Dolls (1987)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writer:

Ed Naha (writer)

Release Date:

March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They want to play with you.

Plot:

A group of people stop by a mansion during a storm and discover two magical toy makers, and their haunted collection of dolls.

Plot Keywords:

Doll | Storm | Toy | Toy Maker | Transformation

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ian Patrick Williams	...	David Bower
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon	...	Rosemary Bower
Carrie Lorraine	...	Judy Bower
Guy Rolfe	...	Gabriel Hartwicke
Hilary Mason	...	Hilary Hartwicke
Bunty Bailey	...	Isabel Prange
Cassie Stuart	...	Enid
Stephen Lee	...	Ralph Morris

Also Known As:

The Doll (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Empire Pictures

Trivia:

Stuart Gordon was, at one point, very interested in directing a sequel to this film. The initial storyline would have followed Judy and Ralph back to Boston, where Ralph would have indeed married Judy's mother and they would all become a family. One day Judy would receive a box sent from England that would contain the toy makers, Gabriel and Hilary, as dolls.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Punch comes to life near the end the strings and puppeteer's hand are plainly visible.

Quotes:

Gabriel: What's the matter... afraid of the dark?
Judy Bower: No... afraid of what's in the dark.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Curse of the Puppet Master (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

I'm in the Mood for Love

Under-appreciated gem

Under-appreciated gem from director Stuart Gordon and screenwriter Ed Naha, who in a previous incarnation wrote film review books such as 'Horrors - From Screen To Scream'. Ed may have learned a thing or two from the turkeys he encountered in his reviewing days because his script for "Dolls" is rich in homage and character. The film borrows its structure from "The Old Dark House" and realizes its ambitions with a cast and crew of highly talented individuals.

Gordon, who directed the entertaining "Re-animator" and perverse "From Beyond" brings a deliciously eerie and playful tone to this novel story of a group of adults who are sentenced to death for losing the child-like aspects of their personalities. The "dolls" of the title are the executioners and they love their bloody work, which is depicted in fine, crimson detail.

The special effects sequences featuring the dolls are realized with stop motion animation and puppetry. For the most part, they are extraordinarily convincing. A scene in which various doll characters huddle together to discreetly discuss the fate of a human character is priceless.

Mac Ahlberg's cinematography is moody and beautiful, perfectly capturing a toyland ambiance within a house of horror; and Lee Percy, who cut the Americanization of the "Baby Cart" films, "Shogun Assassin", delivers another tight, intuitive piece of work here.

Hats must come off to Gordon for the casting of Mr. Sardonicus himself, Guy Rolfe, as Gabriel Hartwicke, the eccentric, twisted toymaker and owner of the film's pivotal location where the nasty events transpire.

Producer Charles Band has made dozens of horror films, but none are as classy as the three above that he made with the talented Stuart Gordon.