dolls – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I know this person. He wanted to be a vampire.

Vampire Bat: You mean wooden vampire dolls?

Vampire Owl: Vampires of the Woods, may be?

Vampire Bat: We are already in a castle in the woods, aren’t we?

Vampire Owl: That makes us just the Vampires of the Castle.

Vampire Bat: We have enough vampires to make the castle full.

Vampire Owl: We still do not have a strong enough army against other species.

Vampire Bat: There is a peace treaty running in the realm set towards eternity.

Vampire Owl: Well, a vampire’s eternity is longer than that of anyone else.

Vampire Bat: The realm belongs to all species, not just vampires.

[Gets a parippu vada and three cups of Yercaud tea].

What is the movie about? :: James (Cameron Bell) is a fourteen-year-old boy sent to live with his grandfather Geppetto (Richard Brake) after his parents die in a car accident, and his best friend also dies by terminal cancer. This makes the grandfather feel that he could come up with a perfect companion for James to keep forever. He introduces James to Pinocchio (Jude-Evan Lloyd), a wooden puppet whose nose keep growing as he lies, and tells him that he is his best friend and like a brother to him, but nobody should know about the puppet’s existence. He adds that once ready, he can show him as the friend who will never abandon him, but for now he should keep quiet. As Pinocchio learns about human anatomy as he sees how a male body works in a book, he wishes to become a real boy like his best friend. One day, deeper in the basement, Pinocchio finds a disfigured wooden creature who introduces herself as his Wood Mother (Emma Tate) and reminds Pinocchio that he is just a puppet and will need human organs to become a real boy like James. She reminds them that he might need to forcibly take them from humans who would not be willing to provide them to him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Pinocchio feels that he could take them from some bad people and with the help of these human parts, he could change and become a real boy. The next day, James takes Pinocchio to school without telling his grandfather, and the puppet with his movements, tries to hide from view, but ends up causing a chain reaction which kills two people in a gymnasium. Despite his grandfather’s warnings, he also introduces him to Mia (Jessica Balmer) and Dudley (Jack Art Gray) who are shocked, but also impressed considering it as an AI Robot. They decide to learn more about it later, but James keeps asserting that it needs to be placed at home before his grandfather comes. They get the puppet to the exact place the grandfather would place it, and gets the feeling that there is something odd about the basement itself. But Pinocchio feels that he should take care of James as his best friend, and after freeing himself, decides to finish off anyone who hurt him, including the drunken driver who hit their car and the dentist who took out James’ tooth.

And what more is to come with some more horror yet to be unleashed? :: Pinocchio further decides to go after the bullies who always torment James, Trey (Toni Olabanji), Logan (Luca Marandola), Georgia (Mya Brown) and Amanda (Karolina Knight). They would have beaten up James miserably last day if it was not for Mia and he had witnessed the hate right there. Pinocchio finds all of them at the same area. First, he dislocates Georgia’s jaw when she swims in the pool and electrocutes her to death while she begged for mercy. He then proceeds to rip out a clueless Logan’s tongue and take out his eyes to provide him a painful death. He then finds Amanda in the shower and is surprised by her naked body and sexuality compared to the male human anatomy which he studied, and his confusion leaves her with the time to escape from the bathroom with an injury on her leg which slows her down, only to be caught by him who tears off her scalp with hair and wears it, shocking Trey who is impaled on his arms with the worst yet to come. Can anyone stop the puppet in time, or will he go on with the hunting mode?

The defence of Pinocchio Unstrung :: The movie has the scares working with the support of gory sequences, and is more effective as a dark fantasy with a character that brings the fear elements in a different way, justifying the twisted childhood coming back to us while traveling on another path. Richard Brake as Geppetto makes a character that we would remember for long as he possesses those multiple shades that aligns on multiple shades. Among the young ones, Jessica Balmer stands out while Cameron Bell does a fine job, and Jack Art Gray brings the humour around here. The voices are nicely added too. The final half an hour is what elevates the movie and makes the whole thing darker and twists our childhood world of Pinocchio for kids to the terror for adults. There is also some innovation and divergence related to the same. Even the murderer gets a coming-of-age tale as the original character would have had during this age. The puppet is a tragic, naive creation whose kills come from unguided understanding of love and protection as well as corrupt guidance, bringing some emotional weight too.

Positives and negatives :: The way in which our childhood characters turn them into a mode which we appreciate for the quality related to the same, and we remember that children have always been evil unless civilized, like we have already known from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies – the recent cases on news related to minor with acts of cruelty, not that far away from unexpected brutality seems to reassert the same. The killing sequences are gory, and even though some might think that it’s a little too gory, it is indeed effective. The killings are all done with innovation and gore, with Karolina Knight’s shower sequence scoring the best, and makes one wonder why she would not be a scream queen in a big horror movie, as she shows the potential. One still wonders if there could have been more of her in the movie, but among the four bully characters, she is the one who stands out, and needs a better number of movies of horror in slasher mode. One can still have a little trouble with the pacing as the horror takes some time to get going. Some people can also find the gory detail to be a little too much.

How it finishes :: The movie would continue the journey of our twisted childhood heroes becoming pure evil murderers, whether it is Popeye’s Revenge (Popeye the Sailor Man), Bambi: The Reckoning (Bambi), I Heart Willie (Mickey Mouse), Winnie-the-Pooh; Blood and Honey (Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet) or Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (Peter Pan), and this one is a long way ahead of these movies in and out of Twisted Childhood Universe which reminds us that goodness has always been a lie in a world without hope. As horror remaining that genre which is truly part of our lives, and with all human beings being inherently evil, and this evil helping them to be successful in life, we are reminded that there is always some bigger horror out there. We remember that the people around us are more messed up than we know them, and are more evil that we think, while being good will never get us anywhere. There is no innocence in this world unless it is forced by civilization, and the lies that we see around will consume us one day, as the movie reminds us of the terrifying manipulation by these masked demonic humans all around us.

Release date: 24 July 2026
Running time: 82 minutes
Directed by: Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Starring: Richard Brake, Robert Englund, Cameron Bell, Jessica Balmer, Jude-Evan Lloyd, Karolina Knight

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of this year.

<<< Click here to go to the most awaited sequel of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

***Poster generated by AI for review purposes.

Vampire Owl :: All I see is a doll. There is nothing much scary about this one’s appearance either.

Vampire Bat :: We have always been taught and trained to believe that there is more than what eyes can see. What you are doing here is just passing judgment.

Vampire Owl :: I am not judgmental. The hypercritical ones are not my people, but yours.

Vampire Bat :: Still, you are judging this one too early.

Vampire Owl :: The critics have already judged it low.

Vampire Bat :: That is what they do, not us who live with these movies.

Vampire Owl :: I have liked Dead Silence’s Billy, The Conjuring’s Annabelle and Child’s Play’s Chucky. Unlike what you think about this, I am not really judgmental about dolls.

Vampire Bat :: Well, Chucky did put a knife on your neck to make you accept that.

Vampire Owl :: Yes, but I have accepted that dolls can be awesome, and that is the point which I intend to bring here.

Vampire Bat :: Whatever it is, just watch the movie.

[Gets three cups of tea with tapioca chips].

What is it about? :: Greta (Lauren Cohan) is caught in an abusive relationship with Cole (Ben Robson) at Montana. She hopes to escape by becoming a nanny for the Heelshire family based in the United Kingdom. After traveling to Great Britain and reaching the place, she introduced to Mrs. Heelshire (Diana Hardcastle) and the man who brings the grocery, Malcolm (Rupert Evans). Mr. Heelshire (Jim Norton) introduces her to their child, Brahms. But she is surprised to find out that the boy here is just a porcelain doll, treated by the family as if it is a living person. Mrs. Heelshire tells her that the boy had rejected many other nannies and they hope that he likes her. She also asks Greta to follow certain rules, as Brahms is like other children, and special care is needed for him.

So what happens next? :: Greta decides to ignore the rules and just spend her time there. She and Malcolm gets a lot interested in each other, and the doll remains neglected. But Greta finds out that there is something strange about the doll. She feels that it moves a little at times, and there are other strange occurences. On one occasion, she gets locked in the attic, and her clothes are also stolen while she is taking shower. She also feels that the doll is staring at her when she is talking to Malcolm, changing clothes or even while doing anything of personal nature. On another day, a sandwich is served at her door, and she also hears voices calling her name. She decides to find out more about the real child who is supposed to have died in a fire at the age of eight, years ago.

The defence of The Boy :: The idea here is working, and had a lot of possibilities towards horror. It does get working early with its central idea, and we get to the moments featuring the doll easily. The setting in the big old house actually helps a lot. There are lots of spooky moments in this movie, and the scene at the attic as well as the final twists worked very well in the end. How they have changed the supernatural idea works very well by the end of the movie too. The Boy does entertain, that is for sure – among the horror movies which released on one of those days around this one, there were not many of them as much entertaining as The Boy, which follows the much expected horror idea. As the movie follows the basic horror elements, there is sure to be some fun watching this movie for everyone. For people who don’t want movies like The Witch and It Follows as the different horror flicks, this would be the usual kind of replacement following the known path.

Claws of flaw :: It is rather strange that the movie doesn’t really use the elements in hand to the best strength. When there is a spooky doll around there, we expect that things get really scary and remain so throughout its run – but there are those weaker moments here and there. The doll could have been a lot bigger thing than it turned out to be. The movie also does remind one of two other movies, the Jocelin Donahue starrer The House of the Devil and Sarah Thompson starrer Babysitter Wanted. This one could have deviated further and should have come up with more innovative ideas. With so much mystery around, I am actually surprised that they have managed only this much – there was so much to be seen and so much more to be developed further. But our movie here manages to work even with all its inability to bring the best out of there.

Performers of the soul :: The performances of the cast here remains really good. Without doubt, Lauren Cohan as Greta comes up with the best of them all. Best known for her part as Maggie Greene in the television series, The Walking Dead, and being part of other series, here she plays the young lady with a troubled past in a lot believable manner, and so does she manage well with those horror sequences. I have to say that she makes a really good addition to the horror movies, and I hope that she will be there in more of such movies belonging to the genre. Her character actually undergoes changes throughout the movie, and she manages the same without any problem. Rupert Evans also makes a good addition in the flick. Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle who play the old parents also leaves a mark here.

How it finishes :: Well, there has been some impressive dolls in horror movies; Chucky from Child’s Play series might be the most popular of them all, and Billy from Dead Silence has been one scary thing; Annabelle has gained popularity with The Conjuring, and one can never underestimate the strength of a doll when it comes to horror movies. This one here, the Brahms doll is no exception either. It has enough to stay in the minds of the viewers too. There will be something about The Boy that can catch your attention here – from the cast to the setting, and more than everything else, the doll. Unlike what the reviews have mostly said about this movie, The Boy has more strength than most of the other horror movies around here which have somehow managed better reviews.

Release date: 22nd January 2016
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: William Brent Bell
Starring: Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson, James Russell, Jett Klyne, Lily Pater