Dolls (1986) 1-Disc Set Blu-ray

Dolls is a 1986 horror feature directed by Stuart Gordon, best known for Re-Animator, and produced by Charles Band under the Empire Pictures banner. The film takes a simple premise and turns it into a claustrophobic, darkly comic nightmare set almost entirely within a single house.

The story follows a group of stranded travellers who seek refuge in a remote mansion occupied by an elderly couple and their extensive collection of dolls. As the night unfolds, the guests reveal their own cruelties and selfishness, and the dolls prove to be far more than decorative objects. Guy Rolfe and Hilary Mason play the hosts, while the human cast includes Ian Patrick Williams and Carolyn Purdy-Gordon. Gordon directs with a mix of fairy-tale atmosphere and practical-effects horror, using the dolls themselves rather than elaborate effects to create unease.

Dolls is valued by horror collectors for its craftsmanship, its brisk running time, and its place in the mid-1980s wave of inventive low-budget genre filmmaking. It is a title that rewards repeat viewing and sits comfortably alongside other cult horror favourites of the period.