User Reviews

Monsters: Holly's House is set in New York where the children's TV show Holly's House is filmed, Holly is a rather freakish looking child sized robotic doll puppet controlled & voiced off-screen by Kathy (Marilyn Jones). Kathy reveals to her lover Eddie (Perry Lang) that she is pregnant & is willing to give up the show & Holly the puppet, however Holly the seemingly robotic puppet has ideas of it's own & doesn't want Kathy to ever leave her...

Episode two from season one of Monsters this originally aired in the US during October 1988, directed by Ted Gershuny I actually thought Holly's House was a rather average episode that doesn't really stand-out in any way. The script uses the juxtaposition of setting a sinister horror story in the world of children's telly but this episode is largely predictable & there's not much of a twist either, in fact it's probably one of the most forgettable twist endings in the entire three seasons. The script tries to keep the audience guessing & try not to make it clear whether Holly the doll is really alive or whether Kathy is a schizophrenic with a split-personality although it's fairly easy to predict which option the script decides to take once it comes to the crunch. All in all Holly's House is a fairly unremarkable episode that has some humour which doesn't really work & the whole living killer doll plot has been done before most notably in the Child's Play series of films. At only just over twenty odd minutes in length at least it's short & as a one off horror anthology short it's not a complete disaster but at the same time it's nothing that memorable.

This episode of Monsters is probably one of the few telly show's that has two back-to-back opening credit sequences as after the regular Monsters opening sequence it cuts straight to the fictional Holly's House opening sequence which plays in full. The Holly doll is about the size of a ten year old & it's obvious there's someone in the doll suit operating it, she does look quite freaky at times with her over-sized fat cherub styled face & simplified features. The design of Holly plays on our fears of deformity & is unnervingly close to the real thing. There isn't any gore in this one although someone is stabbed with a pair of scissors. There's a decent look to this episode as well as it drifts between the bright jovial children's TV set & the harsher reality of backstage.

Holly's House is a rather forgettable episode of Monsters that isn't funny or scary & features a predictable plot about a living doll that ends up killing, even the meagre & frankly lacklustre twist can't save it. Not one of the better episodes but just about watchable.

"Holly's House" would at the beginning seem to be a very cute episode. This is not a cute episode. It opens up with the filming of a children's show called "Holly's House" in which stars a large puppet like doll named Holly. The rest of the characters all are actual people dressed in similar outfits that you would see on "Sesame Street". In the first 5 minutes of the show you notice something is wrong with Holly. The woman reciting Holly's lines would appear to be making Holly say some nasty things. After filming is over and everyone has gone home for the day, except for the woman playing the part of Holly, Holly reveals herself as being a real living doll and never wants to separate from the actress. This all builds up to Holly becoming homicidal in the long run.

I saw this episode many years ago and always thought there was something really creepy about it. This is much better then any "Childs Play" movie as Holly is a rather creepy doll. This episode I would not show to any kids as it would probably stain their poor little memories. 8/10

Holly, the large animatronic doll star of a popular children's show, comes to malevolent life. Or does she?

Director Theodore Gershuny keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving at a constant pace, ably crafts an intriguing enigmatic atmosphere, and further spices things up with a few inspired moments of dark humor (Holly at one point throws an absolutely hysterical hissy fit on the set of her show). The clever script by Jon Connolly and David Loucka provides a neat glimpse into the drama and pressure to be found behind-the-scenes of a television show. Marilyn Jones contributes a solid and appealing portrayal of troubled puppeteer Kathy; she receives sturdy support from Perry Lang as noncommittal boyfriend Lenny, Pamela Dean Kelly as a concerned co-star, and Neil Smith as a nice guy director. The doll looks genuinely creepy. The ending is a bit vague, but still chilling. A worthwhile show.

Holly's House starts as Kathy (Marilyn Jones) is working on the popular children's television show "Holly's House", she is responsible for working as and creating Holly a child size robotic puppet (played in costume by Michael J. Anderson). However Kathy desperately wants to move on with her life, and when she discovers she is pregnant from Lenny (Perry Lang) she agrees to marry him, and discontinue the show, with the support of her cast & crew, but, there is someone who isn't crazy about the idea of Kathy leaving and that's Holly!

First of all I am a sucker for a good killer doll story and while this isn't the most original thing, i mean we've seen the whole psychological killer object, but, wait is the owner just going crazy story before. However what makes this one good is that it manages to create a good deal of suspense. The setting is a television studio and most of the time it is either dark or dimly lit so it manages to create some nice atmosphere throw out, there is also some odd comedic moments thrown is as well which sadly come off as a little hokey, including a full opening credits sequence for the fictional television show. Also, many people may right this off as a "Child's Play" rip-off even tho it actually came out a little under two weeks before that film hit theaters, it still makes you wonder if it was made during the same time or the producers knew it was also being made, however I don't think it hurts it in the least. The cast does a good job, with the only real familiar face being Perry Lang who had a decent television career. The doll itself is at times pretty creepy, it was played by Michael J. Anderson who "Twin Peaks" fans may remember as the Man From Another Place. The twist goes in the direction I figured they would take it, even tho it has been done to death, its still executed nicely. All in all the episode is very good and despite it obvious low budget still manages to be eerie and effective.