Anabelle Movie Analysis: Cults, Exorcism, and Horror Evolution

This essay provides an analysis of the horror film Anabelle, examining its core themes and elements. The essay begins with a brief introduction to the film, highlighting its two series and the central plot involving a demon-possessed doll. It then delves into the movie's portrayal of cults, explaining their psychological impact on individuals and their involvement in paranormal activities. The essay further explores the concept of exorcism, discussing its role in the film and its real-world implications. Additionally, the essay examines the use of psychological horror in the movie, focusing on how the film utilizes emotional instability and frightening visuals to create suspense and fear. The analysis concludes by emphasizing the movie's depiction of cults and paranormal activities, and their effect on people's lives.

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Anabelle movie
Introduction
Anabelle is a horror movie that was produced twice. The first series premiered in the year 2014.
In this movie, John Form purchased a doll for his wife Mia. On that same night, their neighbors,
the Higgins were murdered in a home invasion by their daughter, Anabelle, and her boyfriend
who were cult members (Alexander). A demon-possessed doll, later on, torments the family.
The second Anabelle series explains why the Higgins’ daughter murdered her parents
(Scheck 1). Both films involve demonic possessions and contain paranormal scenes. This movie
includes information on exorcism, cults, and psychological horror. It also depicts how horror
films have evolved over the years.
Cults as depicted in the movie
A cult is a practice that has members who believe in different supernatural beings and the people
usually perform activities that may be perceived as unreligious or strange (Luoman). In the film,
the effects of the cult were depicted when the members invaded the Higgins residence and
murdered them and later on performed a ritual using a doll. This ritual, in turn, led to demon
possession. John’s family was tormented so much by the demon until Evelyne finally decided to
give up her soul. It is therefore evident from the movie that cults have a psychological effect on
people and they influence them to do certain activities that they otherwise would not do (Scheck
2).

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Exorcism
It is clear from the movie that demon possession happens after religious rituals have been
performed. Exorcism then occurs when people want to evict the demon from the possessed
individual. The film has a scene where father Perez-a religious leader-is unable to perform an
exorcism because he gets overpowered by the demon. This poses a question on whether
exorcism is real and if so, how it can be performed (Alter 1). The Bible shows many instances
where Jesus Christ performed exorcism miracles. Today, exorcism practices are still carried out
in the Roman Catholic church. This issue therefore requires further research to come up with a
proper explanation.
Horror
Horror movies incorporate psychological horror where the movies rely on people’s emotional
state and use this to frighten them. This is realized by the use of emotionally unstable characters
who perform paranormal activities and sounds as well as images that are frightening. The film
shows Mia trying to fight off a demon that has possessed her doll (Alter 2). The 2017 Anabelle
film also shows Janice getting injured as she tries to escape from a demon-possessed doll. These
horror movies keep changing over the years, and they incorporate different fears that people have
in a bid to make them more interesting and frightening.
Conclusion
Therefore, the movie shows how cults affect people’s lives and show different paranormal
activities that people believe come about due to people’s involvement in cults. Cults have been
seen to involve many activities that are out of the ordinary and Anabelle movie properly portrays
these characteristics. It is therefore important for people to know more about cults before making
the decision to join them.

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Works cited

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Alexander, Bryan. "'Annabelle: Creation': The 'True' Story of The Evil Doll Star." USA today (2017): n.
pag. Web. 16 Nov. 2017.
Alter, Joseph S. "Spirits and Exorcism: On the Semiotics of Healing and Recovery." Ethos 42.4 (2014):
399-414. Wiley-Blackwell. Web. 28 Sept. 2017. doi:10.1111/etho.12061.
Luoman. "I Like Your Doll: Annabelle & The Charles Manson Family." the fine art diner (2014): n.
pag. Web. 16 Nov. 2017.
Scheck, Frank. "The Creepy Doll from Last Year's Horror Hit "The Conjuring" Gets Her Own
Vehicle." Anabelle film review (2017): n. pag. Web. 16 Nov. 2017.