Director: Andrew Jones
Year: 2015
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Killer Doll
Plot:
After a series of family issues, a man presents his son with a special doll to help him adjust to the changing issues in the family, but when a series of strange accidents strikes, they start to wonder whether the doll is actually real and haunting them through the accidents.
Review:
For the most part, this was a fairly decent killer doll film. One of the better features with this one comes from the rather strong building point that comes from how it becomes obvious that something is going on in the house. By dealing with the family issues at the very beginning and getting to see how it all comes together regarding the wife going through health issues and trying to adjust herself by painting, and the babysitter being let go, that all signals the use of the prized doll as a coping mechanism to help him with everything going on in a rather familiar manner. Equally familiar but no less effective is the series of recurring incidents that arise following the arrival of the doll, from the ruined objects around the house that no one takes credit for, audible whispered voices when no one else is around, or missing out on bizarre accidents that no one else could’ve pulled off, creating the kind of atmosphere where everything may be either happening as she says or the psychotic meds she takes have taken hold of her.
This series of interactions takes place through one of several different types of setpieces, and while they’re all effective in building up the storyline present, they are somewhat problematic. While the idea of spilling paint on her personal work without revealing the truth about who did it or catching the tail end of accidental falls that result in either serious injury or death come off nicely enough to hint at something going on so that the mother’s freakouts seem logical, they’re all inherently repetitive of numerous other types of killer doll movies where the accidents take place around in such a way as to make it plausible whether or not the whole thing was the cause of the doll or the kid. It’s not all that fascinating to see them play out yet again in such a manner, where it’s using the same tactics to do the one part of the storyline that’s not all that interesting in what’s being presented, whether the mother has finally snapped from the psychotic break she has with reality, or the doll is actually alive.
On top of that, there’s also the issue with the absolutely sluggish tempo on display that saps the film of any real interest from the beginning. Regardless of how well the material is handled in depicting the wife’s descent into madness, trying to make sense of the accidents and strange scenarios around her, it doesn’t overcome the fact that it’s all cliched material that takes place, which leaves this one feeling immensely familiar and predictable as it goes along. With everyone but the mother in such a dreary, dull monotone state, regardless of what’s taking place around them or how obvious the supernatural implications of what’s happening, the presentation here is immensely dragging without much to speed it up. Combined with the cheesy low-budget limitations featured here, these all manage to bring this one down.
Overview: **.5/5
An enjoyable but flawed low-budget killer doll film, this one manages to get enough to like that it’s not a complete waste, but there are some big problems here that leave this problematic overall. Those with an interest in this style of genre fare or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like, while most others out there should heed caution.
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