Dolls (1987)

Directed by Stuart Gordon. Starring Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Carrie Lorraine, Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Cassie Stuart, Bunty Bailey. [R]

Six people stranded on a dark and stormy night seek shelter at a creepy mansion inhabited by elderly oddballs Rolfe and Mason and dozens of dolls that may be a little too lifelike. Disappointing third feature from Gordon (though it was the second he filmed, its release being delayed by lengthy post-production); short on creativity, horrifying visions, and viscera, its intermittent brightly ghoulish moments break up the plodding tedium, but hardly redeem it. Good “haunted house” set design and above-average effects help, but they’re neither effective nor memorable enough to set the pic apart from a number of similar dreary genre efforts from around the same period (Ghoulies, Puppet Master, etc.). Ends with such a whimper, it may inspire head-scratching while wondering what happened to the missing final reel. As one of the few good eggs among the stranded souls, Lee manages to be ham-fisted and underwhelming at the same time. Brian Yuzna co-produced, but Gordon didn’t write the screenplay for this one (credited to Ed Naha).

49/100