1987’s Dolls is an incredibly fun, if not somewhat cheesy, horror flick that is one to watch with friends to have an even better time. The cast is great working together especially Carrie Lorraine who’s not bad for a child actor.
Dolls
(1987)
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | R – 77 min. – $29.93 | November 11, 2014
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Stuart Gordon Writer(s): Ed Naha (written by) Cast: Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy Gordon, Cassie Stuart, Bunty Bailey, Carrie Lorraine DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
PLOT SUMMARY
A precocious girl, her nasty parents, two punk-rock losers and a weak-kneed salesman inadvertently become the guests of two ghoulish senior citizens in their dark, haunted mansion. The old couple makes and collects dolls that, when not sitting still like good little mannequins, creep around in the night, offing the guests one by one! You may laugh at first, but if they turn on you, you’ll regret it…for the rest of your short life!
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover.
Audio Commentaries – We get two tracks: 1) Director Stuart Gordon and Writer Ed Naha and 2) Cast Members Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Lee (who recently passed), Carrie Lorraine and Ian Patrick Williams. Both tracks are fine, although the first one is by far the better of the two, more lively and informative while the actors’ track is a tad slower with more silent moments.
Toys of Terror: The Making of Dolls (38:22; HD) is a well made retrospective featuring interviews with Director Stuart Gordon, Producer Brian Yuzna, Actors Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Ian Patrick Williams, Executive Producer Charles Band amongst others.
Also included are a Film-to-Storyboard Comparison (8:21; HD), Theatrical Trailer (2:32; HD) and a Still Gallery.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Dolls and their creepy eyes arrive on Blu-ray presented with a well done, if not flawed, 1080p high-definition transfer with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio. This transfer actually isn’t bad providing for good detail levels and colors seem to be well balanced though a fair portion of the movie does take place in the dark or at night. That said, there are some scratches and dust marks, and even some kind of fluttering dust in a couple scenes (not sure if there was something wrong with that camera while filming), so it’s not the perfect looking video but still good enough.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track provides for good dialogue levels while the score comes through very nicely but also quite effective for the more horrific, bloody scenes. It’s not a fantastic lossless track but successful enough especially considering its age and limited budget.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, 1987’s Dolls is an incredibly fun, if not somewhat cheesy, horror flick that is one to watch with friends to have an even better time. The cast is great working together especially Carrie Lorraine who’s not bad for a child actor. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers up good bonus material while the video and audio transfers are both well done.
Published: 11/20/2014