196 - Dolls

    Five people take shelter at a secluded dollmaker’s house during a storm, then fall victim to the animated dolls within.
    Another movie with memorable cover art that I never bothered to rent.  It’s an interesting movie, at least in a few regards.
    As a horror movie, it’s not that strong.  The characters are broadly drawn, and no surprises are anywhere to be found.  The effects are suitably gory, creepy, and clever.  But where it fails is in the story.
    This is hard to say, because in another way, I actually like the story.  The dolls are willing to kill, but they aren’t bad most of the time.  They only kill people that seem to have earned it by being jerks.  Not just to other people, but specifically to the dolls.  Knock a bunch of dolls off a mantle?  That’s pretty jerky.
    There’s one aspect of the story that plays out in a way I didn’t anticipate involves the good male lead.  It seems pretty obvious that he will be spared the wrath of the dolls, but there’s an interesting twist to his story.  He’s actually willing to go against our expectations of him, at least for a short time.
    The slightly campy performances, the broad characterization… it’s all enjoyable in a weird way.  This isn’t a timeless classic, or even the best of the creepy doll subgenre (that would probably go to The Twilight Zone’s episode Living Doll.)  Still, this movie held my interest better than expected.