Dolls

"Dolls" (1987, Stuart Gordon, Empire Pictures) is a killer doll movie.


Little Judy Bower (Carrie Lorraine) is an unlucky tyke. Her parents are divorced and she's stuck on holiday with her selfish father, David (Ian Patrick Williams), and his new wife, Rosemary (Carolyn Purdy Gordon) - the epitome of wicked stepmother and lover of hair wraps.


After their trip is cut short due to a thunderstorm, the family seek shelter in a nearby house; that of elderly puppet-maker, Gabriel Hartwicke (Guy Rolfe) and his rather dotty wife, Hilary (Hilary Mason). They are later joined by some other stranded strangers; punk girls and thieves, Isabel (Bunty Bailey) and Enid (Cassie Stuart), and the child-at-heart schmo the girls have marked as their next robbery victim, Ralph (Steven Lee). The old couple are very accommodating, giving everyone a room each for the night and offering them supper and wine. Gabriel also gifts the young Judy a Mr Punch doll upon finding out that Rosemary threw her favourite teddy bear into the woods!


But as the night wears on the dolls and puppets placed around the large house seem to move, strange voices can be heard coming from behind locked doors, people appear to go missing and suspicious bloodstains begin to appear. Are the friendly Hartwicke's up to something devious? Will Judy escape from her awful father and stepmother? What's the deal with Mr Punch? All is revealed in this fun, cheesy caper.


Despite falling into the low-budget category, "Dolls" enjoys some effects that still look good today. The doll face effects can vary in quality between props, but are pretty good overall. There's also a variety of different little doll-monsters to enjoy and the scenes with them in are fun in a way similar to the "Puppet Master" series. There's also the added layer of watching the dolls' creation which was pretty fun.


Rolfe and Mason provide some likeable villains with an effective creep-factor, both Williams and Gordon also bring some unlikeable fodder to the tale and Bailey and Stuart provide further villains with more annoying accents. Carrie Lorraine does great work as the little leading lady and pushes the plot on with her childish curiosity and bravery.


There's a lesson in there about being a nice person, being a good parent and also about watching out for vengeful dolls. The film delivers this in a gleefully schlocky b-movie way before sending us on our way as yet another family of unhappy individuals lands themselves on the doorstep of Hartwicke's dollhouse....

[Image: Empire Pictures]

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Cult of Chucky

"Cult of Chucky" (2017, Don Mancini, Universal 1440 Entertainment) is the seventh Chucky film and a direct sequel to 2013's "Curse of Chucky".


This time we get to meet up with Andy (Alex Vincent) again. He's all grown up and making extremely strange life choices... like living in what looks like Grandpa's house from "The Lost Boys" and keeping the still-animated severed head of his childhood trauma, Chucky (voiced so iconically by Brad Dourif), around for torturing. No wonder he's single, really.


We then catch up with our pal from the last movie, Nica (Fiona Dourif), who wound up taking the blame for all of Chucky's murders in the last film and has found herself incarcerated in a home for the criminally insane. When a new therapy technique with Good Guy dolls is introduced, more Chucky mayhem unfolds as the wisecracking mad-doll begins his usual rampage.


The film has some really good points. Brad Dourif, as usual, being one. He always gleefully takes the role of Chucky on. It's hard not to enjoy it. The doll is also very well animated and looks pretty organic without losing that nice 80s vibe that makes Chucky such a fun franchise. Another good point is, of course, having Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), around a bit more. She deserves more screen time.


The film has a B-movie feel about it. From the weird, awkward silences, the strange unnatural acting and all round scripting of it, it's pretty apparent that this is on purpose. However, it was maybe too successful and lost some of the atmosphere and more satisfying jumps that were garnered in "Curse of Chucky". Nica's character is also a bit underutilised until past the halfway mark making her feel less like a protagonist and more of a plot device.


There are hidden jokes and nods to both previous entrants of the Chucky franchise and other projects of the cast and crew. It's a pretty self-aware piece, clearly made for fans. The film enjoys taking the already batshit premise and antics of Chucky and not only slabbering them on with gusto, but also adding to the lore and creating a premise for new opportunities for the murderous duo.


It is more cheesy than Curse, less fun than Bride and gives a sprinkling of cartoon-style gore.

[Image: Universal 1440 Entertainment, et al]

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Krampus

"Krampus" (2015, Michael Dougherty, Legendary Pictures, Zam Pictures) is a Christmas horror about St. Nicholas' demonic counterpart, Krampus.

Tom (Adam Scott), Sarah (Toni Collette) and their kids, Beth (Stefania LaVie Owen) and Max (Emjay Anthony) are preparing for Christmas at home with Tom's mother (Krista Stadler). Sarah's sister, Linda (Allison Tolman) also visits with her brash husband, Howard (David Koechner), their new baby and other, older, rude children, Stevie (Lolo Owen), Jordan (Queenie Samuel) and Howie Jr. (Maveick Flack). They also bring Sarah's disapproving, demanding aunt (Conchata Ferrell). As the night progresses, Max begins to feel that the Christmasses of his childhood are over and, in his anger, he unwittingly unleashes Krampus on his family...

The film starts out very much like any other non-horror Christmas movie. Then, the horror aspects are introduced with cheesy relish. The cast are good, the action is silly, but fun and the film delivers a good holiday horror that doesn't try to take itself very seriously. The result is a film which isn't especially scary, but manages to deliver a fun holiday romp which feels a little like "National Lampoons' Christmas Vacation" meets "The Demonic Toys", but with better production value.

Definitely one I'll be watching again.

[Image: Legendary Pictures]

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Robert

"Robert" or "Robert The Doll" (2015, North Bank Entertainment, 4Digital Media, Independent Moving Pictures) is a British film about the real life doll who's story inspired the "Child's Play" series. The real doll is located in the Key West area of Florida in the USA, and I would probably say looking at an inanimate 'haunted' doll is going to be about 50 times more scary than watching this movie.

An annoying woman called Jenny (Suzie Frances Garton), who is more interested in painting than paying attention to her reclusive son, Gene (Flynn Allen), fires her aging housekeeper, Agatha (Judith Haley), because she is getting old. The disgruntled Agatha retorts by giving Gene a creepy looking doll called Robert and warning Gene that Robert will be his friend, as long as Gene doesn't upset him.

The doll then proceeds to go about making messes, spoiling Jenny's paintings and such until Jenny and her 'workaholic' husband, Paul (Lee Bane), are forced to pay attention. Jenny then seeks out Agatha's previous employers only to learn that Robert had also terrorised their household prior to them sacking Agatha.

So, it doesn't sound too bad, does it? But it is.The acting is as wooden as the doll itself. The problem I find with low budget British productions is they always wind up sounding like a badly made BBC show from the early 90s. Most of these were cheesy and charming. "Robert" is cheesy, but lacks any kind of charm. Our leading lady is so aggravating and whiney that I wanted the doll to just kill her and be done with it. And the on-screen relationship between Paul and Jenny was so disjointed and unbelievable. No wonder that kid was so reclusive! To be fair to Flynn Allen, he carries this whole film.

The doll used is creepy but also so closely resembles the Annabelle films that it makes the film look like a knock-off, which it isn't. The actual doll from the 'true' story is actually a lot creepier than the prop used on-screen.

The film is pretty low budget, so I wasn't expecting top-notch effects, but it is 2015 afterall. It could have been very effective to barely show the doll moving. Lots of films manage to make slight, simple, practical effects make a huge impact. This film, unfortunately, is not one of them. When the doll does move on-screen it is evident that it is being manoeuvred by hand (not in itself a bad thing), giving it a Muppet-like quality. When they do bother to show the doll in action, they show too much.

I have a high tolerance for bad horror, I even enjoy bad horror, but this tame effort surpasses the realms of bad-good. So, points for having a creepy prop and a good idea, but the finished product just doesn't deliver.

[Image: North Bank Entertainment]

 

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Dolly Dearest

"Dolly Dearest" (1992, Maria Lease, Patriot Pictures, Channeler Enterprises, Trimark Pictures, Image Organization) is a killer doll movie.

The Wade family move to Mexico because of father, Elliot (Sam Bottoms)'s new job as the operations manager of the Dolly Dearest Factory. Unbeknownst to them, a cult's burial ground has recently been unearthed and an evil spirit has escaped, finding refuge inside the bodies of abandoned dolls within the factory's stockroom. When Elliot's daughter, Jessica (Candace Hutson), finds the dolls she is allowed to keep one. Soon, Jessie and her new little friend are running amok, taking down anyone in their way and behaving altogether very strangely.

A weird film that is partly Child's Play and partly the Omen. Both the doll and the little girl are supremely creepy and while Chucky was decidedly more animated, Dolly enjoys some effective shots and prehensile, plastic fingers. I didn't dislike this movie. It is a little slow moving, but on the whole it delivers an average amount of action. Whilst it's decidedly not scary, and is very predictable, it's a good crappy horror film.

[Image: Trimark Pictures, et al]

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May

"May" (2003, Lucky McKee, 2 Loop Films, Lions Gate Films) is a film about a lonely young woman who's only friend is a creepy doll her mother made her.

May (Angela Bettis) has always been an outsider. As a child (Chandler Riley Hecht) she had trouble making friends, so her mother made her one: a china doll called Suzy.

Now as an awkward adult working as a nurse in an animal hospital, May still has no close friends. She lives alone with her doll, to whom she shares all of her secrets. She has a crush on a cute mechanic from down the street who enjoys making macabre home movies and she has a complex relationship with her colleague, Polly (Anna Faris), a quirky lesbian woman who has a soft spot for May, but won't let that get in the way of her affair with another woman called Ambrosia. May is also prone to self harm.

As May's attempts to make friends with those around her fail she becomes more frantic. She perceives her failings to be the cause of Suzy and blames the doll for her situation. Although she tries desperately to fit in and to be a good person, as the film goes on she becomes more dangerous in her desperation.

I enjoyed this film. It's fairly slow burning with a nice balance of crazy and empathy built up around our title character. Bettis creates a three dimensional character who you really feel for, but know that she's not able to cope with normality. The plot keeps moving and there's a good amount of gore, suspense and fantasy. The final scenes are a good pay off and the end scene is very reminiscent of a favourite film of mine: "Pieces". There's enough humour peppered throughout to keep the tone light and the scenes are well shot and put together.

All in all, a really fresh film, even a few years on.

[Image: 2 Loop Films]

 

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Child's Play 3

"Child's Play 3" (1991, Jack Bender, Universal Pictures) is the third movie starring Chucky the killer doll (again voiced by the talented Brad Dourif).

Set several years after the second film's events (yet only released a year later), teenager Andy (Justin Whalin) has now started military school (it seems to be the thing for young, troubled, disowned or orphaned movie teens - see "The Omen 2"). Although his past has not forgotten him he finds, when Chucky turns up in yet another brand new Good Guys body, thanks again to that pesky manufacturer for continuing to reboot the same disastrous doll over and over again!

However, after engaging his brain this time, it dawns on Chucky that he doesn't have to target only Andy and despite the fact that he's a fully grown man in a doll's body, he seems to have a creepy penchant for child victims, and so instead targets a little kid called Ronald Tyler (Jeremy Sylvers).

A pretty dull film up until the climatic ending, this sequel is really an exercise in bullying in military academies.

A funfair, however, adds a little bit of excitement and a good setting for Chucky's battle against Andy on familiar grounds.

The props & animation are, as usual, excellent.  And the acting is all pretty good, but a dull script and schlocky one-liners (even for a Chucky movie) mar the film.

In my opinion, the weaker of the sequels, and yes that does include "Seed of Chucky"...

[Image: Universal Pictures]

 

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Child's Play 2

"Child's Play 2" (1990, John Lafia, Universal Studios) is the sequel to 1988's murderous doll movie, "Child's Play".

After living through the first film, Andy (Alex Vincent) has been placed into foster care and his mother into mental care. He's been put into the care of foster parents, Phil (Gerrit Graham) and Joanne (Jenny Agutter, known to most horror fans as the nurse and love interest from "American Werewolf in London") Simpson.

The Simpson's appear to be professional foster parents and also have another child in their care, rebellious teenager, Kyle (Christine Elise). Kyle's a girl for the record.

Typically, no one will believe Andy when he begins to explain that Chucky (rebuilt for some unknown reason by the manufacturer) has found him, destroyed and replaced the Simpson's Good Guy Doll, Tommy. I see that Chucky is made from a much more malleable plastic than Tommy was after the face mashing incident...

Chucky is out to steal Andy's body again before his time in this new doll body is out, leaving him trapped as a little ginger dolly freak forever! But, he's also inclined to commit a few murders on the way there. It is, after all, his main hobby.

Maniac as always, Brad Dourif brings the little beggar to life with a murderous glee and a maniacal laugh unparalleled.

Sadly, this film was never going to surpass the original in that it is a rehash of itself. However, the action, props and animation are excellent and there's some interesting kill scenes on the doll Production Line (as an Engineer I have to say the lack of safety devices or any kind of poka yoke on that line was shoddy, even for the early 90s!).

Despite his murderous inclinations, I do kind of feel for old Charles Lee Ray in this film, he doesn't half get tortured! You'd think he would have given up by now...

And, I've never noticed how creepy "The Skye Boat Song" sounds when hummed...

[Image: Universal Studios]

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The Conjuring

"The Conjuring" (2013, James Wan, The Safran Company, Evergreen Media Group, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros.) is a haunted house/possession/witchcraft film from the director who brought us "Saw", "Dead Silence" and "Insidious".

Based on a true story, we meet the Perron family.

Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn (Lili Taylor - the werewolf's mother from Netflix's "Hemlock Grove") have just moved into an old house in Rhode Island with their five daughters. Upon moving in they begin to experience strange happenings - from random injuries, to scary closet monsters, to creepy imaginary friends.

Eventually it all becomes too much to ignore as the apparitions become more menacing and the family seek the help of the famous paranormal experts, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).

A very traditional haunted house tale that can be compared to the likes of "Poltergeist" and the "Amityville Horror" and with a bit of "The Birds" and some "Exorcist" thrown in there too.

Excellently acted and very engaging, this crowd pleaser had the audience in Glasgow squealing, whooping, jumping and then laughing self-consciously at their antics. It was a really good experience!

The film is quite a rollercoaster of jump scares and fun cinematography. Whilst it relies heavily on predictable horror tropes and slightly overused scenes (creepy old lady in a rocking chair, for example), it likes to feint jumps and get you back when you least expect it and you really feel for the characters' plight.

However, as usual with Wan films it seems, the hectic ending of constant pulse-pounding moments begins to feel more like a series of scenes with lessening terror intensity and more hilarity. There's just too much going on!

The Annabelle doll sub-plot (also really a job the real life Warrens have worked on) is fantastic and could easily spin-off as a whole film to itself! I do love the prop which is one of the creepiest yet and knocks Billy the Saw dummy off his little pedestal.

All in an excellent experience and a film I enjoyed! Hardcore horror fans might like to bump their gums about how 'predictable' this or that is, but the truth in the matter is I jumped in that cinema, so Mr. Wan, I take my proverbial hat off to you. Much better than "Insidious"!

[Image: Warner Bros.]

 

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