Ragdoll

On the verge of a record deal, an aspiring rap group about to sign learns some shady things about the owner and becomes hesitant to sign, so when he uses devious tactics to get what he wants one of the group uses a voodoo-raised doll to seek revenge only to learn the terrible truth about his actions.

This was a pretty enjoyable if still flawed genre effort. What works well here is the fine setup that gets everything going with a strong connection between the various storylines present. By quickly giving us a hint of their musical connection as a group as well as their disgust at the attempted association with the sleazy record producer and his operations, this one provides the kind of overlying setup that has plenty of intriguing elements. It even goes far enough to provide a fantastic grounding for the need to set up the dolls' creation and quest for revenge through his dabblings in voodoo and black magic that ties everything together. The other big positive with this one is the fine work done to bring the doll to life in a solid enough series of ambush attacks. Obviously working within the lower-budge realms of the genre, the initial attack on the henchman in his home as well as the following attack on the group member showcases some cheesy thrills alongside some decent practical effects. The big sequences in the hospital and police station are bigger setpieces in scale and effects-work to sell the idea even more, and the finale that goes through the restaurant kitchen before finishing in the officers upstairs offers some enjoyable ideas and better-than-expected gore. Overall, these manage to hold this up enough. There are some issues here that hold this one down. One of the biggest issues with this one comes from the overlong setup that, despite doing as much as it does to generate the storylines it does, comes at the expense of a lot of action in this part of the film. The lack of action here is also partly due to the low body count required here but it's structured so that the relaxed atmosphere of this section comes up against the rushed second half due to this overlong setup. The other issue here is the low-budget look and feel here which is to be expected with the overall production which all combines together to bring this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, and Brief Nudity.

This is yet another effort of full moon. and a better one at that. seventeen year old KWAME performs in a local hip hop band. while living with his aged grandmother, he has grown up listening to her "magical powers". When his Gran is put into the hospital by local thugs, KWAME invokes the killing magic and puts it in his Gran's old rag doll. However there is a terrible price to pay for dealing with the magic of the killing kind. I gave this movie **1/2 stars. The story is good. It would have gotten higher if the doll hadnt looked so damned fake! Still,RENT IT!

I actually love the over the top storyline. It was very 90s considering it was at the cusp of the new millennium. I would have liked it at the movies or from Blockbuster(back in the day).

7/10

I have a soft spot in my heart for Full Moon productions. What I appreciate about their movies, at least their 80s and 90s output, is their ability to tell small stories really well (HIDEOUS and HEAD OF THE FAMILY being fine examples). RAGDOLL is a great example. It's a morality tale, reminiscent of PUMPKINHEAD (also quite good).

The story is familiar but told well. It's elevated by excellent performances, particularly from Tarnell Poindexter, William Stanford Davis, Freda Payne, and a brief but memorable performance by Frederic Tucker as Shadowman. Russell Richardson, as Kwame, performs capably. The breath-taking Jennia Fredrique Aponte turns in a strong performance as his girlfriend, Teesha.

I'm glad I stumbled across this movie. I really enjoyed it.

1-3 Don't waste your time 4-6 Decent/good 7-9 Great 10 Outstanding.

This is probably one of the worst movies ever made. The script is awful, the acting is ridiculous and the special effects, well, they aint too special. It is so bad it passes beyond basic camp to a level of pure comedy. It is almost set up to look like a spoof. I have only seen a few other FULL MOON films, and they looked like Academy Award winners compared to this. Rent it for a laugh, NOT a scare.