A stranded family take shelter in the home of an elderly couple, and discover that they own some pretty strange dolls.
In the 80's, before we had Chucky and Puppet Master; there was Dolls. This film was the brainchild of Charles Band, who would go on to form Full Moon and continue his fascination with killer dolls in the aforementioned Puppet Master series; as well as Demonic Toys. The film was directed by Stuart Gordon, who was riding high off Re-Animator and was given this project to shoot back to back with From Beyond. It's very different from Re-Animator, and I'm sure that's what drew Stuart to it; since the latter was indeed more like his previous film and another H.P. Lovecraft story.
Dolls definitely has a strong fairy tale element to it; too strong for my taste. Of course many fairy tales have Horror elements, but when they're used in a Horror film; I think you need a strong balance. The film seemingly tries to do that, but for me doesn't do it successfully enough. Most of the film is told very much through a child's perspective, and as a result didn't really pack that much of a punch to me. Now, that's not to say the film doesn't have a few horrific moments, because it does. However, so much of it has a whimsical feel to it, that when those moments arrive they seem to clash with the rest. The film's tone struck me as rather uneven.
One of the biggest positives here is that most of the performances are well done. Carolyn Purdy-Gordon plays a great bitch here, the Stepmother Rosemary. Carrie Lorraine as Judy, is a likable presence in the film and isn't annoying like some child actors in Horror films. Stephen Lee is also good as Ralph, a grown man who is very much a child at heart and develops a bond with Judy over the film. Both Guy Rolfe and Hilary Mason turn in nice performances as the old couple, Gabriel and his Wife Hilary Hartwicke. It's obvious from the start that there is something off with these two, but they do a good job in not overplaying it.
On the downside, we have Ian Patrick Williams playing Judy's Father David. In most everything I've saw him in, he always seems to be overacting in his scenes, and here is no exception. But, the worst characters in the film are those of Isabele and Enid, two 80's Madonna wannabes, played by Bunty Bailey and Cassie Stuart. These two mix with the rest of the cast as well as oil does with water, and throw the film further askew. The special effects here are done by genre favorite John Carl Beuchler, and with the exception of a few small blips here and there; are well done. They have a nice, slightly cheesy stop motion 80's look that I liked. Though, I think some of my favorite doll moments were the more subtle things.
My other big gripe here was the ending, which in my view was poorly planned. By this time I had accepted that this was, at least for me, more fairy tale than Horror film. Fairy tales usually have some sense of morality to them in the end, but here that was not the case. They try to pass it off as some sort of twisted happy ending, and it just didn't work for me. This was probably supposed to be a twist on the idea of a fairy tale ending, but still, it already had enough ups and downs in the tone.
While it may end the film on a sort of creepy note, I don't think it serviced the story well. Adding to that, the ending comes very abruptly; one of the reasons why the running time is very brief at just under 76 minutes. Just as you think the big final push is going to happen; you're told it's over. Overall, Dolls isn't badly made; but it's misguided and was never really able to get a firm grasp on its direction.
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Carrie Lorraine, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Stephen Lee
Released by: MGM
Special Features
- Commentary by Director Stuart Gordon and Writer Ed Naha
- Commentary by Stars Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Carrie Lorraine, Ian Patrick Williams, and Stephen Lee
- Storyboard-to-Film Comparisons
- Photo Gallery
- Original Theatrical Trailer
