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Nov 10, 2014 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

Fresh off the over-the-top zombie classic Re-Animator but before he could move on to his follow-up Lovecraft adaption, From Beyond, Stuart Gordon was tabbed by mid-80s b-grade horror factory Empire Pictures to helm a movie about killer dolls. Shot on Italy’s largest soundstage with a cast primarily composed of Gordon’s Chicago theatre pals, has more of an old-fashioned feel than the splatter-tastic gore-fests he’s best known for—Dolls is a spooky haunted house film, more in the vein of a Hammer flick or one of Corman’s Poe productions, and that’s one of this underrated little flick’s strengths.

The setup itself is as classic as they come: a car breaks down during a torrential rainstorm, stranding a little girl, her father, and her wicked stepmother outside a rundown, Gothic mansion. They’re welcomed inside by the house’s owners: an elderly dollmaker (Guy Rolfe, a veteran of several Hammer productions) and his oh-so-creepy wife. Three more unexpected guests arrive – two punk rockers and an affable manchild – and all are shown to their rooms for the night. The little girl begins to suspect that the dolls in the house are actually alive, but the adults chalk it up to her overactive imagination – that is, until the adults start disappearing, one-by-one.

Scream Factory has re-mastered the film for high definition, and Dolls’ special effects – including porcelain dolls that move via Svankmajer-ian stop motion animation, marionettes, and few relatively minor splashes of gore – still hold up, even under the increased resolution. The silly concept (killer dolls!) manages to work because these effects are so solid. (When the dolls move on their own, it’s creepy.) Dolls’ tone is a bit all over the place, with some moments of slapstick comedy thrown into the mix and a moral lesson that makes it feel more like a spooky fairy tale than an out-and-out horror story, but that helps set it apart from so many of the era’s drearier, self-serious efforts.

The blu-ray’s bonus features are highlighted by a nice documentary where the director, producers, effects gurus, and select members of the cast shed light on how these quick-and-dirty horror films were made during the glory days of VHS.

www.shoutfactory.com/film/fantasy/dolls-collector-s-edition

Author rating: 7.5/10