Worry Dolls

A by the numbers horror where a bunch of cursed worry dolls get into the wrong hands making them become possessed and violently kill whoever is around them.

I seen this under the title Worry Dolls and I thought Charles Band would be behind this somehow. Luckily he wasn't but then the film wasn't much better then something he would do. The first few minutes rock in this film with a psycho jamming a four foot drill bit through someone's head with tons of blood flying everywhere. Then the rest of the film lacks in comparison. It was cheese that the dolls were put on strings and then all someone had to do was put it on making them insta rage zombie. Skip this one unless you have a friend in the cast.

Padraig Reynolds keeps with the same visual and directing style that played out in rural community horror fashion in "Rites Of Spring". That whole small town lives with their super evil occult issues. "Worry Dolls" doesn't quite give as exciting and well developed story the way his debut feature gives, but it keeps with a familiar creepy cult, black magic motif. Except in this story the occult, supernatural is more developed and defined. With "Rites Of Spring" it was a more subtle hint to the Sowing Season with more pagan inspiration.

"Worry Dolls" is a wicked, and paranormal curse nightmare that gives good deadpan mixed with American Gothic flare. Unfortunately the suspense and energy is very low when it comes to getting the story off the ground. The emotion and atmosphere are their but the direction and character drama just never gets up there to meet this great, and chillingly good slice of occult horror. The cast give good performances, but compared to "Rites Of Spring", "Worry Dolls" feels more Charles Band than Ti West, not that that is a bad thing, just saying compared to films similar to "Worry Dolls" like "House Of The Devil" and "Nothing To Fear".

Now the special effects are beasts of another Hell! The blood splatter, and brutality was great, visceral slices of awesome. The opening scene honestly, I felt like I needed to go check to make sure no blood splashed on me. Great scene. I enjoyed all the horror scenes with the blunt, brutal deaths. Blood, blood, blood, every kill was crimson. The sound effects, and the musical score weren't as memorable as the special effects, but they do their job to keep the pace and attitude of "Worry Dolls" dark, and sinister. And the creature effects, although more like Haunted Attraction level artistry, created some freaky, evil faces.

Overall, "Worry Dolls" is a bit disappointing, especially when comparing it to Reynolds' first film, but does have some cool stuff happening throughout the film. You will find yourself wondering on to other things during the long character building scenes. Still just when you feel you drifted too far a brutal, blood staining event takes place and snaps you back into the depth of the horror in "Worry Dolls:" Definitely check this one out if you are keen to Padraig Reynolds style, I liked enough about the film based on concept and kills to wanna add it to my collection. But take note that the horror vibe doesn't really have full strength through the whole film, like the thrills, it comes and goes.

So, this is another indie, small horror project, that took itself serious, and had some good parts to offer. But do bare in mind the budget and the possibilities.

The acting was overall satisfying from my point of view, better than expected for this kind of movie, actors were nicely chosen I'd might say, the dialogue worked OK. The deaths were also good enough, you get your share of blood, violence, pretty much the usual. There is a plot to it, you most likely seen it before but this is a small step up from all the others I've laid my eyes on lately.

You could watch it if you have absolutely nothing better to do. Or if your wifi fails and leaves you stranded with only the movies on your computer. Or netflix. Whatever, wherever. I won't recommend it, but I'm not going to bash it either. It's a 4 star movie at best, perhaps, slightly, less, but I'll round it to 4 thanks to the effort put into it.

Cheers!

A girl is held captive in some abandoned building. She manages to free herself while her captor is somewhere praying while holding some creepy little figurines. When he hears the girl he puts the figures away in a box and cloth bag and goes chasing after her with his drill that has a giant bit reminiscent of The Slumber Party Massacre--one of my favorite movies. As she escapes the building, she runs into a cop who's looking for her. That allows our villain to put to drill to some very good use. But another cop shows up and kills him. Now this is a great intro! While the cops are in the car some scary lady appears demanding the cops give her box with the figurines. Of course it's evidence so they can't give it to her. Yet somehow the box ends up in the hands of the cop's daughter and estranged wife, who has some crafts store. The girl makes some pendants and bracelets with the creepy figurines which for some reason all the customer find so cool and by them all up right away. The girl keeps one of them though.

Sure enough, one guy who gets a figurine pendant from his girlfriend goes nuts after becoming very pale at a convenience store and kills the worker there and is shot by the owner afterwards. Not only that, but he leaves a bloody sign painted in blood. This intrigues the cops because it's the sign that the serial killer from the intro used.

Next, the cop's daughter goes pale and nuts and kills the beautiful family Rottweiler. She's then quickly taken to the hospital where the problem is initially attributed to her epilepsy.

Then a family friend gives another figurine pendant to her husband who goes bonkers, kills the gardener and then attacks the wife just as the cop arrives. When the cop finds the figurine he decides to visit the crazy woman from before who wanted the box. Turns out she adopted the abandoned serial killer when he was a child. The figurines, or worry dolls or more accurately translated, sorrow dolls, come from Guatemalan lore and are designed to remove someone's sorrows and pains. Her grandparents were from Guatemala. But in the case of the serial killer since he was innocent and yet consumed with hate, the sorrow dolls ended up transmitting the hate. The solution is for the cop and his sidekick to collect all the dolls with the box and deliver them to her by dawn. He succeeds but there's a twist.

Devil's Dolls won me over with the brutal intro. Unfortunately, it doesn't keep up the intensity probably for budgetary reasons. We could have used at least one more doll/killer/victim. For some reason it doesn't focus enough, literally, on the dolls. They are small and creepy but the camera doesn't zoom in at any point, and for some reason no one looks at them carefully, even though they are unusual and striking. The wonderful intro credit scene featuring sights of Mississippi plus the dolls themselves which have some wooden structure reminded me of the first season of True Detective. I found the script smarter than usual. It handles for instance the relationship between the cop, his (ex)wife, and her new guy very well. The background of the dolls is also interesting. Casting is strong, most of the ladies are attractive. Christopher Wiehl who multitasked as producer and writer as well, occasionally delivers an unconvincing performance as the detective.

I found that this movie delivers more than most horror movies these days. And it's the stuff that I like--strong kills, a novel deeper story, it features a Rottweiler who can't escape the usual dog fate in movies. One nice touch is that the filmmakers thank the audience at the end for watching the movie, something I wonder why not more do. I highly recommend Devil's Dolls, it's better than the score here would lead you to believe.

In the aftermath of the hunt for a serial killer, an ancient curse consumes a city, causing a series of brutal murders and pitting a detective against the clock to save his daughter's life.

The film opens in a very gritty, dirty place – even if you know it's just a movie, you feel a little bit repulsed. Soon, we establish the locale… a swampy delta, probably near New Orleans. Even the inhabited buildings look abandoned. This is an ideal place to make a horror film or thriller. But unfortunately, it goes downhill fast after the opening scene.

The highlight after that? The casting of Brea Grant. And as far as films with "worry dolls" go, at least it is better than the one made by Full Moon. But that really is not saying much, as just about every movie out there is better than what Full Moon has to offer.

Generally, IFC Midnight releases excellent films. How they got mixed up in this one is beyond me. But two out of three in recent months is still a good record.