Any good horror fan of the eighties would have heard of the film production company "Empire International" which specialized in low budget horror films mostly containing little devils, demons, monsters and as this movie states dolls. "Dolls" however, is not your average slasher horror film like "Child's Play". It has elements of family love and respect interwoven throughout the movie in much the same way as a Grimm's Fairy Tale (to bluntly put it "a moral"). The films starts as a young girl, her father and step mother become stranded in the middle of a forest during a storm. They seek shelter in an old, spooky house which is owned by an elderly couple who have a mass collection of dolls. They are later joined by three other people who have also been taken by surprise by the storm. When the people tuck in for the night, the dolls start to come alive and only a certain few will survive the night.I thought this a pretty entertaining film, one that plays out like a fairy tale, complete with a moral element (never lose touch with your inner child). There are a few gruesome parts within the movie (the teddy bear mauling sequence in the beginning for one), but there was a lot less gore than I would have expected, especially from a Stuart Gordon production. The aspects I really appreciated were the creepy sequences, of which there were a few, including the old woman with the baby carriage, Isabel in the attic, and the dolls, especially their facial expressions... at certain points in the movie we'd see dolls sitting on a shelf, motionless, that is until their eyes move, along with displaying a sinister grin. I didn't feel the film was soaked in atmosphere, but there was definitely an effort, one that pays off if given a chance. One element that stands this movie apart from others featuring killer dolls is there's not much focus given to any particular doll, the exception being perhaps the 'Punch' doll. There are hundreds of dolls in the house, and all seem to be of the same mind, driven by the same force.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Spooky flick about dolls terrorizing a house. Is it scary, no it wasn't at all, face it, it's a Charles Band flick, they never are scary but they are mostly weird. And there are a few about puppets. It's predictable what we do see here but to be honest, it was made in an era when slashers were done and horror was completely out of the picture.It never became a classic as Child's Play did one year later but it is a must for collectors. Stuart Gordon directed this and we do know that he made Re-animator (1985) for Charles Band's company Empire. On that part alone, the directing, it one of the reasons you keep watching and the classic thunderstorm and evil stepmother makes the story rather, classic. Maybe why it never became a classic is the fact that stop motion was used for the attacking dolls. But then Stuart added POV from the doll's to make it creepier and succeeded.No gore at all but it do has it moment due the atmosphere.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

I have seen this movie multiple times and I with every viewing I love it even more. The plot is pretty simple and straightforward. To me it is more than a movie where dolls just kill people. No these dolls don't just randomly pick their victims, they really do have a sense of justice. The movement of the dolls is done with stop-motion techniques and convincingly as if they really are alive. The casting is great: the old toymaker and his wife, little Judy, her father and stepmother, kid at heart Ralph and rock chicks Enid and Isabel, this small cast worked wonderfully well together. Kudos to writer and director to make such a coherent and likable piece of art. At last a movie about killer dolls that goes deeper than the typical boring slasher like Child's Play. Has grown into one of my favorites in a short time. If it only had some longer duration...

I normal hate it when the a movie as dream scene near the start of the movie, for this I found the dream scene really fun and a little cute.Judy step mum- is one hell of Evil Nasty b***h, God what the hell is wrong with her and her Dad as to one most nasty and silly parents in the world. (She better off without them)I just could not wait for the dolls to kill them, they got what they deserved.some of the dolls were really creepy and all the razor sharp teeth makes look even more scary and there was some bloody moment in this movie, I would not say gory.I love effects near the end of the movie, the scene. what happens to the father was really good, the good old cheesy 80's effect are great fun to watch.The acting was really good from everyone in the movie 8 out of 10 Great fun movie.