Ed Gale played both Chuckie and Dolly Dearest. Knowing this fact has not helped me at all in my life, but perhaps it will bring better fortune to you.

Americans Elliot and Marilyn Wade (Sam Bottoms and Denise Crosby) take their kids Jessica and Jimmy (Candace Huston and Chris Demetral) to Mexico where father is about to run the doll factory, because that's how things go in 1990's direct to video - yes, it played one small theater run - movies.

Jessica soon bonds with Dolly Dearest and accidents start claiming the lives of everyone in the house. This is the kind of movie where an entire doll factory must be blown up to protect a child. That would be the type of movie that I completely endorse.

I'm also totally for any movie that features Rip Torn as an archaeologist who just spews exposition.

Dolly Dearest was directed by Maria Lease, who went from acting in movies like Love Camp 7 and Dracula vs. Frankenstein to being a script supervisor, editor, writer and director.

This movie is completely ridiculous, like some strange mash-up of Demonoid with Child's Play. That's the kind of magical thinking that we need more of.

As you may have already guessed, CHILD'S PLAY is the influence for this lamentable C-grade horror movie which doesn't even have the decency of including any of the genre staples (eg. sex or violence) which would have made it more of an exploitation piece. Instead, we're treated to long sequences where little occurs (eg. the first half an hour),terribly wooden acting and a clichéd script which also draws in influences (or to put it plainly, rips off) from POLTERGEIST and THE EVIL DEAD. The best thing about this boring, cheaply-made effort is that I didn't have to pay to see it! At least it keeps a straight face throughout, which means that it's better than abysmal fare like the LEPRECHAUN series or that abomination, RUMPLESTILTSKIN. Sadly, though, the deadly serious tone only provides a couple of unintentional chuckles throughout the film.

Things open with some of those poor computer effects standing in for an ancient Mexican evil force that immediately possesses a factory of dolls. The box makes this sound impressive, until you realise that there are only about four dolls in the "factory" (more like a run-down shed). After this we are introduced to an all-American family. These are a mixed bunch. Firstly we have the terrible actress Denise Crosby. For Denise, this was another step down in her career, which had previously gone from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION(a popular, mainstream cult television series) to PET SEMATARY(a just about passable Stephen King adaptation). After this, things could only get worse, and the last I know of her, she was shedding her clothes for some erotic cable series.

Her husband is an irritating, mindless idiot who must be blind not to notice the "odd" things going on in his household (daughter speaking in strange tongues, child's strange attachment to doll, son's obsession with archaeological site). He is played by Sam Bottoms, a wooden nobody. The daughter is an irritating, whining little girl, but the son is a likable geek. Another desperate actor appearing in the cast is Rip Torn, who plays a John Rhys-Davies type role of an intrepid archaeologist - at least HIS career could only go up from here.

There is only one gore scene of note in the film, a painful moment where a man gets his hand caught in a sewing machine. There are three deaths in total. One occurs at the beginning, with a man getting crushed under a stone door. The second man has a heart attack (?),and then a woman gets electrocuted. Big deal. The film doesn't even offer up much in the way of doll rampage, with the limited special effects of an animated doll only appearing briefly throughout the film - what a rip off.

Seriously, the best thing I can say about this movie is that it's short, and also at least the dolls don't keep coming back to life - once they're dead, they stay dead, which doesn't prolong the agony. A few of the scenes in the Mexican tomb are all right as well, particularly the discover of a desiccated, goat-headed corpse. And check out some of that hilarious dialogue, like "My daughter is possessed by a 900 year old goat-head, damn it!". All in all, though, this is a colourless affair, and one to be avoided like so many others, unless you're REALLY stuck for something to see.

A lot of "Dolly Dearest" seems like a "Child's Play" ripoff, with a doll possessed by an evil spirit. In this case, the evil spirit comes from an ancient cult in Mexico, and the doll starts controlling the girl who owns it. Most of the movie is pretty predictable but still entertaining.

As is often the case with horror flicks, the cast creates some interesting connections. A noticeable cast member is the recently deceased Lupe Ontiveros as the housekeeper. She played a number of roles over the years; one of her notable roles was that of the woman scorned by Jack Nicholson early on in "As Good as It Gets". The mom is Denise Crosby, aka Bing's granddaughter and best known as Tasha Yar on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"; it seemed as though her character is supposed to look like Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly or someone like that. The dad is Sam Bottoms, best known as Lance in "Apocalypse Now". The archaeologist is Rip Torn, most recently known as the chief in the "Men in Black" movies. Crazy stuff.

So, it's basically some cheap entertainment. Still an OK choice for Halloween.