Dolls
Dolls is one of those "it's-so-bad-it's-good" movies. I've never really cared for those kind of pictures, but watching Dolls, I realize that laughing at a horror movie isn't that bad. Since the movie isn't very entertaining, especially if you watch it with an expectation of seriousness, you have to make fun of the movie while you are watching it. If you don't, you are doomed for a horrible time.
The movie has a very promising premise: Two parents are driving down a road, headed for the airport. The child is whiny, and we see that these parents are not very nice. Further down the road, the get stuck in the mud. In the distance is a large house. The family heads to the house, and on the way, the child fantasizes about her teddy bear coming to life. I suppose this was foreshadowing the rest of the movie, but it was a poor choice by the filmmakers.
As is, the family reaches the house and breaks in, only to find the house full of dolls. An old doll maker lives with his wife in the mysterious house. Up to this point, the movie is interesting. Soon, the child thinks that these dolls can move. Here is where the movie gets awful. To the guests surprise (but not to the viewers), these dolls CAN move... and they can kill too. The special effects of this movie are pretty good, but the filmmakers should have been more careful with other things, such as acting and having the equipment get into the picture (at one point in the movie, you can see the boom microphone at the bottom of the screen).
As for the acting, all I can say is that these people can not act. Carrie Lorraine, in her first movie, is so horrible that I actually wanted her to be killed. I knew the producers wouldn't kill the child off, but I was hoping. There is only one good character in the movie, and that's the man who's a child at heart. Unfortunately, we really don't care if he lives or dies. I wanted the dolls to kill everyone in the house and then go on a killing spree throughout the state.
That doesn't happen, of course, and I was very disappointed. There were so many things wrong with this movie, that all the good things in the movie are forgotten about. One of those things is the special effects. The blood looks fake, but its supposed to (at least, I hope it is). The dolls do look like they are moving around and have personalities of their own. But the dolls all look happy while killing. They make it look like they are playing with the people, but shooting them with toy rifles doesn't sound like fun to me.
Dolls is rated R. The violence and gore is pretty gruesome, but not as harsh as some of the horror movies of recent days. The filmmakers were wise enough to leave out the sex and nudity that seems to be everywhere. Maybe if the filmmakers had added more blood and evil-looking dolls, this movie could have been good. Then again, maybe not.