Dolly Dearest (1992) Reviews

An ancient evil escapes its captivity in a Mayan temple in Mexico, kills the archaeologists who unearth it, and heads straight for a toy factory, which is eventually taken over by a new American owner (Sam Bottoms) and refurbished. When the owner's daughter (Candy Houston) discovers one of the previous owner's doll creations and brings it home, she soon develops a strangely intense attachment to her new toy. The family's superstitious housekeeper begins to suspect demonic work afoot... and is promptly dispatched by the doll. Another archaeologist (Rip Torn) attempts to further his predecessor's research into the demon's origins and finds that the evil force was conjured centuries ago by a black-magic cult, whose members aspired to breed a hybrid of man and demon. The little girl's parents refuse to accept this theory... until they come face-to-face with an army of the malevolent dolls, all of which are under the man-beast's control. A decent but obvious riff on Child's Play, this also makes a few chilling nods to Trilogy of Terror's rampaging Zuni doll segment, and the dollies are suitably spooky. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi