Dolls

It has been years since I had seen this movie. It was way back in the early 90's when I rented the VHS from a local video store.I bought this blu-ray on a whim and upon watching it I see that the movie is more or less how I remembered it, surprisingly. It is fun and creepy to watch the dolls at first, looking for any little movement. As you might imagine with a movie from the 80's, there is a lot of stop-motion animation going on when the dolls start running around. I've never been a fan of the way that type of thing looks. But it's best not to dwell on it when watching Dolls or it will just take you right out of it.Oh, and the dolls in this movie are ugly and mad creepy. Like, I can completely understand why the people in the movie immediately want to smash them at first sight. If you already don't like porcelain dolls, this movie will compound that. I found the whole thing nightmarish, even if it was kind of corny.The little girl Judy with her little double-chin is totally endearing and you feel bad for her. The parents suck of course so when Judy witnesses something happen they don't believe her and tell her off. You can guess how things play out from there.

This might be the first killer doll movie featuring several stop-motion dolls. And even if it’s not, it’s fun and gory and clearly influenced many of our favorite subsequent evil dolls films.After finding their car stuck in the mud during a storm (such a classic trope, by the way), David (Ian Patrick Williams; Re-Animator, Bad Channels, Growth), Rosemary (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon; Re-Animator, From Beyond, The Pit and the Pendulum) and their daughter Judy (Carrie Lorraine; Poltergeist II) seek shelter in a nearby mansion.The mansion is occupied by elderly dollmaker couple Gabriel (Guy Rolfe; Puppet Master 3-5 & Retro, The Bride) and his hospitable wife Hilary, and as soon as welcoming Judy’s family in from the rain, they give her a jester doll to keep her company: Mister Punch. Then more wayward travelers (an awkward motorist and two young punkettes) join the cast for the sake of a larger body count. Shortly after their arrival, Judy discovers that the dolls seem to be alive… and they tend not to like adults.The creature effects are quite satisfying for 1987 (and on a budget). This classic gets off to a glorious start with an engaging monster scene when Judy’s teddy bear turns into a big monstrous demon bear. The dolls throughout the mansion have human-like veiny eyes that move about and they smile to bare mangled demonic tiny teeth. Mischievous and menacing little things—clearly inspiration for Charles Band’s (executive producer of Dolls) soon to follow Puppet Master (1989).Most of the early “action” occurs off-camera but remains feisty as victims are slammed into things or dragged down halls. Later, the stop-motion doll attacks are wonderful and abundantly visualized. They bite and stab and literally saw victims as the victims kick and stomp them away. I feel like the mobs of stop-motion dolls inspired Tales from the Hood (1995), and we often see numerous animated dolls on-screen at a time which, back in the 80s, was a big deal in special effects.The special effects develop when the dolls start dying en masse. It’s reminiscent of Gremlins (1984) being doused with water—appropriately gross and creature effects-rich. The transformation scene of the man into a doll was pretty spiffy as well—including protruding cheek bones and a developing hunchback. And we come to find that other victims end up as dolls in the likeness of their life, bestowing the film a more haunting menace.Although I’d consider it among his lesser 1980s works, director Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon) manages to create a thriving triumph from an otherwise simple premise for which writer Ed Naha (Troll, CHUD II: Bud the Chud, Dollman) permits those most innocent and purest of heart to triumph.

Six people are stranded at a mansion in the English countryside — David Bower and Rosemary Bower (Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, wife of Stuart Gordon), two totally selfish and uncaring parents, and their daughter Judy. Plus, we have nice guy Ralph and two British punk rock hitchhikers, Isabel (played by Bunty Bailey, who starred in two landmark music videos for the band A-Ha) and Enid.The mansion is owned by Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke (Hilary Mason, the blind psychic from Don’t Look Now), toy makers who fill their home with their creations. As Judy had to give up her old teddy bear by her evil stepmother, they give her a new doll, Mr. Punch.We soon discover that the dolls are alive and love to destroy humans — the eviler the better. The two girls try to steal antiques and get their faces smashed in and shot by toy soldiers before becoming dolls themselves. Rosemary is attacked by the dolls, then leaps out a window to her death. Her body is brought back to the house, leading David to believe Ralph is a killer.Meanwhile, Judy reveals to Ralph that the dolls are alive and talks them into saving his life. David attacks, knocking out his daughter and the man he blames for his wife’s death, but the dolls save them. Mr. Punch battles David but is destroyed.The old owners of the house reveal themselves and explain that the house tests people. Either they pass — like Ralph and Judy. Or they fail, like everyone else, and are turned into dolls. It just depends on who believes in the power of childhood. David now becomes Judy’s new doll, Judy picks Ralph to be her new dad and she leaves for home.Meanwhile, we see all the evil folks as dolls on the shelf as new people get stuck outside the house and the cycle begins again.Dolls is a Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Castle Freak) film and feels like a test run for the Demonic Toys movies. There are some moments of great invention, like the giant evil teddy bear and the eyeballs popping out of the punk girl. It was a theatrical release that actually didn’t do well, but found new life on video — where a young version of my wife found it and rented it just about every day.Interestingly enough, the house where the movie was filmed once belonged to Dino De Laurentiis. It was an actual two-story house, but the outside of the house featured remnants of other De Laurentiis films, including Barbarella!

I remember this movie but it was nice to see it all these decades later . It was sort of funny to me , exciting but comical. There are some pretty good actors/actresses. Most importantly, why would any one leave a detailed description of ANY movie in a review column? That is strange to me. Haven’t you anything better to do but to sit and type out that crap? Why spoil the movie for ppl who haven’t seen it. Again, who has the time to type a detailed line by line, scene by scene review to a movie. GET A LIFE