Black Devil Doll from Hell

I used to always pass this box at the video store and, after over a year, I decided to rent it. I can't remember when I laughed so damned hard in my life! There are some legitimate comedies that haven't tickled me this much, definitely a "So-Bad-It's-Good" classic. The story concerns one Shirley Black (Shirley L. Jones), a deeply religious woman who stops at a thrift shop and buys a doll that looks a lot like Webster with French braids. The woman running the store tells Shirley that the doll was the property of an East Indian gentleman with strange powers (although the doll has a West Indian hairstyle, but, never mind) and that it always returns to the store under its own power. Hearing that should put anyone off of purchasing the doll, but not our intrepid and spiritual Shirley (so brave and righteous is she that she preaches to men trying to sell her stolen merchandise on the street). She buys it and even tells it "You'll be the only man to see me naked other than my husband" before taking a shower. She then has visions of being attacked by the doll.

Once again, anyone else would be getting rid of the doll at this point. But Shirley hangs on to it. The next day, it jumps out of a closet and knocks her unconscious. It then ties her to the bed and has its way with her before running back to the thrift shop. Shirley is then sent into a downward spiral of sexual degradation as she looks for the thrill that her "little woodenheaded b*****d" has given her with mere mortal men. Let's face it, once you've gotten it on with a doll that looks like a cross between "Lester" of Willie Tyler & Lester fame and Stevie Wonder on the HOTTER THAN JULY album cover, well, no flesh and blood piece will do (Meshach Taylor's line from MANNEQUIN comes to mind: "I would never interrupt you while you were getting a piece of wood."). Other people I know who have seen BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL have also had the same reaction: Utter hilarity! Especially at the Mr. T-sounding voice of the doll ("B----, b----, I said wake up, b----!").

If you're looking for a coherent, competent piece of cinema, you'll be disappointed by THE BLACK DEVIL DOLL. But if you're looking for something in the PLAN 9/ROBOT MONSTER ouevre, by all means, check THIS out. By the way, LOVE that cheesy organ music.

I remember a friend of mine got a copy of this from someone when I was in about 10th grade. We must have watched this movie about 40 times, and laughed hysterically every time. Unfortunately, he somehow lost his copy of it. This is seriously one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I highly recommend it. If you're lucky enough to find a copy.

Black Devil Doll from Hell has gained something of a cult following but think carefully before paying large sums of money to obtain it - it's not worthy of any serious investment. It is, however totally, hysterically, funny entertainment.

Shot on home video without a budget using home locations and presumably friends and family as actors, the story tells of a cursed doll, that when purchased, grants it's owner any wish, but this service obviously comes at a price. And the star of our tale, meek, church- going Helen, is about to find out what that is! Helen spies the doll in a curiosity shop one day and is compelled to buy it, despite the shop owner's doom-laden warnings. On getting the doll home. she makes a place for it in the toilet (!?) and then the terror beings, as Helen first starts to be visited by weird hallucinations about the doll coming to life - and then it actually does come to life and subjects her to a "puppet sex attack"!

Now already this sounds absurd, not to mention very sleazy, but as the film is so amateurish, you can only laugh at the proceedings rather than anything else. Everything is played straight, in fact the actress playing Helen does her best to contribute a performance of sorts - but it's all for nothing as once the Black Devil Doll himself starts to wake up, you'll forget about any realism at all. Basically, the doll is a commercially bought ventriloquist's puppet with a Rick James style hairstyle, and when he comes to life, he's pretty much animated in the same way (ie, with a stage hand's arm up him, waggling him about). The scenes in which the puppet assaults Helen are what this film is famous for and you may have to pinch yourself to know that what you are seeing has actually been committed to film. There's nothing graphic in the film, Helen is never shown fully naked and there is no violence to speak of, it's just the hilarity of the situation that will imprint it on your memory. That and the doll's foul-mouthed, "Mr T" accented vocal tirade, which good taste prevents me from transcribing here.

The whole wretched thing is scored with a Casio organ, seemingly set on one single demo loop that goes "boom-titty-boom-tish" over and over again, oh except for the serious scenes when what are presumably supposed to be sinister chords are represented by a sound more like ear-splitting feedback.

Due to the rarity of any copies of this item, it has become more talked about than actually seen. Sadly if more people did see it, the fog of curiosity would probably evaporate leaving what is simply, one man's very warped attempt at a home horror movie. It's not shocking or extreme, so if you do get a copy, my advice is to have a party and invite a bunch of friends over to watch it. Personally i am very glad my love of bad movies led me to it, and I feel all the richer for having a copy to enjoy.

Shot-on-video horror movies are probably the only kind of movies that come close to the depressing look of video pornography. The sheer lack of production values leads the viewer to contemplate whether or not the money that he or she has in their wallet could have funded a better piece of cinema. That said, BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL is just about the shoddiest movie I've ever seen, and that's saying something! I've braved more bad movies than I can even remember, and this one ranks pretty much as one of the three all-time worst pieces of galloping horse crap that I have ever endured. Terrible pacing, an annoying casiotone sound track, execrable acting and a truly pointless story are just some of the many non-highlights.

The only reason to see this is for the unintentionally hilarious rape scene wherein a pious sister of the church is tied down to her bed and given a serious rodgering by an evil, horny ventriloquist's dummy with dreadlocks. The scene where he "orally pleasures" her will forever be burned into my memory, not only because if was silly beyond all human comprehension, but because his tongue looks like a popsicle stick. And, yes, we do get to see his, er...wood. Rent it, and fast forward to this scene. After seeing it, immediately remove the tape from your VCR and use it as a skeet shooting pigeon.

Chester Novell Turner's social commentary piece about the struggles faced by a young, average-looking, African-American woman and the troubles she encounters with her religious beliefs and the puppet she loves. Turner has a magic ability for character development; we learn that the female character is religious, not only through a 10-minute phone conversation, but also a 10-minute camera pan displaying all the religious artifacts (read: Sunday bulletin) hung from her wall.

The film sexy side places the female lead with an abusive, controlling puppet that simply does not care about the women who nurture and care for him. While some scenes may be difficult to watch, the end result clearly displays the destructive nature when a woman makes love to a puppet. Not since Jurassic Park has visual effects seemed so real - many scenes of the puppet actually look like a 6-year old kid! Truly amazing!

I wish the Academy had opened their eyes in 1985 and taken notice to this masterpiece! A great story, jaw-dropping visual effects and to top it off - a soundtrack that hasn't been heard since I accidentally pressed the `demo' key on my Casio keyboard. Find this video, it will make you rethink your social circles dominance.