Play time.

This is one of my favorite horror films from the 1980s. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it.

It is Stuart Gordon's DOLLS from 1987.

 Here is the film.

DOLLS begins with a family on a European trip. Judy, the little girl, is very imaginative but her father and stepmother, Rosemary (Stuart Gordon's wife, Carolyn) don't like her constant daydreaming. When their car breaks down, they seek refuge from a storm in an old house occupied by Gabriel and Hillary Hartwicke. Gabriel is a doll maker and the house if full of his creations.

He gives Judy a Punch doll (get it?) to keep her company and then we meet three news strangers who come in from the rain. Ralph, a kind American businessman, and two English hitchhikers, Enith and Isabelle. By the way, Isabelle is played by Bunty Bailey, the girl from AHA's "Take On Me" video.

The people settle in for the night but Isabelle has other ideas. Mainly along the lines of theft.

 That kills the deal. The dolls show their true nature and come to life during the night. They go after those without their inner child. Those cynical ones who don't see the joy and loyalty that toys provide. From here on out, it's their house and it's going to get ugly.

                         
                                                                  Fuckin' A, Mr. Punch!

There's more to the story, of course but I won't spoil everything here. Needless to say, this is a damn awesome movie! It harkens to the old dark fairy tales and "what ifs" that we all think about as children about our toys coming to life at night while we sleep. And it actually has a valuable lesson about staying young at heart.

My old story about this film goes like this. As a kid, the old dolls used to spook me out big time but when this movie was making its run through the cable channels, I saw the trailers play and even though dolls gave me the heebie-jeebies, I still wanted to see it. My dad said no way. So I looked up the local listings and found out it was going to be on during the middle of the night. I woke up and watched it with very low volume, constantly checking that my parents weren't awake and coming down stairs. I loved the movie and years later, confessed to my dad that I had watched it. We then watched it together. I've seen it several times since.

DOLLS is a great spooky flick and I really hope you give it a chance.