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.
