Customer Reviews

Dolls

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was terrified of the video cover for Dolls when I was a boy, and never got round to watching it because of this until about 4 or 5 years ago, now a fully-grown horror-loving adult.

Well, it was worth the wait. Dolls is Stuart Gordon's tale about those porcelain dolls that always look so real, because they are.

Stuart Gordon was also responsible for directing the magnificent Re-Animator, but believe it or not I personally think Dolls has more of a charm about it than the film Gordon's perhaps more well-known for.

Dolls has fantastic stop-motion and puppetry special effects for its time, and blows the other killer doll film of that era, Puppet Master, clean out of the water.

This is highly recommended, especially at the usual MGM budget price.

I've always been a fan of "Dolls". It's a horror story and somewhat of

a kids story all rolled up into one.

When little Judy (Carrie Lorraine) and her nasty father and stepmother

(Ian Patrick Williams & Carolyn Purdy-Gordon) get stuck in the mud on a

little road in England during a horrific storm, they decide to hightail

it out of the car and stumble across a mansion owned by Gabriel &

Hilary (Guy Rolfe & Hilary Mason).

Gabriel is a doll maker whose house is filled room by room with his

creations. Soon they are joined by some other weather stranded folk:

punk rockers Isabel and Enid (Bunty Bailey & Cassie Stuart) and nice

childish Ralph (Stephen Lee) whose happened to pick up the stranded

girls as well.

So Gabriel puts them all up for the night. Isabel decides she is going

to loot the place, and immediately takes off looking for valuables. Of

course, Gabriels dolls don't exactly find this to be acceptable- and

soon take matters into their own hands.

One by one the Dolls take their revenge on the house intruders, and

only little Judy knows whats going on. Of course, being that she is a

child- know one believes her.

Except of course for Ralph, who after some disbelief realizes that

something "not quite right" is going on around them.

The killer dolls in "Dolls" are surprisingly creepy and effective,

which facial expressions and movements that are either bound to scare

you, make you laugh hysterically, or both.

The movie is quite well done overall- and remains a classic in this

reviewers book. Dolls is an underrated and under seen little gem, and

it's nice to see that it has finally made its way onto DVD for us

horror fans.

If you haven't seen it recently or have never even heard of it at all,

"Dolls" is worth a viewing or even a second viewing for sure.

Recommended!

Being a dude and all (and not having any sisters), I never really had much of an opportunity to play much with dolls (I don't count action figures), which may have been a good thing as I've learned from the film Dolls (1987) that some dolls are not only alive, but harbor homicidal tendencies. Written by Ed Naha (Troll, C.H.U.D. II - Bud the Chud) and directed by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon), the film features Guy Rolfe (Ivanhoe, Mr. Sardonicus), Hilary Mason (Robot Jox), Ian Patrick Williams (TerrorVision), Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (Re-Animator), Cassie Stuart (Slayground), Stephen Lee (RoboCop 2), Carrie Lorraine (Poltergeist II), and Bunty Bailey, whom many may remember as `The Girl' from the popular A-ha music video `Take on Me'.

As the movie begins we see a couple of skankily dressed punk rock chicks hitch-hiking along the side of a lonely road, to which a Jaguar blows past them (the car, not the animal), occupied by the Bowers, father David (Williams), daughter Judy (Lorraine), and stepmother Rosemary (Purdy-Gordon). After a storm quickly develops, their car gets stuck, and the trio make their way towards a large, lonely house occupied by Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke (Rolfe and Mason, respectively), the former an old world toy maker whose specialty is in one of a kind dolls, which seems to populate nearly every room. Shortly after the Bowers' arrival a man named Ralph (Lee) shows up with the two skankily dressed punk rock chicks we saw earlier in tow, whom we learn are named Isabel (Bailey) and Enid (Stuart)...ah, more fodder for the gristle mill...anyway, given the poor weather outside, Gabriel and Hilary put everyone up for the night, which works well for Isabel, as the place seems filled with valuable antiques begging to be nicked. As Isabel prowls the house and eventually makes some new friends, Judy witnesses what she believes to be elves or something, but her father and stepmother, a snottier pair you'd be hard pressed to find, pass it off as Judy's overactive imagination. Judy does manage to convince Ralph something's going on in the house, to wit the pair investigate, resulting in one of my favorite exchanges in the film, as Judy tries to show Ralph where she witnessed some hinky activity...

Judy: I think it was around here...

Ralph: You're not sure?!

Judy: What do you want from me? I'm seven years old.

Anyway, Ralph ends up being accused of being a murderous pervert, Rosemary, the wicked stepmother, finds the accommodations not to her liking, Enid discovers a creepy, little secret about the dolls (among other things), Isabel is eventually discovered in the attic, old lady Hilary roams the halls with a baby carriage, which contains one hell of an ugly, little doll, and David gets into a fight with a `Punch' doll, all leading up to a fairly interesting finale.

I thought this a pretty entertaining film, one that plays out like a fairy tale, complete with a moral element (never lose touch with your inner child). There are a few gruesome parts within the movie (the teddy bear mauling sequence in the beginning for one), but there was a lot less gore than I would have expected, especially from a Stuart Gordon production. The aspects I really appreciated were the creepy sequences, of which there were a few, including the old woman with the baby carriage, Isabel in the attic, and the dolls, especially their facial expressions...at certain points in the movie we'd see dolls sitting on a shelf, motionless, that is until their eyes move, along with displaying a sinister grin. I didn't feel the film was soaked in atmosphere, but there was definitely an effort, one that pays off if given a chance. One element that stands this movie apart from others featuring killer dolls is there's not much focus given to any particular doll, the exception being perhaps the `Punch' doll. There are hundreds of dolls in the house, and all seem to be of the same mind, driven by the same force. My favorite part of the film comes when Judy and Ralph are checking out the attic, and a lightning flash provides enough light for those of us watching the movie to see something that the characters don't, a figure blended into the background. As far as the performances, I thought most everyone did well, my favorite being Guy Rolfe who brought with him a whole lot of class. I only wish he and Hilary Mason, who played his wife, had more screen time as we see them mainly in the beginning and at the end, but not much in the middle. I did feel the punk girls were a bit over the top, and I thought it odd the character of Enid should come on as strong as she did later in the film, especially given the fact she seemed nothing more than a meek, servile sycophant in the beginning, but whatever... Carrie Lorraine, who played the character of Judy, skated a fine line between cute and annoying, managing to come across the former over the latter, more often than not. As far as Stephen Lee, he seemed mainly there for comic relief, which he fit the bill adequately. The film doesn't run that long (about 77 minutes), but Gordon uses the time well, keeping things moving along at a decent pace, the end result being dark, creepy, slightly gory and sometimes humorous tale that stands out within the killer doll genre.

The picture quality, presented in both fullscreen (1.33:1) and widescreen (1.85:1), enhanced for 16X9 TVs (the DVD is double-sided), looks very clean and the Dolby Digital stereo Surround audio comes through well, with no complaints. There are few extra features including two audio commentary tracks, one with director Stuart Gordon and writer Ed Naha, and a second with cast members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee, Carrie Lorraine, and Ian Patrick Williams. Also included are storyboard to film comparisons, a photo gallery, an original theatrical trailer, and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Cookieman108

This movie is great. It has everything you could ever want.
Dolls [Aggggggh, they're alive!!!!]
An evil Stepmother [Boo!!!]
A mean daddy [Bad!!!!!!]
A little girl [Aw]
A nice fat man [what a sweetie]
An older couple [aw, again]
And two british hookers dressed like Madonna [Har de har har har]

Guess what the dolls do? They kill everybody who is mean. I wish they worked for me.

A young girl named Judy ( Carrie Lorraine) with his dad ( Ian Williams) and stepmother ( Carolyn Purdy Gordon) with a saleman ( Stephen Lee) and two punk rockers ( Bunty Bailey and Cassie Stuart) seek shelter from the storm after their cars break down to a creepy mansion owned by a old dollmaker ( Guy Rolfe) and his wife ( Hilary Mason). As they are getting comfortable for the night, the dolls the old couple has are actually alive and want the guests dead.

From the creators of "Re-Animator" Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon and the creator/producer of "Puppet Master" Charles Band brings a delightful and exciting modern fairy tale with some humor and horror thrown into it with terrific special effects for it's day by David Allen ( "Young Sherlock Holmes", "Puppet Master"). It has an interesting idea about the innocence of youth and the young-at-heart and why dolls are there for them to protect them from the wickedness of adulthood. The film predates "Puppet Master" a couple years later and is one of the most underrated gothic horror comedies of the 80's that i recommend if your into killer doll flicks or horror comedies.

This DVD has great picture and sound quality with some good extras like the original theatrical trailer, two audio commentaries, photo gallery and storyboard-to-film comparisions.

Also recommended: "Puppet Master", "Magic ( 1978)", "Trilogy of Terror", " Child's Play series", " Re-Animator", " Pinocchio's Revenge", "Dolly Dearest", " From Beyond", "Poltergeist", " Devil Doll ( 1964)", " Tales from The Hood", "Dead of Night ( 1945)", " The Company of Wolves", "Suspiria", " Phenomena", "Deep Red", " Tourist Trap", " Making Contact ( a.k.a. Joey)", " Nightmare on Elm Street", " Hellraiser", " The Amityville Horror ( 1979 and 2005)", " Legend of Hell House", " Castle Freak", " Demonic Toys", " Blood Dolls", " Saw", "Evil Dead II", "Beetlejuice", " Ghost House".

The film starts off on a family outing in England. An evil stepmother, the little girl and her jerk father get their car stuck in a storm in the rain. They end up at the lodge of an elderly couple who are dollmakers. They seem like a nice old couple and offer the family a meal and rooms for the night. The old man gives the kid a doll and lets her look around his lodge at all the magical dolls. Meanwhile 2 punk rock girls and a kid at heart salesman show up at the door and make themselves at home. Then things start to get strange, noises come from rooms , dolls giggling, moving about. From there they start to kill. You are glad when they finally kill the mean old stepmother and the father. Also you dont really mind when they kill the 2 punk rockers. In the end theres a moral story attached or meaning to the film, The little girl didnt need those 2 monsters anyway. And the old couple were just doing what was right and best for the little girl. It was like sweet revenge.

I look around Amazon and try to find rare horror gems i havent seen. Ive found a couple so far and dolls I came across recently. I dont know if i would consider it a gem but it was entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable. It has that '' special somthing''. It has a magical feeling about it. The dolls that move in the begining are creepy. Some of the characters were endearing. For example the Little Girl and the Guy in his late 20s , 30s that was a kid at heart. Also the old man and woman who live in the lodge and make the dolls. They were perfect for the role. Their dolls did evil things but they did it for a reason. The people deserved it. Especially the dad and step-mom! See it and youll know what im talking about. I recomend this film to any horror fan. Its creepy at times, funny and a lot better than most low budget horror films of the 80's. 3.5- 4 stars.

Any good horror fan of the eighties would have heard of the film production company "Empire International" which specalised in low budget horror films mostly containing little devils, demons, monsters and as this movie states dolls. "Dolls" however, is not your average slasher horror film like "Child's Play". It has elements of family love and respect interwoven throught the movie in much the same way as a Grimm's Fairy Tale (to bluntly put it "a moral"). The films starts as a young girl, her father and step mother become stranded in the middle of a forest during a storm. They seek shelter in an old, spooky house which is owned by an elderly couple who have a mass collection of dolls. They are later joined by three other people who have also been taken by suprise by the storm. When the people tuck in for the night, the dolls start to come alive and only a certain few will surive the night. The film is an imaginative blend of horror, comedy and shock which is what one would expect from the director Stuart Gordon. The special effects in dolls are very well done with plenty of stop-motion scenes to satisfy the most beloved horror fan. Stephen Lee also provides wonderful comic relief throughout the film. A must see for horror lovers who love to be scared, shocked, amused and kept in suspense throughout an entire movie.

This movie is AWESOME!!! You will not be dissappointed. If you have an appreciation for 80's horror movies, then this is definitely the movie for you. I'm ecstatic to know it's finally on dvd!!! This movie will make you laugh at times as well as think twice about picking up a doll at the store.

The collaboration between Stuart Gordon and Charles Band produced such memorable films as RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND, and minor gems like this mean little killer doll film under Empire Pictures' production. It finds a small family arriving at a mysterious mansion that is home to a strange old couple and their house full of dolls after a storm leaves them stranded in the woods. They, along with another car full of strangers, fall under attack by the miniature terrors as the night wares on. Gordon brings the same lavish cinematic style and fluid camerawork that he instills in each of his pictures, creating an excellent visual storytelling. Though the scares are softer since the film is geared largely towards a younger audience, the dolls are nevertheless terrifying and the deaths are surprisingly bloody. The use of high and low angled perspectives along with the flashing lightning each work to enhance the mood, but it is the sinister faces of the dolls, their contorted expressions, and the off-setting stop-motion FX which animate them into frightening reality. Guy Rolfe and Hilary Mason are both highly entertaining in their eccentric roles as the dolls' elderly caretakers, while young Carrie Loraine is sweet and endearing as the whimsical Judy. While the plot and characters are each extremely basic, DOLLS ranks highly based on Stuart Gordon's superior production and the film's lasting scares, making it one of the more enjoyable killer doll features.

-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies

When I was in elementry school, my friends would sleep over and watch scary movies. Dolls was one of the first R rated features we had ever seen. This movie was so much fun, scary and creative. When I discovered it was released on DVD I had no other choice but to buy it. I know this sounds strange but while watching it I feel like a little kid again, the feeling is great. This movie isn't hardly gory, there is a few splatter scenes, I saw it when I was 7. But parents if your kids wanna watch this and they have never seen an R rated flick before start them on this one, its not too bad and has a really cool plot too.