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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
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C. Denison
Special Features for the the blu-ray (and brief impressions of the picture and audio quality)
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2014
