ClownDoll (2019)

After purchasing a doll, Lane's life takes a turn for the worst when close friends and family begin vanishing.

Review

From writer / director Scott Jeffrey (The Watcher) comes new indie horror, ClownDoll. Soon-to-be new mother Lane finds (what she considers) to be a charming gift for the new born. Taking the doll home, she quickly finds that there is more to it, of course.

Jeffrey is a solid director, and while the story here breaks no new ground, the film is well put together. At the beginning of the film nothing is given away about the, shall we say, possession of the doll. It just straight gets up and starts killing people from the opening kill onward. It's all explained away as the film progresses, but lest to say, this particular film is not about the plot. It's about the kills.

And that is largely where the film shines. The doll effects are good - and having a larger doll than something like Chucky does away with the need for either animatronics or CGI, and allows for it to wield objects and move freely. This gives the film a nice rounded serial killer vibe, with the kills coming from a stronger antagonist. It's more Michael Myers than Charles Lee Ray.

Doll design here comes in the form of the creepiest looking doll imaginable. Why anyone would buy this for a child, I don't know. It's like the bastard offspring of Pennywise and Annabelle.

On screen we have Sarah T. Cohen (The Viking War) as protagonist Lane. She leads the film well, with broad enough shoulders to carry it. Sadly the pregnancy bump prosthetic looks a little strange in some of the shots, but apart from that she scream queens well. Supporting her are Kelly Juvilee (The Code), Hattie Willow (Pet Graveyard), and Jon-Scott Clark (Mary Poppins Returns). They all do pretty spot on jobs. Performances across the board are good.

How scary you find the film will depend largely on how disturbing you find the subject matter. The doll is unbelievably creepy, so it works pretty well and there are moments of balls to the wall gore. All around it is a solid addition to the killer doll genre (if that is such a thing), and at least something different from the Boy and Childs Play ilks.

A pleasant change, and well worth the watch, and neat little twist, too.