Beyond average. Even though it whiffed of Doll Master rip-off I gave it a chance because I don't automatically think that B-movies equal rubbish. Well, though the basic idea is the same as The Doll Master the plot is very different.
And still I say, so what? The doll designs are quite cool, but one or two look a bit
modern for at least a 1911 manufacturer. The samurai and the broken faced doll were really quite impressive looking but the animation let them down a bit. Most of the characters were pretty 2D, though as most of them were the popular crowd I guess they could well have been made intentionally vacuous.
I found the flashback/prologue pretty pointless except to give the ending some grounding. Personally I would've preferred some explanation as to how Sophia came by the dolls to have been included. The jump to a spirit explanation was a bit too rushed as well; the suggestion came almost out of the blue and all other characters accepted it without question. Of course, you'd probably be ready to believe anything if you're being attacked by dolls that move by themselves, and it does remove the usual annoying emphatic denying you get in horror films, but to me it felt a little forced.
Verdict: A for effort, but even for a B movie the finished product's a bit too shaky for me.
February 14, 2009
