Devil Doll (1964)

Directed by Lindsay Shonteff and Sidney J. Furie
Written by George Barclay, Lance Z. Hargreaves and Frederick E. Smith

"Devil Doll" is available to watch for free online here.

"Devil Doll" is the second Lindsay Shonteff / Bryant Haliday collaboration I've watched recently (the first was "Curse of the Voodoo" (1965)). Like "Curse of the Voodoo", the name and the premise had me expecting the worst. While they are both pretty cheesy b-horror movies, both of these films exceeded my  expectations of them. "Devil Doll" in particular is one b-horror movie that deserves to be promoted to a B+.

[I have, since writing this review, bought "Devil Doll" on DVD, and have written a review of the "Continental" version of the film, which includes nudity, and is not available for free online. Read the review of the "Continental" version here.]

Bryant Haliday (who played Mike Stacey in Curse of the Voodoo) stars as The Great Vorelli, an evil hypnotist/ventriloquist who uses hypnosis to manipulate those around him. He headlines his own show with his "helper", Hugo the dummy. Hugo is no ordinary dummy though. He has special abilities that go beyond ventriloquism. While possessed dolls are nothing new to horror films, Hugo exhibits the same squeaky-voiced, knife-happy glee that would infuse the "Child's Play" franchise in the 80's and 90's.

William Sylvester stars as Mark English, a newspaper reporter who's been charged with reviewing the Great Vorelli's act. In an attempt to get close to Vorelli, English asks his girlfriend Marianne to volunteer as a hypnosis subject during a show. Vorelli hypnotizes Marianne and turns her into a rockin' dancer before a crowded theater full of spectators. Then, for the big finish, Vorelli brings out Hugo the dummy, who speaks fluently while Vorelli drinks from a glass of wine, then walks by himself to the front of the stage to accept the audience's applause. Marianne begins to sense something is wrong with Vorelli, but Mark keeps insisting that she get close to him for the purposes of his newspaper story. Unfortunately for the young lovers, Vorelli has developed his own plans for Marianne.

Yvonne Romain (who played Rosa the prostitute in "Corridors of Blood" (1958)) dazzles as vulnerable young Marianne. Her devotion to Mark English places her directly in Vorelli's slimy grasp. Romain's anti-chemistry with Haliday's Vorelli is potent. Like Dracula, Vorelli steals in in the dead of night to prey on pretty young women in a psycho-sexual manner. He mesmerizes them into a state of complete vulnerability and then takes advantage of them, infecting them further with his poisonous presence.

After Marianne's first visitation, she becomes ill and must be bedridden. She raves hysterically, but the doctors can't determine a medical reason for her illness. But Mark has received his own visitation that night from Hugo the dummy, who delivers a cryptic message: "Help me. Find me in Berlin, 1948." Further investigation reveals the key to the horrifying secret of the Great Vorelli and his Devil Doll Hugo.

I gave "Devil Doll" an unexpected 8/10. It plays like a feature-length episode of "The Twilight Zone", but in a good way. Yvonne Romain is a fair actress, and that's on top of being pin-up beautiful. Bryant Haliday is ridiculous as always as the Great Vorelli, but is slimy and creepy enough to evoke genuine discomfort. The story is crude but entertaining, and features enough plot twists to keep you interested. The end in particular is expertly done, but you'll have to watch for yourself to see what I mean. Watch it with friends and food, or watch it right now for free:













I also recommend:


























It has also come to my attention that there is a recent blacksploitation version of "Devil Doll" called "Black Devil Doll" (2009). Though I haven't seen it, it looks ridiculous. Here's a link to the amazon page for it: