Hell on the Shelf (2021) by Mark and Anthony Polonia

Director: Mark Polonia, Anthony Polonia

Year: 2021

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Killer Dolls

Plot:

Concerned about a supposedly cursed property, a real-estate agent coerces a film crew to film the house at night to dispel rumors about the house, but while they stay at the house they come to realize that dolls containing evil spirits are the cause and must uncover the secrets within them.

Review:

This was a fairly enjoyable and entertaining genre effort. Among the better elements here is the typically worthwhile setup that provides quite an impressive starting point for not just the investigation into the house but also the use of found footage throughout here. Given the initial backstory of the house that discusses the history of the initial residents that lived there before the hauntings that drove out the series of residents over the years, this gets intriguing enough to warrant the investigation by the team which is where the majority of this one follows through on. Getting them to the house and going through the house with their equipment conducting their series of meetings and interactions with the objects, especially the dolls, serves this one quite well overall.

That leaves the film with some rather fun moments of their investigation getting interrupted and upended by the demonic presence within the house and they must get to the bottom of it. This is handled with some intriguing conversations about everything as well as the on-location setups that involve not just their equipment being disrupted by the spirit realm but actual interactions that prove these setpieces are real. There is something to be said for how fast they start up, as if the setup was planned from the start while the mockumentary-style interviews and approach disrupt the flow of the search as they offer up some unneeded commentary on scenes that don’t need it. Combined with the general low-budget approach here, these do hold it back somewhat.

Overview: **.5/5

A solid enough if somewhat problematic found-footage effort, there are some enjoyable elements present even if some of the bigger issues present do end up holding it back. Those who are fine with these issues, are general fans of this particular style of indie film, holiday horror, or appreciate the creative crew will want to go for this one while most others out there turned off by these factors should heed caution.