DOLL FROM HELL

Asian cinema is revered for daring to descend where others fear to tread. Celebrating perverse sexuality, pain, and supernatural horror in a variety of ways, from the subtle and atmospheric to the harsh and violent, A-horror is as inventive in its approach as it is in its choice of figures and themes. Many of today's Asian horror directors have proved themselves to be Innovative, capable of making the old new again, lending timely importance and credibility to standard genre conventions. This is particularly useful in the tale of the supernatural, where a level of belief has to be attained before the fantastic can really make an impression. No one doubts Asian culture's generally held belief in the supernatural, as they share a greater and more personal affinity with the other world than the common Westerner, which, one can't help but think, bleeds down into how they approach occult films. Capable of using stock figures to represent metaphorical objects of fear and desire, the exotic, more adventurous mind of the Asian director fuses art with mysticism to inject both authority and emotional appeal into their paranormal art. Yet, at the same time, these filmmakers are beholden to no one cinematic tradition, as innovative in camera placement and technical positions as they are traditional in their views on the occult. These two elements come together in Doll From Hell, a new shocker of dark magic, love and revenge that combines the best of the suggestive 'ghost story' approach with Fairy Tale themes in a modernist manner. This hybrid of revenge and dark fantasy storytelling supports intense physical horror with emotional suspense, carving a dark path between both extremes. Presented in a clean transfer from Tokyo Shock, this is both a first rate thriller and a 'thinking man's' monster fest -- a clever updating of a familiar 'wish motif' that is admirable in its pairing of exploitation shocks and more unsettling emotionalism.

Doll From Hell, also known as Ikenie or Sacrifice, offers a scandalous variation of the killer doll movies from the 50s and 70s. Dolls have long held a place of fear and reverence in the religious and occult systems of the world, treated with both awe and fear by people who see supernatural manifestations of otherworldly power in their dull, frozen features. On the other hand, the use of dolls (as a sort of mask with which to hide behind) as surrogates or replacements for the personality (or layers of one personality) has long been a psychological curiosity. A metaphorical riff on such movies as Magic and Devil Doll, this story, at a glance, this movie exchanges traditional dolls with flesh and blood, suggesting, perhaps, the manipulability of humans. The plot revolves around a father's search for spectral vengeance when his daughter is murdered by in the forest -- a perfect symbol for animal savagery and unrestrained sexuality due to its relationship with primal freedom. Erika and her doll-maker father live isolated in a mountain villa when a gang of thugs, thinking that Erika witnessed one of their crimes, kill her. Vowing revenge, her father instils his warped soul into her body. The expected creepiness ensues. This re-working of classic movie themes is also rooted, as mentioned above, in cross cultural mythology, which features several instances where the wishes/desires of a human have brought supernatural life to the inanimate subjects of their obsession -- usually to tragic consequences (save for Disney's more gentle approach with the wooden boy with the big nose).

Walking the delicate tight-rope between the psychological and the supernatural that has preoccupied mankind since the earliest stories were told by primal man, Doll From Hell evokes the mystery, madness, and macabre possibilities of the uncanny in a context of realism that makes it more believable and unsettling. The director instils what could have been a ridiculous piece of absurdity with believable human emotions, motivations, and pacing. The approach also suggests an honesty rare in the field; we know we're to be entertained first, invited to seek further meaning only after that has been accomplished. Genuine moments of spiritual terror and physical violence create an uneasy tension between the expected and surprising that keeps you glued to the screen. This said, the movie's themes are ambiguous enough in conception and execution to prevent us from completely knowing whether or not the moralistic leanings of the filmmakers, and to what extent the supernatural I involved. This, again, lends further energy to the memorable anxiety. As much a probing, philosophically disturbing poem of self-doubt, alienation, and dependence as it is an unapologetic fright-fest, Doll from Hell is that rare beast of modern cinema, a horror film that manages to be as emotionally provocative as it is sensationalistic. embodying/symbolizing a physical and emotional tool for a person's true, hidden, secret desires and fears. The director of this Asian fear fest takes this premise -- and these deeply ingrained apprehensions -- and gives them an exotic spin through the sensibility of his culture, marrying his sensibility to a cosmic fear.

The director of Doll From Hell separates the banal everyday appearance of surface reality from the nightmarishly evocative, using the unknown as his scalpel, and an eternal desire for vengeance and revenge as his bloody nihilistic canvas. If but for a brief time, this film's merging of the fantastique with the primal awe of dolls -- inanimate figures designed to mimic human beings -- manages to supplant reality, giving a distinctly urban spin on a myth as old as Pygmillian. And while the premise here is admittedly fanciful, taking a chance of crossing over into ridiculousness, the tension of its structure and believability of its atmosphere saves it. The folklore-inspired motif of a doll being filled with a human spirit is genuinely creepy, and is an eerie manifestation for the emotions of loss, sadness, and rage that inject the entire film with pertinence. While by no means a flawless picture, lagging somewhat in pacing, and feeling rushed near the end, the moments of tragedy, loss, and violence are inspired. Most memorable of course are the doll attacks, filmed with dark elegance and awe. Combined with the overall 'feel' of the picture, these sequences are impressive monuments of surrealistic terror: raw, subversive, and tense. A violent, bloody fable for the nihilistic age!

Visually, Doll From Hell is a nice surprise. Clean and crisp, this re-mastered 1.85:1 letterboxed picture from Tokyo Shock (a branch of Media Blasters, a champion of affordable exploitation rarities) is free from grain, splotching, or cuts. The colors are quite nice, vivid and dream-like, with swirling pinks, reds, and blues mirroring the violent, strong emotions of the characters. The Audio in Dolby Digital is in original Japanese with English Subs, and is serviceable enough, conveying the eerie musical score with panache.

Extras are rather bare, including the standard "Making Of Featurette" that captures the organic experience of making a film but treads no new ground, a handful of Tokyo Shock Trailers, and the feature's original trailer. A simplistic yet efficient package for a surprisingly effective chiller!

Review by William P. Simmons