Review: Night of the Dolls

After a grisly opening scene of a doctor turning a young girl into a lobotomized doll, Night of the Dolls sets off following an all girl punk band, The Lolita Dolls, and two guys that sort of help out and video tape the band. The Lolita Dolls are going to shoot their new video in the very sanitarium the crazed Dr. Graves worked at.  The early scenes work surprisingly well given the natural performances and chemistry of the cast. Early on we are also introduced to a detective on the hunt of the crazed doctor. While its clear all three parties will collide in the end, the film does a nice job keeping things interesting along the way.

The film jumps early on between flashbacks of the doctor's earlier victims and the new ones we begin to care about. Director Daniel Murphy manages jumping tones between the horrific flashbacks and the funny and engaging development of the would be victims and ends the film with a thrilling and scary third act. He also juggles a cop procedural in the process. While this section of the film is less lively than the others, its still interesting and Chuck Smith gives a convincing performance of a driven cop.

The film recalls 80's greats like Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Comet without ever trying to be an homage or pastiche. Night of the Dolls was clearly made on its own terms by true lovers of a certain era of horror films.

The least effective thing is the doctor himself. He simply feels like a caricature, evil and tortuous doctor. There is never any sense of backstory or even the slightest depth. This doesn't hurt the film though as these scenes are gore filled and the special effects are fantastic. For an indie horror film, the gore effects are top notch and out do some bigger studio horror releases this year.

The whole ensemble of actors is great but special mention goes to Eric Reaume as Lenny. He gives a naturally funny performance and is a stand out in the film as is Emily Rhoads as Kari although she has less to do.

Overall I have to highly recommend Night of the Dolls. Its fun, gory, engaging and all around well made. For an indie film, the gore and production value are high. The film is shot in a simple but effective manner with some nice stylistic touches in the flashbacks. Help get this film out there by following HM&M Films.