The film industry is notorious for overworking genres so remorselessly that the public forgets what made them special in the first place. This happened long ago with westerns, films about the mafia or insect-like extraterrestrials, and in recent years Hollywood has milked dry the zombie/vampire idiom as well. Now the same thing has happened with films about evil dolls.
Movies with demonically possessed dolls have been around for generations, but in the last couple of years they have become so ubiquitous that when you see any movie with a doll in it, you’re surprised if it doesn’t turn out to be the spawn of Satan. The new Child’s Play reboot – with Chucky as a dysfunctional Alexa – is the eighth in a largely forgettable series that began in 1988, but we have also witnessed such dreary knockoffs as The Doll, The Doll 2, Sabrina (The Doll 3), Charlotte, Dolly Dearest, The Boy, Mandy the Haunted Doll, The Creepy Doll, The Curse of Robert, Anna, Anne, Heidi, Curse of the Witch’s Doll and a host of others. The well is dry.
When pop-cultural overkill of this sort occurs, the only remedy is the release of a movie that reminds us what initially made the genre so appealing. That’s why those of us who love high-quality evil toy films are thrilled to see Annabelle Comes Home arrive in theatres. Among devil doll movies, the three Annabelle films are the leaders of the field. First making her appearance in The Conjuring, with a small but nonetheless bravura performance, the vengeful handcrafted collectible Annabelle repeatedly rises to the occasion and shows all the other dolls how a first-class devil doll goes about her business.
Unlike the latest incarnation of Chucky, who looks like a dyspeptic gnome, and unlike the surprisingly cheesy dolls that inhabit films made in Indonesia, Annabelle is a classy-looking doll that most children would be more than happy to invite into their homes. It helps that she has great hair. Blessed with a regal carriage rarely found among demonically possessed toys, she is as close to royalty as a devil doll can get. No two ways about it: Annabelle has star quality.
It’s worth remembering that the Annabelle movies make tons of money. The Chucky franchise never had anything approaching this kind of success; the last two (Cult of Chucky, Curse of Chucky) were limited-release items that more or less went direct to streaming. Most devil doll movies are low-budget offal that do nothing much at the box office.
You can argue that Annabelle is a very positive role model. Self-taught, with no obvious financial advantages, she’s focused, hard-working and fiercely ambitious. When things go wrong, she doesn’t whine and she doesn’t mope. She never complains and she never explains.
Moreover, like any good manager, she’s willing to delegate authority to underlings. Unlike Chucky, a solipsistic show-off, Annabelle knows she can’t do everything herself. She routinely calls in the assistance of ghosts, demons, wraiths, succubi and, in the latest film, werewolves. The closest Chucky ever gets to this is when he joins forces with Bride of Chucky. But Mrs Chucky is basically just a clone of Chucky himself. She doesn’t bring anything extra to the table.
Setting aside her homicidal predilections and viewing her work objectively, one can state without fear of being contradicted that Annabelle truly has a terrific work ethic. She puts her nose to the grindstone, the pedal to the metal. Consider her male competition. In The Boy, the evil doll mostly does nothing. He just lies on the bed or the couch and waits for the forces of evil to do all the heavy lifting. Annabelle doesn’t just sit around waiting for the cavalry to arrive from the bowels of hell. She rolls up her sleeves and gets to work. Whatever other criticisms you can make of her, Annabelle is a gamer.
Another reason for the success of the Annabelle movies is that they are rooted in the real-world exploits of demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, while other doll movies exist only in the world of fantasy. By and large, devil doll movies are slasher films brimming with gruesome violence that eventually becomes tiresome. We never really believe anything that takes place in The Doll or The Boy; ghosts do not have the physical wherewithal to repeatedly stab homeowners in the eye. By contrast, while the Annabelle movies are filled with the spectre of violence, the body count in the films is not actually all that high. Many of the events depicted in the Annabelle and Conjuring films did happen in the real world, the Warrens claimed. This makes them infinitely more terrifying.
All that said, what really makes the Annabelle movies stand out is Annabelle herself. She is the only demon doll that seems to have a game plan: a coherent, well-thought-out strategy to turn the world upside down. Unlike Chucky, Annabelle takes her work seriously. She doesn’t crack jokes. She is implacably non-ironic. She keeps her eyes on the prize and sticks to her knitting. She is a consummate professional.
To her credit, unlike Chucky and all the other satanically possessed dolls, Annabelle does not hog the spotlight. She knows that in the world of supernatural mayhem, a little can go a long way. Like the now-you-see-me, now-you-don’t great white shark in Jaws, she puts in an appearance here and there, then goes back into the closet or the basement or the trash can. The less you see her, the scarier she gets.
If it is true that a man has to know his limitations, the same is true of dolls. Annabelle can move from room to room, seemingly effortlessly. She can, when so she pleases, call upon all the powers of hell to assist her. But she can’t drive trucks. She can’t operate heavy machinery. She can’t activate rototiller devices and have them shred a victim’s face. No matter how monstrous her depredations, Annabelle always remains somewhat realistic. She is a devil doll, yes, but she is not the devil himself. She is powerful, but not omnipotent. She is a conduit, an intermediary, but not the Bringer of Darkness in the flesh. And she knows it.
I am not suggesting that young girls should emulate Annabelle in all particulars. What I am suggesting is that, as with Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun or Madonna, there is a lot that young girls can learn from her organising philosophy. Do not let men judge you by your looks. Reject the patriarchal hierarchy. Smash the glass ceiling. And do not take no for an answer. Remember, in the words of Samuel Beckett, that it’s OK to fail. But next time out of the box, fail better. Put another way: If at first you don’t succeed (Annabelle), try (Annabelle: Creation) and try again (Annabelle Comes Home).
