. Like three people in America. America are going to buy this thing, the rest are going to go to a landfill. No, I agree. Yeah. But I believe it was a rarity because Raggedy Ann's sold like hotcakes. Oh, yeah.

Everybody wanted Raggedy Ann. So it's reasonable if she's a Raggedy Ann doll that everybody's like, oh, man, I've been looking everywhere for this. Yeah. And he's willing to pick it up and ignore a few, like, questionable stains on it and maybe some fire scorching and or occult symbols on the thing. Yeah. I wonder, I wonder if it would have.

worked as well if they had decided to just make it a raggedy and all. That's a good question. Although a part of me now, the Thai part of my brain goes, oh, but if they had done that, then maybe like the real Annabelle would have like jumped into the doll and then they would have had like some real problems while they were filming. Yeah, you know what? That's fair. That's fair.

Because like in Thailand, when we do ghost movies, because we are very good at doing ghost stories in Thailand. I don't doubt it. Because we genuinely believe in them. Every time, there's one specific ghost story in particular. It's about Manak Prakhanong. And she was a woman who was a real person. She was alive several, I don't know how many hundred years ago during a war.

Gotcha. Her husband went to war and she was pregnant while he was away, died during childbirth. But because she really wanted to be close to him, her spirit lingered along with the baby. And then she terrorized the people. in the village saying like if you tell him that I'm dead

I'll make I'll mess you up okay I got you up and so he comes home and is like oh my God I have a family my beautiful wife you look a little paler than usual yeah yeah yeah and so vitamin D it was

this is apparently a true story and I mean I won't tell you the whole thing anyway to save my soul no they remake this story all the time like in TV shows, movies, but every single time they do it, they have to be like ceremonies and prayers offered to her because her soul has been put inside a tree.

You can go visit it. But apparently every single time they do the movie, like weird stuff happens on the set. Well, that's, what's it? The Exorcist had to have the set blessed by a priest. Really? Like the OG Exorcist? Yeah.

Yeah. Another horror movie, like, fun fact thing. The OG Exorcist had so many weird mishaps and, like, accidents that resulted. in bodily harm and things like that while they were filming that they actually like the crew walked off set if i remember correctly whoa walked off set and would not return until they had the set blessed by an actual priest and like things exercised and things like that yeah yeah those are fun facts that i enjoy yeah there you go there you go don't go bringing that shit we might need to like

stage before we leave yeah i might need to like bless the studio yeah do some saging i have some in my room anyway you guys let us know your thoughts in the comments below how did you like this movie how is it in relation to the other conjuring universe movies

and um yeah what scared you most the actual scares or our scary reactions yeah right our jump scares babo boogga boogga boogie thank you so much guys for joining us. We will catch you next time. I'm a Chara Cook. This is Michael Boost. Ciao.