Masterful Movie

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.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This a classic 80's movie, the effects and everything speak 80's like none other. Here is the story, a man and woman and their little girl are taking a vacation their car ends up stuck in the mud because of a violent storm that happens. The three end up at an old creepy house that some old couple owns, the old couple welcomes them in and introduces themselves as Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke, Gabriel is a toy maker, specifically for dolls. The little girl Judy is thrilled to be in a house where there are so many toys.Eventually, three other people show up at the house two women, who I suppose are hookers or prostitutes? And a man who seem nervous and jumpy the two women's names are Isabel and Enid, and the mans name is Ralph. The old couple also welcomes them in and shows them where they will be staying the night. Everybody settles down, but that's when things start to get creepy. Isabel, wants to steal things from these people. So, she ventures out at her friends protest and starts snooping around. Suddenly she is attacked by unknown things, they kill her and drag her to the attic. Eventually, the little girl Judy tries to convince everyone that "little people" attacked Isabel, but no one believes the little girl, except the nervous man Ralph. The two discover that the collection of dolls the old man has made, come to life and kill people. All hell breaks lose when the dolls kill Enid, and Judy's step mother Rosemary. As things go on, it is found out that Gabriel and Hilary are magical toy makers and it's because of them that these dolls do what they do. Everyone is killed, except David the dad who is turned into a doll himself. The little girl Judy and Ralph are allowed to leave, as the movie ends we see David, Rosemary, Enid, and Isabel all made dolls and are now part of Gabriel and Hilary's collection. As the credits roll, we see a vehicle drive up in front of the house with another family in it, it is assumed that they go through the same hell as the previous group of people. This movie was fun, and as an 80's horror movie it does deserve credit for what it brought. The dolls were fantastic and it makes me appreciate the hard work the film makers had to go through to bring them to life. The Cast did a great job, especially the little girl Carrie Lorraine who played Judy Bower well. I really enjoyed the old creepy couple Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke they were the best in the show in my opinion. Guy Rolfe and Hilary Mason do an excellent job. I give Dolls a 9, because I felt more could have been brought to the story, the story was good, but it was movie that was rushed. It is only 77 minuets but with what they brought in the film it was not bad at all.Dolls gets a 9/10

Spooky flick about dolls terrorizing a house. Is it scary, no it wasn't at all, face it, it's a Charles Band flick, they never are scary but they are mostly weird. And there are a few about puppets. It's predictable what we do see here but to be honest, it was made in an era when slashers were done and horror was completely out of the picture.It never became a classic as Child's Play did one year later but it is a must for collectors. Stuart Gordon directed this and we do know that he made Re-animator (1985) for Charles Band's company Empire. On that part alone, the directing, it one of the reasons you keep watching and the classic thunderstorm and evil stepmother makes the story rather, classic. Maybe why it never became a classic is the fact that stop motion was used for the attacking dolls. But then Stuart added POV from the doll's to make it creepier and succeeded.No gore at all but it do has it moment due the atmosphere.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

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.

A group of people stop by a mansion during a storm and discover two magical toy makers, and their haunted collection of dolls.While this is a Stuart Gordon film, and therefore one of Empire's better pictures, it has the classic signs of a Charlie Band film, too. Killer dolls? The same theme Band has returned to almost twenty times now. One would have to assume he must have had a hand in the story. And, to some degree, he did. Allegedly, Band created a poster of a killer doll and asked writer Ed Naha ("Troll") to turn that single image into a script. Band also wanted this film to be like "Trilogy of Terror", though this was not followed as strictly as it could have been.Gordon had a three-picture deal with Empire Pictures, and had "Dolls" hoisted on him to do on the same set he was already going to do "From Beyond". ("Dolls" ended up actually being made first, shot in 1985 but not released for two years.) So it seems that "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" were more Gordon, with this one just being part of a contract.Gordon calls the story a "fairytale", something of a take on "Hansel and Gretel". Gordon had been reading child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment", whereas writer Ed Naha had not intended any such thing and was ignorant of fairy tales. Naha was actually inspired in part by "Curse of the Cat People", the sequel to Val Lewton's 1940s classic.The casting is solid. Stuart's wife Carolyn Purdy and actor Ian Patrick Williams came out of Gordon's Organic Theater in Chicago, so they had already worked together a few times. Guy Rolfe was the veteran actor, as well as a descendant of Pocahontas and had previously been a boxer and race car driver. His career went back decades, with such stand-outs as Carol Reed's "Odd Man Out" and William Castle's "Mr. Sardonicus". Unfortunately, he finished out his career with four "Puppet Master" films. Hilary Mason had a decent career, too, appearing in Nicolas Roeg's "Don't Look Now".Pay attention to the look and feel. Gordon had cinematographer Mac Ahlberg low camera angles to give a kid's point of view. (Ahlberg, incidentally, was hired on by Band, not Gordon.)Overall, this is a great film that has stood up pretty well. Watching it years apart and audiences will still remember it as clearly as the first time -- the girl, Ralph, Teddy, Punch... it is just one of those films that sticks in your mind and builds a nest. Exactly what the British punk rock girls were doing there is unclear, but maybe that made sense in the 1980s.Thanks to Scream Factory (possibly the best horror distributor out there), this film got the deluxe treatment. Two audio commentaries, some featurettes (including a mini-documentary). Just about everything you would want to know about this film can be revealed. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this film was Ed Naha teaming up again with Gordon and Brian Yuzna to write "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" (1989). Exactly how that came about is a whole other story, though.