Empire Pictures released Dolls throughout the United States on 29 May 1987.
It was the third of the Brian Yuzna and Stuart Gordon films. The first, of course, was Re-Animator. Then they made From Beyond. Both of those films were loosely based on HP Lovecraft short stories, although the latter at least maintains the tone.
Dolls is a departure. I wouldn’t say that it was better than Re-Animator. But I watch it a lot more. Because I enjoy it more.
As I recall based on the writer-director commentary on the Shout Factory Blu-ray (now ridiculously expensive), Charles Band had the poster made first. This was incredibly common in those days. He then asked Ed Naha to write a script for it. And he wrote a perfect script!
But the film is more than the script. Everything works in this production. The casting is great. The production design and art direction create the perfect old dark house. David W Allen’s stop-motion animation is as good as anything he ever did. And the filming and editing are energetic enough to keep things interesting. It is, after all, a single-location story.
Of course, the film could be rendered much worse and I’d still like it. Over the years I’ve come to see the world as utterly devoid of justice. Evel Knievel died at 69 from breathing problems and not one of his many stupid (some would say calculated) stunts. Children commonly drown because of tsunamis. People can increase their chances but that’s all: increase their chances.
So I love Dolls because everyone gets what they deserve. The horrible people become dolls (and that doesn’t seem like such a bad life). And the good people live happily ever after. And the “gods” in this case (really a witch and a warlock) are simply beyond charming. What’s not to like?
This is, of course, why a lot of horror works!
If you haven’t seen it, you must. Right now! Here it is!
Other 29 May Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Bob Hope (1903-2003): The best part in all those road pictures.
- Kevin Conway (1942-2020): Actor known for The Funhouse and as the evil doctor in the excellent TV movie The Lathe of Heaven.
- Danny Elfman (1953-): Lead singer of Oingo Boingo and composer of all the films you already know.
- Tony Randel (1956-): Director of a number of horror films including the second and third Hellraiser films.
- Ted Levine (1957-): Actor best known for Monk but also the films The Silence of the Lambs, The Fast and the Furious, and The Hills Have Eyes.
- Rupert Everett (1959-): Actor who starred in Cemetery Man.
- John D LeMay (1962-): Star of Friday the 13th: The Series.
- Ashley Laurence (1966-): Actor known mostly for the Hellraiser films.
Films
- Dial M For Murder (1954): Hitchcock film about a man trying to murder his unfaithful wife.
- King Kung Fu (1976): Hilarious combination of King Kong and the Kung Fu TV show.
- Witchcraft IX: Bitter Flesh (1997): The sequel to Witchcraft VII. Really! Witchcraft VIII was a one-off. Here, the ghost of William Spanner (played a second and final time by David Bynres) must protect his girlfriend.Witchcraft X will again not feature the series’ main character.
Dolls (1987) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
