Morgan: Killer Doll

Toy stores, parents worst nightmare right before Christmas. Perhaps not for all parents but we all know how wild families can become in there. Personally i don´t like toy stores right before Christmas but it´s not because of the children. It´s more about all the stressful people, the same Christmas hits playing in the speakers and people complaining about things that feels unnecessary. All of this combined makes me appreciate toy stores online, at least if you want to make Christmas shopping a bit more simple. I don´t mind physical toy stores in general, it´s just before holidays i try to avoid them. One thing i do appreciate though is creepy dolls in horror films, no matter if we are talking about classic franchises such as Child´s Play or Puppet Master. Both of these franchises have some great films, but then you have doll horror movies that never had any sequels and is still appreciated by horror fans worldwide. A perfect example of this is the 1991 horror film known as Dolly Dearest. Directed by Maria Lease ( who is the script supervisor for the classic legal thriller drama TV series The Practice, who i watched on TV for several years ) this film tells the story of married couple Marilyn Wade ( Denise Crosby ), Elliot Wade ( Sam Bottoms ) and their two children. Elliot is the new CEO of a doll factory. It turns out that this doll factory lies next to a Sanzian grave and the dolls become possessed by an old, evil spirit. Even if Dolly Dearest is nowhere near as good as the Child´s Play films, this is still a enjoyable doll horror film if you appreciate low budget releases. I recommend the blu ray release of Dolly Dearest from Vinegar Syndrome if you are curious about checking this film out. You may have heard of the independent film production and distribution company The Asylum, who is of course known for releasing low budget films. I decided to watch their summer release Morgan: Killer Doll, perhaps because the title sounded like something i might appreciate. Is this one of the better horror films released by The Asylum or should you watch one of the Puppet Master movies instead?

Darcy ( Bix Krieger ) have been abused physically and mentally for many years by her father, until she finally had enough and kill him one day while she is being abused. Darcy´s best friend Astrid invites her to her birthday party but some of her guests bully Darcy for her odd personality. Darcy leave the birthday party very upset while Astrid´s birthday card reveal that Darcy is in love with Astrid. The birthday gift is a doll that Darcy personally made. Humiliated and feeling worthless, Darcy see Astrid one final time before turning herself on fire with gasoline. Astrid feel a lot of guilt not being able to stop Darcy from taking her life. But something strange is  happening with the doll Morgan she was given as a birthday gift. It seems to be alive as if Darcy´s spirit is still around, or is there something else inside the doll´s body?

I have seen a lot of films distributed by The Asylum over the years and i know these are films made on a limited budget, and im perfectly fine with that. When it comes to Morgan: Killer Doll this film actually surprised me in a positive way since you get a sense that this film might be inspired by the 1976 horror classic Carrie. In that film we saw legendary actress Sissy Spacek play the extremely bullied high school student Carrie Fischer. In the film Morgan: Killer Doll you have a character known as Darcy, also an abused young woman who is bullied as well. This is definetely the most interesting character in this film and actress Bix Krieger ( who fans of the V/H/S/ anthology horror franchise might recognize her in the film V/H/S/Beyond ) deliver the strongest acting performance as the character Darcy. It´s hard not to feel sorry for this young woman, from all the mental and physical abuse by her own father and Bix Krieger manage to portrait this broken woman in a realistic way. I also enjoy the performance Shelby Wright as the character Astrid, the only friend Darcy have since childhood. Legendary actor Michael Paré deliver a solid performance as Astrid´s father John. Now, what about the doll Morgan? It looks alright i guess, but i do think the face of Morgan could have looked more creepy. The killing scenes with the doll Morgan are surprisingly brutal considering that this is a The Asylum produced film and i appreciate a more brutal approach in this genre. There is a really surprise twist towards the end i did not see coming, that worked well with the plot. On the negative side some bad CGI effects that could have been improved. Director Jose Prendes ( who directed the entertaining low budget film Headless Horseman ) proves with Morgan: Killer Doll that you can actually make doll horror movies effective with the right atmosphere and characters. Worth a watch, especially if you appreciate independent horror films just like me.

Rating:  DDD