Alfre Woodard, Ward Horton, and Annabelle Wallis are the main actors. In January 2014, principal photography got underway in Los Angeles. On September 29, 2014, it made its theatrical debut at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema released it nationwide on October 3, 2014.
The movie was influenced by Ed and Lorraine Warren's tale of a doll they called Annabelle. It is a prequel and spin-off to the 2013 movie The Conjuring, which was revealed soon after its premiere due to the latter's success at the box office globally and favourable reviews of its portrayal of the doll. In Monroe, Connecticut, the Warrens' Occult Museum is home to the original Annabelle doll. Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators, claim that once the doll was handed to a nursing student in 1970, it immediately started acting strangely. The doll began moving around the flat on its own and leaving cryptic messages, which were observed by the student Donna and her flatmate Angie.
They went to a psychic for assistance, who told them that the doll was haunted by the ghost of a little girl named Annabelle Higgins who had passed away on the land.
After being contacted to do an investigation, the Warrens discovered that the doll was in fact a conduit for a malicious force. They acquired the doll and put it in their museum, where it is still shown today. The actual events surrounding Annabelle have spurred a lot of conversations and arguments on the existence of the paranormal and where the lines between fact and fiction should be drawn.
A unique old porcelain doll is given to John Form, a medical student in Santa Monica, California, as a gift for his pregnant wife Mia's first child. The doll will be kept as a collection in their daughter's nursery. The sounds of the Higgins, the couple's next-door neighbours, being killed during a home invasion wakes the pair that night. The assassins of Higgins attack Mia and John while she is phoning the police. When the police come, they shoot one of the killers—a man—and the other—a female—kills herself inside the nursery by slicing her throat while clutching the doll. According to news accounts, the attackers are Annabelle, the estranged daughter of the Higgins, and her boyfriend; both are cult members.
The Forms' home is the scene of several unexplained paranormal events in the days that follow the attack. Following that, Mia gives birth to a healthy daughter they name Leah. The family relocates to Pasadena to an apartment. Once Mia and her daughter discover the doll—which John had abandoned following Annabelle's earlier attack—in one of their boxes, further unexplained happenings befall them.
When Mia contacts the detective who worked on the initial case, she finds out that the cult wanted to call in a demonic spirit. Mia discovers that the cult engaged in devil worship, calling forth a demon that pursued the family after they moved into their flat in an attempt to claim a soul, with the assistance of bookshop and fellow renter Evelyn.
When Mia and Leah get home, the demon attacks them and makes itself known by playing with the doll. When Mia and John speak with Father Perez, their parish priest, he explains that a human soul needs to be donated for a reason and that devils occasionally cling to inanimate items in order to accomplish their objectives. Father Perez chooses to take the doll to the Warrens in order to ask for assistance after failing to drive out the demon. However, the demon posing as Annabelle's ghost confronts him and seizes the doll before he can enter the chapel.
When John visits Father Perez in the hospital, the priest informs him that the demon's real goal is to take possession of Mia's soul. That evening, as Evelyn is spending time with Mia, the devil enters the apartment covertly using Father Perez's body to kidnap Leah in exchange for her mother's soul. Mia tries to throw the doll out the window to save her daughter, but John and Evelyn get there in time to stop her. As retribution for causing her daughter Ruby's death in a car accident years prior, Evelyn chooses to end her own life in Mia's place. The doll and the monster vanish from view as Evelyn falls lifeless on the road. Leah is secure in her cot, and neither Mia nor John ever see or hear of the doll again. Six months later, the doll is seen kept and secured in a glass case in the Warrens' artefact room.
Positively, there's been a resurgence of interest in the paranormal and otherworldly since the Annabelle narrative. It has inspired many to go further into the unknown and reconsider their views on the afterlife. Some regard the story as a fascinating puzzle that needs to be solved, while others see it as a means of establishing a connection with a realm outside of the material world.
But, the Annabelle story is not without its drawbacks. Critics contend that the story is merely a fabrication created by the Warrens for their own benefit. They argue that everything surrounding the doll is a publicity trick and cast doubt on the veracity of the statements made about it. Furthermore, others see the narrative as a risky illustration of irrational fear and superstition, which can result in panic and anxiety.
In summary, audiences have been enthralled with the rich and fascinating narrative of Annabelle for decades. It has sparked discussions about the nature of the supernatural and the strength of belief, inspiring both terror and curiosity in equal measure. Some interpret the narrative as a warning, while others think it's an exciting mystery that has to be solved. In the end, people will continue to argue and examine Annabelle's influence and the true narrative surrounding the haunted doll for years to come.