Predictably terrifying.

In a world of chaos and turmoil, it’s comforting to know that one universal truth continues to endure – all dolls are pure, unadulterated evil. It’s something that anyone who’s grandparents owned a terrifying china doll, that was seemingly purchased with the express desire to haunt your nightmares, will know all too well. They are, of course, inanimate objects; yet, behind those glassy, emotionless eyes lies the potential for unspeakable evil. It’s called pediophobia folks…and the fear is real. And it’s for this precise reason that dolls have been such potent horror fuel for decades.

From Child’s Play to Dead Silence via Saw, Poltergeist, and too many low-rent efforts to list; horror has consistently found ways to turn this deceptively innocent childhood toy into one of the genre’s most effective scaring tools. It’s a device that horror filmmakers have returned to repeatedly and one that Annabelle: Creation exploits to its full potential. But, while you will have seen it all done a million times before, rarely will you have witnessed it executed so efficiently.

Years after the tragic death of their only child; dollmaker, Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia), and his reclusive wife, Esther (Miranda Otto), open their home to Sister Charlotte (Stephanie Sigman) and a group of young girls from a local, shuttered orphanage. With little option but to make the Mullins’s house their home, the girls begin to settle into their new surroundings, but it’s not long before they become the target of the family’s possessed doll, Annabelle. Determined to get what it’s waited patiently for, the demonic spirit within Annabelle sets its malevolent sights on the girls; determined to turn their new home into a world of terror.

There are few directors with their finger so firmly on the pulse of modern horror like James Wan. After singlehandedly rewriting the horror rulebook with Saw, the writer/director/producer has continually delved into the audience’s most entrenched fears to wring out consistently proficient and expertly crafted scares. Whether on directing or producing duties, Wan has surpassed all expectation to mould a cinematic world of terror few of his horror contemporaries can touch.

For many, Saw will go down as Wan’s defining moment, and rightly so; however, it was with 2013’s The Conjuring that the cogs of his success as an all-encompassing horror force really began to turn. Rapidly becoming one of the highest grossing horror films of all time, The Conjuring not only delivered big box office returns, its success birthed an entire cinematic universe rarely seen this side of Marvel. Despite continued box office success, things haven’t all been plain sailing for the franchise as initial spinoff, Annabelle, failed to live up to expectations, but things seem back on track for Wan with the release of its sequel.

In its mission to squeeze every-last drop of terror from you, Annabelle: Creation leaves no stone unturned. Like all good horrors, the film isn’t willing to let you sit by and enjoy the ride; it wants to shred your nerves and drag you through a visceral, immersive movie-going experience, whether you like it or not. As a protégé of Wan, director David F. Sandberg utilises every trick in his mentor’s book to extract his scares; as wave after wave of well-worn, but incredibly effective, horror traits are deployed with scant regard for the audience’s nerves. Creepy dolls, crackly gramophones, children reciting prayers, religious imagery, masks, knife-wielding young girls; if there’s a piece of horror iconography that Annabelle: Creation hasn’t utilised, it’s probably not worth the fuss.

Annabelle: Creation may not be all that deep but, then again, it really doesn’t have to be. In a year that has produced whip-smart horror efforts like Raw and Get Out, Annabelle: Creation may appear all surface level, yet this lack of substance doesn’t lessen the film’s impact at all. Making it his mission to distil horror down to it base elements, James Wan has cornered the market in tightly-wound horror and, like much of his work, Annabelle: Creation manages to offset its lack of depth with some pin-point scare deployment.

With a knack for well-timed misdirection, David F. Sandberg does a superb job in relentless tension building that refuses to let up. Like a particularly terrifying jack-in-the-box, Annabelle: Creation’s build-up is a deliberate, slow-burning tease that springs into life at just the right moment to ensure the full force of the scares are felt, regardless of how signposted they are. This is a film that knows its purpose explicitly and works efficiently to execute its mission with minimum fuss and maximum impact.

When a horror is built around one titular character, the urge to go all-in as soon as possible would normally be too much for many filmmakers to fight, but Sandberg is clearly from the Jaws school of thought and in no rush to pull the trigger; wisely holding back on deploying Annabelle until the moment is just right. And boy, when all the teasing and misdirection are over with, and the doll is finally deployed, all bets are off.

The design of Annabelle itself has been tweaked to within an inch of its life to create optimal terror with even the slightest of movements, with a mere turn of the doll’s head or a shifting of location within a dark room enough to play havoc with your nerves. It’s a fantastically efficient form of horror that, while far from original in its design, is more than effective in its execution.

After such a superbly constructed, taut build up; it’s almost inevitable that Annabelle: Creation would struggle to sustain the tension for long, so there’s little surprise when the film’s stamina begins to flag after its initial promise. Modern horror’s penchant for jump-scares can get real old, real fast and, as Annabelle: Creation becomes increasingly reliant on them as a crutch to get by, the film’s impact starts to dull. While this problem can be eschewed with inventive writing, when your film has all the depth of a paddling pool, there’s no place to hide.

Unfortunately, Annabelle: Creation’s writing just isn’t strong enough to supplement its cheaply-utilised scares and, as we enter the inevitable jump-fest final act, it all becomes far too metronomic for its own good. Originality isn’t the be-all-and-end-all for any horror film (or any film, for that matter) but, by leaning so heavily on overly-familiar tropes, a creeping sense of familiarity begins to creep into Annabelle: Creation that ultimately holds the film back from fulfilling its early potential.

With a little more ambition and a willingness to push the boat out, Annabelle: Creation could’ve done something truly special with its premise but, as thrilling as it can be, the spectre of disappointment looms ominously over the film. However, while Annabelle: Creation can’t hold a candle to the sparky political charge of something like Get Out, it works perfectly well on its own the level.

Although it certainly won’t be winning any prizes for originality any time soon, Annabelle: Creation gets by with a solid cast (led by the always dependable Anthony LaPaglia), well-paced writing, and efficient directing; to create something that works far better than it has any rights to. It may be far too predictable for its own good but, in true James Wan style, the horror at times is so well orchestrated that it hardly matters.

After the wobble of Annabelle, James Wan’s proposed The Conjuring universe looks back on track and on safe ground with this sequel. While its lack of originality is disappointing, the film atones for its predictability with a pure, uncut horror that tips it above the genre’s also-rans. By digging into the audience’s most primal fears, Annabelle: Creation wrings every last-drop of terror from its set up, leaving no stone unturned in its mission to leave your nerves in tatters. David F. Sandberg may be new to the directing game but, as evidenced in his debut, Lights Out; the man clearly knows how to press the audience’s horror buttons, and in the malevolent shape of Annabelle, he has the ideal tool to do so. Dolls are truly the stuff of nightmares and Sandberg uses every trick in the book to supplement this inherent fear and ensure that no one watching can sit safe. Like a well-designed rollercoaster, Annabelle: Creation’s route is clear for all to see but, regardless of how prepared you think you are for its twists and turns, there’s no escaping the inevitable terror that lies in wait.