“Annabelle: Creation,” directed by David F. Sandberg, is a horror film that serves as a prequel to the 2014 film “Annabelle” and the fourth installment in The Conjuring Universe. The film tells the origin story of the possessed Annabelle doll, providing chilling insights into its malevolent history.

The story begins in the 1940s with dollmaker Samuel Mullins and his wife, Esther, who are grieving the tragic death of their seven-year-old daughter, Annabelle, in a car accident. Years later, the couple opens their home to a group of orphaned girls and their caretaker, Sister Charlotte, in an effort to find solace and offer shelter.

The girls, excited to explore their new home, soon discover a locked room that once belonged to Annabelle. Inside, they find a creepy porcelain doll. Strange and terrifying events begin to unfold as one of the orphans, Janice, who is crippled by polio, becomes the primary target of the doll’s sinister influence.

Janice unwittingly awakens a demonic presence that had been trapped in the doll, and the malevolent force begins to terrorize the household. As the hauntings escalate, the girls and Sister Charlotte realize they must confront the evil spirit. Samuel reveals that after Annabelle’s death, he and Esther had made a desperate attempt to contact their daughter’s spirit, only to invite a demon into their home. The demon had attached itself to the doll, leading to Esther’s disfigurement and the sealing of the haunted room.

The climax of the film sees the demon fully possessing Janice, turning her into a conduit for its evil deeds. The remaining orphans and Sister Charlotte manage to lock the possessed Janice in a closet, but the demon escapes and wreaks further havoc. The Mullins’ home is eventually abandoned, and the possessed Janice, now adopting the name Annabelle, is found by another couple and taken to an orphanage, setting the stage for the events of the first “Annabelle” film.

“Annabelle: Creation” effectively combines suspense, atmospheric tension, and jump scares to deliver a chilling prequel that deepens the lore of The Conjuring Universe. It explores themes of grief, desperation, and the unintended consequences of tampering with the supernatural. Through its sinister narrative, the film offers a haunting explanation of the origins of the cursed Annabelle doll.