Annabelle Trailer Suggests the Evil Doll Can Carry Her Own Film

Collider

ANNABELLE Trailer Suggests the Doll Will Continue to Be Your Worst Nightmare

By Perri Nemiroff

Published Aug 21, 2014

The brand new Annabelle trailer further suggests that the unforgettable evil doll from The Conjuring is worthy of her very own feature film.

That first teaser trailer for The Conjuring spinoff, Annabelle, made for a strong start, but the film’s first full trailer just dropped and it proves that Annabelle isn’t just a creepy doll shtick, but rather that it has the potential to blow the doors wide open to another deeply terrifying supernatural haunting.

The Conjuring kicked off with a sequence during which Annabelle terrorized two nursing students, but by the looks of one particular shot in this trailer, her upcoming solo movie could go back to where it all started. Hit the jump to check out the new Annabelle trailer for yourself. The film stars Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Ward Horton, Tony Amendola, Eric Ladin and Brian Howe, and hits theaters on October 3rd.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/paFgQNPGlsg

Spinoffs can be tough. Annabelle was a powerful and very memorable element of The Conjuring, but could a villainous doll really carry a full feature? That first teaser trailer was fun and all, but it’s this full one that proves that Annabelle’s got so much more to offer. There’s always a chance Annabelle was pure evil before, but could that drop of blood that drips into the doll’s eye be what started it all? It’s certainly a neat origin concept that would give the rest of the narrative a strong, believable foundation to run with.

It’s also worth highlighting the tone and style of the piece. James Wan absolutely nailed it in The Conjuring and it looks as though John R. Leonetti infused Annabelle with similar qualities. There’s really nothing more unsettling than creepy imagery set to the tune of a song that you’d never associate with a horror movie, like The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes For You.” Leonetti’s camerawork is also spot on. Go back to the point at which “I Only Have Eyes For You” first kicks in. That camera doesn’t even move, but he still manages to pull off quite the scare just by putting the different layers of the frame to use.

But the big winner here is that sewing machine. The second the trailer moves in for that close-up, you just know what’s coming and it’s incredibly cringeworthy. Sure enough, the tension soars and I’d like to bet you turned away from the computer, even for just a split second, to avoid what’s coming.

The Conjuring hit it big last summer with that $41.9 million debut. Could Annabelle wind up being the big winner of the Halloween season this year? Based on this trailer and what we’ve seen of the competition so far, I’m betting on it.