Anna

Boring. Not funny. Not scary. Low budget. Bad acting. Its 2 goobers with a camera trying to video their experiment with a haunted doll. Seriously lame. Couldn't finish watching.

If u look for a scary movie then this ain't it but the movie was so bad that it was funny. Funniest movie I have ever seen. But if i'm being honest this movie has some if not the worst dialogue i've ever seen. Also the way they interprets the characters and the themes of the show is so below average executed, the themes and the narrative was so bad executed that the movie seemed too stupid. The characterisation doesn't suit the characters at all, and especially the visual characterisation.

Two "comical" paranormal researches "borrow" an apparently evil, possessed doll called Anna. When I picked this DVD up from the budget section of my local supermarket I thought it could only be a mediocre "Annabelle" rip off at best. Oh boy, was I in for a shock! I'm all for low budget films & there are some very good ones out there. But this looks & sounds like it was shot using a mobile phone. The script & acting is awful, save for Kristin Cochell, who does an acceptable job of playing a witch. There are a few jump moments but the film's attempts at both horror & comedy just fail miserably. The special effects are rubbish too. This film may have worked as a short but at 96 minutes it really is a horrible ordeal. I only paid £2 for my copy. I certainly will not be keeping it. Don't waste your time or money.

'Anna' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing if not particularly original premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive as well as the low rating and poor reviews.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Anna' is terrible, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is really nothing to recommend.

Lets start with the sole positive. The setting, while going too far on the simplicity, is fairly spooky at times.

Unfortunately, it is not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited and the drab colour palette, so much so it was hard to appreciate it, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm. In particular, the camera work was a nauseous assault on the eyes with its excessive amateurish-ness.

Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.

Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on and extremely awkward prolonged pauses.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, lots of unintentional humour that makes some of the film play like a really bad spoof and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both incredibly poorly done.

A lot of 'Anna' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper, while there have been far creepier and better used titular dolls and the film often fails to make sense, at worst it's incomprehensible.

There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror or creativity. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random and aggressive with the subtlety of an axe. This is very dreary and amateurish stuff that fails to be scary, interesting or easy to follow.

Overall, awful with no redeeming value apart from an element that is difficult to appreciate with it being complemented so badly. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Actor/actress can only perform as well as the director will let them, with that out of the way, i felt the director was too anxious to create suspense. the constant length of focus during each event only made me want to leap through the film rather than sit through the scenes. hopefully a remake will be in the near future creating a more dramatic approach to grab the viewers into the movie