‘When you look away they play’
Dolls is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by actor Cuyle Carvin, making his feature debut, from a screenplay by Justin Hawkins (Ouija House) and Josh Hawkins. The movie stars Thomas Downey, Dee Wallace, Trinity Simpson and Bret Green.
Co-producer Jeff Miller (Ouija House; The Toybox; ClownTown) also worked on the storyline. Other producers are Robert Michael Ryan, aforementioned Josh Hawkins and cinematographer Ben Demaree (director of Ouija House; Hansel vs. Gretel).
The Millman Productions movie stars Thomas Downey ( Mirror Image; Beast Mode; The Burning Dead; Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan; Sorority Party Massacre; Paranormal Incident),
Dee Wallace, Trinity Simpson, Bret Green, Elise Muller (Raging Sharks), Melinda DeKay and Robert R. Ryel.
Our review:
Dolls is not a remake of Stuart Gordon’s 1987 film of the same name. Although given Charles Band’s quest to reboot or sequelize everything he’s ever been involved with it’s an understandable thought. Instead, it’s about as different a film as possible.
Robert Holbrook (Thomas Downey) has a major drinking problem. That plus a bad divorce has him crashing at his dead mother’s unoccupied house. Almost immediately, (he hasn’t even finished his first drink), he starts finding weird dolls that seem to be able to get out of the attic and all over the house on their own.
His daughter Sammy (Trinity Simpson) has her own issues and is currently off her meds. Her mother Lynn (Elise Muller) is seemingly such a bitch it’s perhaps no wonder Robert became a drunk.
Sammy moves in with her dad and we get almost an hour of domestic drama, mostly arguing. This is punctuated by the dolls occasionally making an appearance or disappearance. Not that we see them do much except stand around. Genre icon Dee Wallace turns up as Margaret, a neighbour who is sure the dolls are possessed.
Sadly none of this is particularly scary. The script tries to create uncertainty as to whether the dolls can move or one of the unstable leads is doing it. But the dolls tend to move when only one person is in the house. So it’s fairly obvious what’s going on.
The script by Josh and Justin Hawkins from an idea by prolific producer Jeff Miller (Ouija House; The Toybox; ClownTown) takes forever to get going.
When we finally do see the dolls move, the effects are limited yet functional. They are even smart enough to set deadly traps. If the movie had reached this point sooner it would have been a much more balanced film. Director Cuyle Carvin handles these scenes a lot better than the first hour’s dramatics.
If you can deal with the slow and rather uninspiring first hour, Dolls does have a good payoff. Whether you’re willing to wait for it is the question.
Jim Morazzini, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“I, like many I presume, was expecting a killer doll movie a la Child’s Play and Stuart Gordon’s Dolls; but on the other what I got was a film that never played its hand. It instead blurred the lines between what’s real and what’s in your mind, never really giving the audience a definitive answer – and that made Dolls all the more intriguing for me.” Nerdly
“There isn’t a whole lot of horror going on, which wouldn’t be so bad had the drama not been so stale yet taken to high degrees of seriousness. Has decent parts, but in all is prone to annoy, especially the dialog.” Splatter Critic
For YouTube reviews, the trailer, the full free film and more movie info please visit page 2
MOVIES & MANIA provides previews, our own film reviews and ratings, plus links to other online reviews from a wide variety of trusted sources in one handy web location. This is a genuinely independent website and we rely solely on the minor income generated by internet ads to pay for web costs and cover yet more movies. Please support us by not blocking ads. Thank you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a very tiny amount from any qualifying purchases.