Evil Dead 2 and the 15 greatest horror movie sequels of all time

8. Annabelle: Creation (2017)

• Directed by: David F. Sandberg
• Starring: Stephanie Signman, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Lulu Wilson, and Miranda Otto

I won’t even try to hide my distaste for the first Annabelle film. It wasn’t so bad I couldn’t watch, but it was boring and fell into some predictably terrible horror tropes. Along with The Nun, the first Annabelle is among my least favorite films in The Conjuring franchise. That’s why I was delightfully surprised by how good Annabelle: Creation was.

I attribute a large part of that to the stellar performance by Lulu Wilson. She also starred in another movie on this list. Set in 1955, Annabelle: Creation tells the story of a shelter opening to house Sister Charlotte and six girls that were left homeless when their orphanage was shut down.

Before that, we see a flashback to 1943 where we learn Annabelle is named for a doll created by dollmaker Samuel Mullins after his daughter died in a sudden car accident. It is the Mullins home that is turned into a new shelter. However, unknown to the girls, a demon has inhabited the Annabelle doll and begins to wreak havoc on the home inhabitants.

Annabelle: Creation had genuine scares, yes many of them were jump scares, but every second of the movie was dripping with dread. Plus it had a great ending with one of the girls becoming possessed. The end of Annabelle: Creation leads directly into the first Annabelle in a clever twist.