Devil Doll
by Lindsay Shonteff
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bryant Haliday, Nora Nicholson, Sandra Dorne, William Sylvester, Yvonne RomainDirector: Lindsay Shonteff
Brand: Image Entertainment
Producer: Lindsay Shonteff
Producer: Gerald A. Fernback
Producer: Kenneth Rive
Producer: Richard Gordon
Writer: Charles F. Vetter
Writer: Frederick E. Smith
Writer: Ronald Kinnoch
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 81 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-09-03
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Devil Doll
Movie Review: Superb DVD release of creepy Brit-horror classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Reporter Mark English (William Sylvester; Gorgo, 2001: A Space Odyssey) is assigned to write a story on dark, sadistic hypnotist/ventriloquist The Great Vorelli (Bryant Haliday). English convinces his girlfriend Marianne (Yvonne Romain; Curse of the Werewolf, Circus of Horrors) to volunteer to be an on-stage hypnotic subject of Vorellis, whose popular act also involves his sarcastic talking, walking dummy Hugo. Determined to discover the secret of the dummys animation, Mark indirectly arranges to have Vorelli perform at Mariannes aunts charity ball, to which Vorelli readily agrees since hes become obsessed with Marianne. While staying over at the aunts after the ball, Vorelli puts Marianne in a strange, lingering trance and Hugo himself gives Mark a clue to as to his secret. Further plot threads, which shouldnt be disclosed, are interwoven, leading ultimately to an open-ended yet satisfying twist ending. Haliday, in his finest hour, is terrific as Vorelli, intense and creepy, in a makeup reminiscent of Barrymores Svengali, if a bit better groomed. Lindsay Shonteffs direction (closely supervised by Sidney J. Furie) is also better than usual here (try watching Shonteffs Curse of the Voodoo sometime), utilizing lots of expressionistic low camera angles and a few avant-garde-ish negative image inserts. The (part electronic?) soundtrack is also surprisingly effective, especially since its made up entirely of library cues, some of them scored by the likes of Malcolm Lockyer (Dr. Who and the Daleks, Island of Terror). The story moves along briskly, there is some brief, mild gore and nudity, and the acting is generally of high caliber (Yvonne Romain displays some surprising chops, and the little person inside Hugo very convincingly assays the shambling gait of a living doll). The overall effect is that of an excellent extended Anglicized episode of Twilight Zone or Thriller (and thats meant as a compliment) with echoes of both Dead of Night and Svengali for good measure. Both the original English/American version of the film and the hot continental version are included on the DVD. Purists will probably prefer the English cut, especially as the continental version completely replaces a key dialogue scene between Vorelli and his assistant Magda (Sandra Dorne) with a relatively unerotic and superfluous striptease number. This cut completely removes the motivation for the following scene and creates needless confusion, particularly for the first-time viewer. Definitely watch the English version first if youve never seen the film before. The other two scenes with added nudity (bared breasts) were reshot for the continental version, hence dont affect the story line or running time.Source prints for both versions are virtually pristine. Physical damage is limited to some very light speckling; black level, brightness, contrast, sharpness, and shadow/highlight detail are uniformly excellent. The digitally remastered transfers are matted at 1.66:1 and anamorphically enhanced. A lightly speckled but fairly sharp trailer with very good to excellent tonal values is included, as well as a nicely done gallery of approximately 95 stills, ad mats, and posters. The liner notes by Tom Weaver consist primarily of an interview with Frederick E. West, who wrote the original short story upon which the film was based. The audio commentary by producer Richard Gordon, with Weaver, (who also paired for Criterions terrific Fiend without a Face DVD) is, as usual, exhaustively informative, although they do not directly comment on the on-screen action a great deal. Ive always believed Devil Doll to be one of the underrated gems of non-Hammer British horror (along with Circus of Horrors) and this DVD is the ultimate tribute. Highly recommended.
Summary of Devil Doll
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