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| Devil Doll
Good low budget chiller with a few unintentional laughs
Unrelated to the 1936 Tod Browning movie of the same name; DEVIL DOLL has a similar story to the (later) famed segment of DEAD OF NIGHT and also to William Goldman's later novel MAGIC, which was filmed in 1978 with Anthony Hopkins.BR>Scripted by George Barclay and Lance Z. Hargreaves, and based on a story by Frederick Escreet Smith; DEVIL DOLL is a compact but enjoyable little chiller.BR>The Great Vorelli (Bryant Halliday) is a charismatic hypnotist/ ventriloquist who arrives in London to do his famed show, in which his dummy Hugo can walk and talk by himself- but there's one hitch: This is no trick.But the audience don't realize that. Of course no magic show would be the same without audience participation; and co-incidentally one of the chosen patrons is Marian Hore (Yvonne Romain), the attractive daughter of one of England's richest men. Vorelli uses this opportunity to offer to do a charity performance for her.BR>But during the act Hugo gets carried away and he reveals his homicidal tendencies. Would it have anything to do with his "Master" locking him in a cage and goading him into committing murder? There's an amusing bit at this performance where Vorelli makes Hugo drink wine, saying to him: "Don't drink too much, Hugo. It might make the sawdust in your stomach swell".BR>DEVIL DOLL is more funny today than frightening, but Halliday is perfect as Vorelli; helping make a silly idea into a fairly good chiller, albeit one with a wholly predictable resolution.
an essential 'sleeper' for any collector!
Although less well known than a lot of it's contemporary horror films, DEVIL DOLL is a remarkable effective production that deserves a place in any afficianado of the 'golden age' of British horror.BR>The title is slightly misleading, as the doll of the title is not the evil protaganist - That role falls to the dummy's 'master', the Great Vorelli. The story is fairly routine - A journalist (William Sylvester) wants to debunk noted stage hypnotist/ventriloquist Vorelli so eggs his girlfriend into going on stage to take part in the act. Vorelli then plots to place the woman in his thrall (and as played by the stunning Yvonne Romain, who can blame him?), but help comes from unexpected quarters.BR>It's the stylish direction of the film that makes it so amazing - Director Lyndsay Shonteff was young ; inexperienced when fellow Canadian Sidney Furie had to step aside, but it certainly doesn't show on screen. The use of freeze frames, negative images ; accelerated motion are all experimental for a film of this type and they add enormous atmosphere to the prceedings. The stock music is very appropriate and the sound effects are genuinely unsettling - The tension between Vorelli ; 'Hugo' is palpable thanks to the conviction of the actors - There isn't a single bad performance in this film, with Bryant Halliday's extraordinary voice lending his potentially on-dimensional character great gravitas. The immediately recognisableWilliam Sylvester is also excellent, moving from sceptisism to belief throuhout the film.BR>Produced by the legendary Richard Gordon for around £50,000 (!), this film stands proudly alongside his more famous films like FIEND WITHOUT A FACE ; GRIP OF THE STRANGLER - Highly recommended!
The Devil Is In The Details!
Two versions of the movie "Devil Doll" are available on the DVD; the American version and the alternate Continental version of the film. For some reason, the Continental version includes a striptease number in place of a key scene between the Great Vorelli and his assistant. As presented, what's left of the scene immediately following the striptease makes no sense. The makers of this DVD should have taken the Continental striptease scene and added it to the American version of the movie, creating a longer and better movie. P>The Great Vorelli is a master hypnotist as well as a ventriloquist, whose dummy Hugo acts more like a real person than a puppet. Whoever designed the dummy did a great job. Hugo's smirking face is both amusing and threatening at the same time. Instead of engaging in comic banter, Hugo argues with Vorelli on stage. When Hugo insists that the audience's applause is for him, Vorelli instructs him to walk to the front of the stage to properly thank the audience. Hugo gets up off Vorelli's lap and walks under his own power, amazing the audience. Reporter Mark English, who is assigned to report on Vorelli, is determined to expose him as a fraud. He is sure that Hugo is a mechanical puppet or a small person disguised as a ventriloquist's dummy. Mark convinces his girlfriend Marianne to volunteer to be hypnotized by Vorelli on stage. Vorelli is clearly smitten by her. Marianne later asks Vorelli to perform at her aunt's charity dinner party. During that performance, Hugo is surly and disobedient. He grabs a knife off the table and brandishes it at Vorelli. I guess you could call Vorelli's act, theater of the absurd for dummies!
While previous reviewers did not discuss the extent of Vorelli's amazing powers, describe the secret of Hugo's true nature, or reveal the twist ending of the movie, I will now divulge all of the details. What's that noise? Is that you, Hugo? Vorelli?? Whoever you are, put down the knife! Aaaaaaauuuugh!!!
Buy Devil Doll at Amazon.com
Buy posters at Allposters.com
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