Death Doll (1989)

4/10

Tikkin28 February 2006

This was a very boring low budget horror flick that amazingly had some suspenseful moments. At first it looks like they were using 8mm camera...but then it seems more professional. There is no gore at all apart from a slit throat which is only shown briefly, and a woman is stabbed with a knife (it isn't shown in detail though). The fortune telling machine is actually quite creepy, but the actual "death doll" is pretty pathetic. The scene where the woman is being stalked inside the house is quite suspenseful, as is the scene at the end where she is being stalked around the shop. Sadly this is spoilt by the killer talking for what seems like forever before he dies, and they tried to do a rip-off of Psycho with the explanation of the killer...but you'll have to watch it to see how. Also, don't watch this expecting an actual "killer doll", as the doll is really just a symbol of death that is present when the killings happen. The doll doesn't move or talk or anything.

It seems that this film is quite rare so I must be lucky that I found a VHS copy. If you manage to find one be sure to snap it up!

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3/10

Boring and amateurish trash.

HumanoidOfFlesh23 July 2007

As an obscure horror cinema enthusiast I borrowed this extremely rare horror film on VHS from my friend and it left me disappointed.It's not only amateurish,but also completely lifeless and dull.The cover of "Death Doll" is actually pretty misleading,because this ain't killer doll flick in the vein of "Dolls" or "Child's Play".The doll here is simply the symbol of death.There is a tiny fraction of suspense and this is the only positive thing I can tell about this sorry excuse of the film."Death Doll" is a predictable,tedious and goreless film that I can only recommend as the cure for insomnia.Still some rabid fans of ultra-obscurities may want to give it a try.Good luck finding the copy!

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3/10

"It's Playtime!" More like "It's Naptime!" Pedestrian low-budget thriller.

capkronos20 August 2014

Warning: Spoilers

At an antique store, Trish Keller (Andrea Walters) puts a dime in one of those gypsy fortune telling / palm reading machines, which accurately predicts she's pregnant; something she just found out herself earlier that same day. Her husband Bobby (Philip Boatwright) tries it out and is told to "beware of dark days ahead." That fortune also comes true when he dies in a mysterious fire. Now pregnant, alone and strapped for cash until the slow-moving lawyer can work out all the details of Bobby's inheritance, Trish is forced to leave her apartment and move in with two other girls. But hey, things could be worse, right? Sure they can... especially seeing how Trish has also recently attracted a psycho stalker, who calls her up to say things like "I'm always watching you!" in a distorted, childish voice.

The psycho eventually moves beyond mere threats, goes to Trish's old apartment and murders the new tenant living there (Desireé Pennoyer), thinking it's her. Rightfully beginning to fear for her life, Trish immediately vacates her home. With nowhere else to turn, she goes to stay with her bitter former sister-in-law Anna (Jennifer Davis), who briefly tries to help her before disappearing from the rest of the film. Trish's weird-acting brother-in-law Dillon (William Dance) shows up and since I've already uttered the "i" word (inheritance, in case you missed it), I'm sure you can predict how this pans out without even seeing it.

The first thing that needs to be pointed out is that despite the title and misleading advertising art, this is NOT a killer doll movie a la CHILD'S PLAY (1988). A regular doll is simply used by the killer as a calling card to announce he's around. The film is also completely dry in regards to the sex and violence that fueled other direct-to-video films from this same time. There's no nudity, barely any blood (aside from a throat slash that is seen for like a split second) and not even any profanity. This thing would probably be hard pressed to get a PG-13 rating nowadays! In a cheap movie kind of way, it's competently made with a coherent plot, attempts at generating suspense and an OK unknown cast. What ultimately sinks it is the sheer predictability of the whole thing. It's also slow-moving, the scant action / horror scenes are very poorly edited and the killer has a laughable monologue at the very end that goes on for over five minutes!

I've seen this listed as being shot-on-video elsewhere but that's not really the case. For some reason, only the first scene was videotaped and the rest is shot on film. The fortune telling machine itself is well-designed. If the gypsy inside - Madame Zerba - sounds familiar it's because she was voiced by Lilyan Chauvin. Chauvin (who passed away in 2008) is well- known to horror fans for playing Mother Superior in the notorious slasher SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984).

This is among a small handful of American genre films from the decade that was never actually released in the U.S. but *was* released elsewhere. It received VHS releases in Spain under the title Muñeca Mortal ("Deadly Doll"), in West Germany as Killer Puppe ("Killer Doll"), in Greece as I koukla tou mystiriou ("The Beautiful Doll Mystery"), in Brazil as Zerba - O Enigma ("Zerba - The Enigma") and in several other countries. Sure it's hard to find here in the U.S., but considering you can see pretty much the same exact film a thousand times over with better acting, writing and direction, higher production values, gore, sex, sleaze, your name it, there's no reason at all to seek this one out.

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9/10

Obscure, creepy potboiler worth seeking out!

retrohorrorremix16 April 2016

"Death Doll" is one of those "lost" movies I heard about for so many years as a teen. It was a 1989 production (although some research uncovers an actual 1984 production date) shot and directed by a man named William Mims.

The story is simple: after the death of her husband, young Trish is stalked by a madman leaving Dolls in his footsteps. There's a handful of deaths, but this film relies more on suspense than gore.

There's several things that rise this film above other standard 80s slasher fare. For one, it's got atmosphere and lots of it. If you like creepy little potboilers from the 80s (the made for TV variety) then you'll probably really dig the set-up and execution. There's also a really freaky looking hand-crafted Fortune Telling machine in the movie that predicts future terrifying events in the film. Every time she appears on screen I get the chills. After the first premonition came true, Trish goes back to the antique mall to find the machine again. What follows is a suspenseful game of cat and mouse with Trish and the Killer.

This movie sort of exists in it's own world. I've seen 2 cuts of the movie. What I assume to be the original 1984 cut with the 1984 copyright date, original opening credits and music as well as an alternate opening shot of the actors outside the antique store. The other cut from 1989 has a different shot-on-VHS opening sequence, alternate title screen and credits and for some odd reason there's even a re-shot opening scene, but using two different actor doubles (shot from behind and far away). I'm guessing Mims wanted to approach the opening scene differently later and must have not been able to get the original actors.

But what really attracts me to this film is the combination of the eerie artwork (both versions: the doll getting stabbed in the chair and the big evil Doll face) combined with the fact you pretty much can't legit get this film anywhere. It's my understanding the 1989 version was released on VHS in the UK and the 1984 cut was released in Poland I believe. Although when I questioned Mims himself about the two different versions, he seemed confused and unaware of the 1984 version...so that still remains a mystery. And to date, there hasn't been a U.S. release, although it's a U.S. production. The real reasons are unclear, but I gather from Mims it had something to do with a poor distribution deal.

I've spoken to William several times over the years and even came close to Directing a "Death Doll 2" (which could still happen, you never know). But after all my questions to him and all my viewings of both cuts of the movie, the whole thing still remains as mysterious as ever to me and I highly recommend this movie to fans of obscure 80s slashers, especially those involving Dolls. It's a film I found myself increasingly obsessed with over the years, and it's likely to have the same effect on other rare 80s horror fans. Pretty much the perfect horror film for the fan looking for the ultimate lost slasher. Seek it out, if you know the right places to look.

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7/10

'Death Doll' has a number of surprisingly effective 'don't-go-in-there!' moments!

Weirdling_Wolf24 January 2021

Garishly adorned with a visually arresting, albeit disingenuous poster, strongly suggesting that Death Doll's content is luridly centred around the murderously ambulatory machinations of a child's demonic doll, à la Stuart Gordon's 'Dolls', independent filmmaker William Mims's engaging, unfairly neglected VHS-era horror obscurity provides, in actuality, some pleasingly eerie 'Woman Alone' melodramatics, essentially being a paranoid, dark-edged, slow-burning psychological thriller, rather than a vapid, Top-popping, blood n' guts teen-screamer.

The beautiful, if somewhat fragile Talia Shire-lookalike Trish Keller (Andrea Walters) and husband Bobby (Philip Boatwright) have a brief, Amicus-style foreshadowing event with the mechanical, grim-voiced Madame Zerba, an ancient-looking, coin-operated soothsaying automaton, bluntly prophesying that a rather grim future might be in store for the young, affable couple. Closely following this delightfully quaint Roald Dahl interlude, 'Death Doll' settles into the cosily familiar trope of lone female protagonist tormented by a malign, unseen threat, the stock narrative given a little extra pathos by the fact that big-eyed, sweet-natured Trish is heavily pregnant and is frequently alone, this angsty estrangement boosting her tired 'TV Movie of the Week' plight with some additionally potent emotional ballast.

'Death Doll' is, on occasion, a trifle tepid, but, it can also be said that it frequently makes for an enjoyably hokey late night shocker, with splendidly spooky, dark-corridor'd interludes, with no a less foreboding, skin-jangling jeopardy to maintain more open-minded genre fans interest, not least being the fine performances, Trish being an entirely sympathetic imperilled lead and her shadowy brother in-law Dillon (William Dance) being no less of a three dimensional figure. Even with its obvious budgetary and narrative limitations, 'Death Doll' has a number of surprisingly effective 'don't-go-in-there!!!!' moments, and poor beleaguered Trish's heightened anxiety and increasing paranoia is given greater verisimilitude by the menacing swell of Bruce Miller's exceptionally fine music. William Mims's video-dazed 80s curio 'Death Doll' isn't essential, but proved to be strangely compelling in its creepy-creaky 'Tales of The Unexpected' fashion!

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8/10

A scary movie that held my suspense

billdancecasting10 February 2011

I loved the intimacy of this film As compared to so many horror films today, which I find too pretentious and nothing but special effects, this film in its simplistic approach grabbed my attention. The music was a little synthetic, but I am sure that was because of the budget. I felt the actors were convincing. Chucky the film seemed to have borrowed the entire concept of the story. I would suggest you see it if you can get your hands on it. What other movies has this director done. Have I seen the leading lady on some TV shows? The doll wouldn't die, as she continued to live long after Dillon died. I would not suggest children see this movie. If you collect dolls, I think you will be creeped out.

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6/10

Death Doll

BandSAboutMovies26 October 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Directed by William Mims (who was in the art department for The Beastmaster and produced and shot plenty of swimsuit videos) and written by Sidney Mims, Death Doll has a poster that promises Chucky and a film that delivers near-giallo.

Young widow Trish (Andrea Walters) is being stalked and asks her brother-in-law Dillon (William Dance) to help her. It turns out that someone keeps leaving a doll behind and she keeps finding it, which as you can imagine freaks her out. Those same dolls are being left at crime scenes.

There's also a fortune telling machine that absolutely terrified me on film and if I ever saw it in person, I would run the other way. It also has a doll inside it and can tell when your palm isn't facing the right way. When your hand does, it tells you just how screwed you are and how doom is coming for you. No thanks. Weird dolls and strange future reading mechanical devices? I'm real good with not being around any of that.

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7/10

Creepy Obscure 80's Horror

ladymidath15 April 2024

Warning: Spoilers

I saw this years ago and pretty much forgot about it. It popped up on YouTube and I decided to watch it.

What brought back my memories of this movie was the creepy fortune teller doll in the glass booth. I remember it freaking me out when I was younger. It is nice to say, that seeing it again was still unsettling to my much older self.

I am pretty sure that this is a made for television movie, well it has all the tropes of being one anyway, but that does not take away the genuinely creepy feel of the film.

Although the acting can be a little wooden at times, the cast are generally pretty good. The music also help ramp up the tension without being too intrusive.

A young pregnant widow is being stalked by someone who leaves dolls to terrorise her. After her roommate is murdered she realizes that she is in grave danger. All alone she turns to her brother's ex wife and her husband's brother.

The opening scene where she and her husband find the fortune teller mannequin is every eerie and had my attention form the start. The movie moves along at a pretty good pace, it never really lags and there are some scary scenes.

All up, this is a forgotten gem that does deserve to be seen.

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