Movie review
August 3, 2017 · 110 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Annabelle: Creation is a 2017 supernatural horror prequel in The Conjuring universe that traces the Annabelle doll's origin to a grieving dollmaker and his wife who strike a desperate occult pact after their young daughter's death in a car accident. Years later they shelter a nun and several orphaned girls in their farmhouse, only for the demonic entity bound to the doll to awaken and hunt them. The story engine runs entirely on classic horror mechanics of loss, forbidden curiosity, possession, and religious confrontation with evil. No identity-driven themes, political dialogue, or social-justice framing appear in the narrative, casting, or execution.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Annabelle: Creation.
Woke representation / casting
No forced diversity, audience-visible identity signaling, or story-world mismatches; all roles and performers fit the narrative's 1950s–1960s American farmhouse/orphanage setting and character functions without emphasis.
Woke political dialogue
Completely absent; all spoken content serves grief, occult discovery, demonic taunting, and religious resistance within standard horror beats.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative is propelled solely by supernatural possession and familial tragedy; zero recurring or central identity-politics, representation arcs, or social-justice messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Traditional religious-horror framework (nun, priests, crucifix, demonic entity from occult prayer) appears without modern activist reframing of patriarchy, institutions, gender roles, or Western cultural norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Total absence of documented backlash claiming the title pushes woke, activist, or left-wing content; no "too woke," forced-diversity, or propaganda complaints recorded in mainstream or social-media coverage.
Creator track record context
No cited prior work or statements from Sandberg, Dauberman, or the producers indicate any pattern of activist, identity-driven, or politically themed projects.
Production
