Dolls (1987)

You won't be disappointed!

Touches You

Sorry, this movie sucks

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Any good horror fan of the eighties would have heard of the film production company "Empire International" which specialized in low budget horror films mostly containing little devils, demons, monsters and as this movie states dolls. "Dolls" however, is not your average slasher horror film like "Child's Play". It has elements of family love and respect interwoven throughout the movie in much the same way as a Grimm's Fairy Tale (to bluntly put it "a moral"). The films starts as a young girl, her father and step mother become stranded in the middle of a forest during a storm. They seek shelter in an old, spooky house which is owned by an elderly couple who have a mass collection of dolls. They are later joined by three other people who have also been taken by surprise by the storm. When the people tuck in for the night, the dolls start to come alive and only a certain few will survive the night.I thought this a pretty entertaining film, one that plays out like a fairy tale, complete with a moral element (never lose touch with your inner child). There are a few gruesome parts within the movie (the teddy bear mauling sequence in the beginning for one), but there was a lot less gore than I would have expected, especially from a Stuart Gordon production. The aspects I really appreciated were the creepy sequences, of which there were a few, including the old woman with the baby carriage, Isabel in the attic, and the dolls, especially their facial expressions... at certain points in the movie we'd see dolls sitting on a shelf, motionless, that is until their eyes move, along with displaying a sinister grin. I didn't feel the film was soaked in atmosphere, but there was definitely an effort, one that pays off if given a chance. One element that stands this movie apart from others featuring killer dolls is there's not much focus given to any particular doll, the exception being perhaps the 'Punch' doll. There are hundreds of dolls in the house, and all seem to be of the same mind, driven by the same force.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Man, this is one cool movie!The little girl (Carrie Lorraine) is really good. The goofy-ish guy (Stephen Lee) is good, and actually quite funny. Some of his reactions made me laugh. (I'm a tough crowd) Bummed me out to see that he died last year. Sad. The gray haired couple are really good. The effects are pretty decent for the most part. The pacing is great. It's one of those movies who doesn't show it's entire bag of tricks at once, but spreads it out through the movie. It is actually a little scary too, specially in a couple scenes. Simply put: it is a well made, entertaining horror movie. It is not boring for a second, and you keep wanting to see what happens next. Also it has some heart, despite being an 80's horror movie. Very nice. Classic, I'd say.

I have seen this movie multiple times and I with every viewing I love it even more. The plot is pretty simple and straightforward. To me it is more than a movie where dolls just kill people. No these dolls don't just randomly pick their victims, they really do have a sense of justice. The movement of the dolls is done with stop-motion techniques and convincingly as if they really are alive. The casting is great: the old toymaker and his wife, little Judy, her father and stepmother, kid at heart Ralph and rock chicks Enid and Isabel, this small cast worked wonderfully well together. Kudos to writer and director to make such a coherent and likable piece of art. At last a movie about killer dolls that goes deeper than the typical boring slasher like Child's Play. Has grown into one of my favorites in a short time. If it only had some longer duration...

Chucky and Annabelle didn't have anything on Mr. and Mrs. Hartwicke's terrifying collection of "unique" toys. Charles Band and Stuart Gordon's 1987 classic "Dolls" reminds horror fans what came first. It's the perfect film if you're looking for a means to help encourage your children to stop playing with their Barbies or action figures.A group of travelers caught in a fierce storm are forced to find refuge at the mansion of an elderly couple. The two live alone in the large house amongst their homemade dolls. As the night goes on, strange occurrences lead the guests to believe something besides the two old folks live in the dark old manor."Dolls" is rated R for violence, language, and adult situations. Surprisingly, there's no nudity to be found. There's talk about sex, but never anything blatantly shown. The film does contain graphic scenes of folks being carved up by the title oddities. I'd have to say this is pretty tame in comparison to what we're used to seeing now or even back then when it comes to nudity or sexual situations."Dolls" is the perfect blend of haunted house Gothic thrills and fairy tale frights. Its classic storm-drenched setting and creepy cast of characters guarantee the film to go down in horror history as a 1980s classic.