October is upon us! That means that we get to celebrate the joy of horror movies!
Except not all horror movies were created equal. The horror movies we’ll be looking at this month are definitely on the lower end of the quality spectrum. If it’s a film that can be found in a five dollar compilation pack of dvds at Best Buy or a grocery store, it’s game for this month. We kick off the celebration with … drum roll please …
Dolly Dearest. Don’t all clap at once.
Dolly Dearest is a Child’s Play knock off that has none of the wit, scares, or fun that any of the three Chucky movies had provided at that point in time. Dolly Dearest is a dull, frightless feature that challenges nothing but your desire to sleep. It follows the Wade family who are moving to Mexico to take over an old doll factory where Daddy Wade plans on making the most beautiful doll in the world that all he little girls are going to want. Well, those plans change when he discovers a number of horrifying little dolls already there and in mint condition. Yeah, no worries there or anything.
The factory is right next door to a Mayan archaeological dig that houses the tomb of a Sanzia, a demon spirit. Of course, as luck would have it, a seal has already been broken and the doll is possessed by a demonic spirit that. The doll is now in the possession of young Jessie Wade who has gone from precocious youth to Satan loving pain in the ass and terror to Hispanic people everywhere.
The story progresses, the doll becomes more active, Jessie more evil, and a lot of nothing else. No one really seems to do anything. Rip Torn shows up to play a Mexican archaeologist who is an exposition machine. Rip Torn.
All while more of nothing happens.
Overall, Dolly Dearest is a horrible film. What it lacks in the acting department and initial special effects it never makes up for with Dolly herself. When Dolly starts to mess with the Read family she gets quite animated and evil. Except, she’s still a hilarious looking doll, so by quite animated and evil, I mean silly and bratty at worst. Think of Dolly Dearest as the Mexican feminization of Chucky.