Doll Graveyard (2005) User Reviews

So Falls Full Moon

[fulcigore · 4/10 · 1 May 2007]

Through out the early 90's, Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures churned out many classics like "Puppet Master", "Trancers", "Doctor Mordrid", "Subspecies", etc. The company has changed names and faces a few times over the last decade or two, but usually put a mentionable quantity of decent films. But I have to say, with DOLL GRAVEYARD and many other recent short bores, Full Moon has fallen dead.

Charles Band recycles his killer doll formula with this and a few other recent crapfests, making 70 min features with characters made to be easily manufactured as toys. The story bores on through horrible acting and even worse story, with less doll carnage than promised. One of the few redeeming qualities of this film is the design of the dolls themselves. The Samurai and stoned looking tribesman were cool characters.

Overall, I caution Full Moon fans to turn away from Charles bands newest abominations, and save themselves.

all the nights you lay awake

[bdonnlis · 4/10 · 4 March 2013]

To be made in 2005 this seemed hauntigly similar to a 90s American pie to movie full of raunchy teenagers enjoying alcohol drugs and sex. The dolls reminded me of something that would have been in a nicklelodian movie and looked like it was made in someone's backyard. I compared it to the movie "teeth" when the young man's penis was jabbed by one of the dolls and a ridiculous amount of blood spilt everywhere. Might as well have been a 90s comedy with the bad puns and boyz to men soundtrack. The characters in this movie at often times made me feel uncomfortable with their over sexual behavior and stupidity I particularly hated the stupid jock. This movie was also over the top bloody for each situation. However it was entertaining

Bdon & lis

Great Cover, Not So Great Movie

[TEAQUIEMORO · 5/10 · 14 July 2006]

Very unlike the commercial from Doll Graveyard, sense I liked the commercial so I wanted to see it.Then when I got it, you people know, I was so upset that it was not as great as the commercial. The only thing I liked from this movie was the end, and the horror parts. Their was two bloody death in here, one was this little Native poked this teenage boy in the eye. And one was this little General stabbed this other teenage boy's stomach. And this part was this little doll ate parts of her face and if you noticed closely her face was torn-ed off before the doll got her.This was a cheap and pathetic movie that made no sense.And what was this part when it showed this little girl's spirit got inside this boy's body,it was dumb... I would peffer not to see this movie,but if your a fan of Full Moon than watch this great movie.

The only scary thing about this movie is how bad it is

[xenogears_1982 · 1/10 · 9 October 2005]

I thought they stopped making movies like this in the 80's, but apparently not. Imagine the worst of the Chucky movies, and then imagine something even worse, then you're getting close to this one.

The movie starts in 1911 with a girl playing with dolls, then she accidentally breaks a vase. Her evil and angry father comes down the stairs and yells at her. She is then forced to bury her beloved dolls, and then she accidentally falls down in the grave on the samurai doll's katana(sword) and she dies... Then we are brought to present time and the horror unravels! Sounds bad? Believe me, it is!

The production gives me this "made for TV movie" feel, with cheesy music, bad direction, etc. The dolls aren't even close to being scary, more humorous than anything.

Avoid this movie.

Could This Movie Get Any Better?

[TotalRockerChick · 1/10 · 20 April 2006]

Oh my god... From the moment this "movie" started I knew it was going to be bad. First of all the acting was just HORRIBLE! I mean come on "No daddy, I didn't mean to daddy!". If you think about the time period back then there would be many, many women figures around to take care of the girl. A nanny, or a step-mother, an aunt, or even her real mother would have been there to get her into shape. Then for the father to make the girl dig?! What was that?! And I mean when she fell she fell like what? A foot? That wouldn't kill anyone! And then for the father not to check to even see if she was alive?! Okay, now for the other lovely actors. ALL of the teenagers should have died! They deserved to. "AHHH What are we going to do?" I can tell you what to do... GET OUT OF THE HOUSE AND RUN FOR IT!!! GOD!!! HOW STUPID COULD YOU BE?! YOU JUST SAW YOUR BOYFRIEND GET KILLED (by being attacked in the crotch) AND YOUR JUST GONNA STAND THERE?! COME ON!!! And the blonde! Can you say stupid blonde?! "Where is my phone? I can't find it!" When she finally finds the dang thing she moved so slowly... YOUR SUPPOSE TO GRAB IT REALLY FAST! And you think she would learn! She did that the first time and then she got bit... You think she would say hey let me get it really fast and maybe I won't get bit again. OH! And did anyone notice that before she was bit there was blood already on her face? HOW DO YOU MAKE A MOVIE AND NOT NOTICE THAT? That and the bottle of alcohol that magically refilled itself over and over again. This was seriously bad excuse for a movie. I could go on and on about the sister, the friend who was hitting on the younger brother and don't even get me started on the doll loving boy... "I got the new Hydroman action figure" "Oh isn't that the one that turns into water?" "You know who Hydroman is too" *cough* Hydro means water honey... Anyone 9 and up knows that... GET A LIFE! And the ending?! There are three people dead in the house, the people who were just attacked by the dolls are standing over them lovingly and the doll lover turns into a dead rotting chick?! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT RENT THIS "MOVIE" IF YOU DO... I CAN'T HELP YOU ANYMORE... ITS TRULY A WASTE OF YOUR LIFE THAT YOU CAN NEVER GET BACK!

Dull Graveyard

[ghoulieguru · 2/10 · 12 January 2006]

Charles Band invites you into his Dull Graveyard...

This movie starts with a little girl playing with a bunch of dolls. She mistakenly bumps into a table and breaks a vase. Her father comes downstairs and decides to punish her by forcing her to bury her little buddies in a grave outside. She somehow trips and falls into the grave, killing herself. Dad buries the daughter with her beloved toys. Flash forward to thirty years later, a new family has moved into the house. The youngest son is a nerdy geek who likes to collect action figures. Imagine his joy at discovering a whole gaggle of antique dolls buried in his back yard! These dolls come to life and start protecting their new owner by killing everyone that ever picked on him. There are no spoilers here, I'm not giving away anything that isn't on the back of the DVD case.

Charles Band returns to what he knows best, making evil puppet horror movies. But just because this is what he knows best, doesn't mean he's any good at it. This is really just a reboot of Puppet Master and Demonic Toys with a new set of evil dolls. The production is shoddy, shot on a cheap DV camera with horrible lighting and a soundtrack that someone did on a Casio keyboard from 1982. Not to mention the fact that the puppets are the best actors in the movie.

Ever since Charles Band came out of retirement or hiding, the Blockbuster shelves have been graced with horrible Full Moon movies that are a few pegs below what they used to be. Even in his prime, Charles Band was nobody's genius, but time has definitely taken its toll. Titles like DECADENT EVIL, DOLL GRAVEYARD and THE GINGERDEAD MAN prove that you can't keep a hack director down. Band is back, folks.

Clocks in at 61 minutes -- with the title sequence!

[slowdive23-1 · 1/10 · 16 February 2019]

The only reason this is a worthy of a review is because is is just so terrible. Its it is even a movie, nor a "film" or "picture". This slapped together production clocks in at about 61 minutes, including the opening sequence and throughout the closing credits, which have been slowed down to lengthen the overall running time. What is more despicable is the fact that the director recycles an actor for budgetary reasons. He is not even asked to shave his goatee to look different! But wait....there is more -- I will list them as if I was grading a paper: 1) The dolls are not manipulated through stop motion animation, oh no, but through hand held movement 2) The actors are not all that surprised by dead bodies that pop out of nowhere 3) They do not call 911 because the production cannot afford guys in rented out paramedic and cop uniforms 4) A girl slips into a empty grave and is unconscious -- she is then buried alive by her own guilt-ridden father who does not bother to check her pulse 5) DO NOT RENT THIS MOVIE OUT OF CURIOUSITY!

THEY'RE NOT DOLLS, THEY'RE ACTION FIGURES

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 23 April 2019]

If you like Puppetmaster type of horror movies, watch Puppetmaster. This film is fairly cut and dry. Girl and puppets buried in back yard. Puppets are dug up by boy. Puppets protect boy against bullies. The acting ranged from poor to fair. Some cute girls, one shows us her bra. The plot was dull as was the dialogue. Borders on camp. One good scene when a guy after smoking pot, drinking beer, JD and champagne tries to have a meaningful conversation with a doll. The movie needed more of that type of scene. How many dolls do you think they made with a spike on its head? The movie makes some more attempts at humor that failed with me. The delivery just wasn't there. Did you ever hear a joke told by someone who can't tell a joke, then not laugh. Then someone who can tell a joke tells the same joke right afterwards, and it is sooo funny...even when you just heard the joke moments earlier? I felt like I was listening to that first guy tell the joke.

F-bomb, no nudity, some sex talk.

Flawed, but entertaining

[TheXeroXone · 6/10 · 15 May 2012]

Its still not quite as good as the Puppet Master series as it lacks the stop motion filming, but its a good premise. A merciless sadist of a father has his daughter bury her dolls and then buries her along with them. When a toy collector unearths one of the dolls, the dolls arise from the shallow grave as well as the vengeful spirit of the young girl.

The execution, however, wasn't as good as it could have been. In one scene a girl's face is bitten and the wound is there before the doll can attack that spot. Some of the scenes get tossed around randomly. And the victims, despite being less than 10 feet away from the door, never actually get around to running out the door. The final confrontation is clunky and so is the manner in which they stop the dolls.

If you like animated dolls in these films, its worth a short watch as its run time is just a little over an hour.

My Review

[joemamaohio · 3/10 · 16 July 2008]

Clocking in at approximately 1 hr and 11 minutes, "Doll Graveyard" is nothing more than an hour and a half television special minus the commercials.

In Los Angeles in 1911, a young girl and her incredibly eerie and ugly dolls fall victim to her over-zealous father who for some reason doesn't want her playing in the hallway.

Fast forward to Los Angeles in 2005, and a new family has moved into the property. A single father, his incredibly nerdish son and bratty daughter. The father goes out on a date, the daughter invites friends, the son finds one of the dolls in the backyard. They come to life and protect the kid, as the spirit of the girl tries to inhabit him, as the dolls go on a murderous rampage against the daughter and her friends.

Full Moon Entertainment is probably best known for their highly successful "Puppet Master" movies, and "Doll Graveyard" is like "Puppet Master"-light. It's missing the story, the character development and it's way too short to make you care about anyone. Not to mention the fact that they discover the first body almost immediately, yet no one runs out of the house.

If you got a little time to kill, pop in this film. It's nothing great by any means of the imagination, but it's a good way to mindlessly kill a little bit of time.

Simply Hilarious

[gthb · 10/10 · 1 August 2006]

I laughed harder at this movie than I have had at the past 20 comedies released, including all-star movies such as, The Wedding Crashers, 40 Year Old Virgin, and The Benchwarmers. Although I doubt the director of this movie intended for it to be humorous. There were very few times in this movie when I was scared... however at the end of the movie my gut was so sore from laughing so hard I had to forgive Doll Graveyard. First I must say that this movies comedic approach is present even from early... whether it was the bad acting, or the scene in which the little girl falls into a 2 foot deep and breaks her neck. Then the movie tries way to hard to incorporate a teenager factor. Some lines in the movie said between the male and female teenage actors should be taken out and put into a book entitled "Things NOT To Say On A Date". I'm giving this a 10 because... its simply a comedic classic. If you watch this movie with the intent of it being scary you will not enjoy the movie. If you watch it with the intent of it being funny... you will laugh the hardest you've had in a long time.

Doll Graveyard

[phubbs · 6/10 · 23 September 2014]

This is probably one of Bands best films to date although not exactly an original concept, but its pretty well made and directed coming across as a sensible thriller. Again we have killer dolls on the loose but much like 'Puppet Master' they do look really good and have clearly been well designed with a lot of care and attention. I especially liked the samurai and German dolls.

Its very very predictable with nothing new to bring to the forum. Put simply if you like these types of horrors then you will certainly enjoy this. By now Band is pretty much an expert at shooting model dolls so this is good stuff, not just trashy cheap visuals as in the early years. Just don't go expecting top class acting or thrills or any originality, nice film title though.

6/10

Some things should stay buried...

[cyclone259 · 1/10 · 29 March 2009]

...like this 'film'.

From the opening credits I knew this one was going to be a stinker. It seems that 9/10 times, movies shot on video (as opposed to film or at least look like they're shot on film) tend to be awful endeavors. It may be the medium, but usually video, while allowing more of the expense of production to go to the production itself (ie. effects, locations, etc.) should be a good thing. The sad thing here is that once again, the description I read was so misleading as to make you think you were renting a B-movie, but one with possibilities.

So, the movie revolves around the adolescent daughter of an abusive father (the abuse is inferred, but never really shown to a great degree). Anyway, she's playing where she shouldn't, breaks a vase and you can guess the rest... OK, if you can't... Her father is furious (go figure) and orders her to dig a hole (grave) and bury her only friends, her dolls, in the ground. Well, an accident happens, she inadvertently falls in the hole and dies (I wasn't really clear how that happened) and her father buries her along with the dolls.

Jump ahead 94 years... A new family moves in replete with stereotyped older teenage sister, geeky younger teenage brother and their single dad. One night, dad goes out to 'sow his oats' and leaves the sister in charge and angry because she missed a night with the girls. In the end, she invites the 'party' to her house and two clichéd jocks show-up to torment the geeky brother. Speeding ahead... Jocks torment geek, geek gets possessed by spirit of dead girl and dolls come to life to wreak havoc on the sister and her friends.

Sound exciting? The description made it sound entertaining by saying this 'film' was a 'gore fest'... WRONG... Cheesy effects, cheesy acting, in fact more cheese than the entire year's revenue of said dairy product produced by the state of Wisconsin. BAD, BAD just BAD...

Don't get me wrong, I love B and C movies, but this one was somewhere between an H and a Q. I realized early on that the guy who did the Puppet Master series held the reigns on this one (those were Lord of the Rings by comparison). Lame excuses like 'lack of budget' just don't cut it either, because I've seen some great material on a shoestring (or less) budget: UNDEAD, The Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.

I feel somewhat redeemed because I rented in from RedBox for only a $1.00, but that doesn't completely negate the lost time I spent on this celluloid (or miniDV) turd.

The most crappy killer doll movie I've ever seen

[Elvis-Del-Valle · 5/10 · 23 March 2023]

Production company Full Moon is known for making good cult movies and as much as it tries to preserve the old school method of making movies with little budget and practical effects, this production company went from making decent B-movies to making bizarre movies. Series Z. Doll Graveyard is proof of this, since it has an interesting story, but not very original and even with a few clichés. The dolls come to look gloomy, especially the porcelain doll, but the low budget and few special effects make the film lack a certain charm. The effects are very obvious and you can even see the strings of the dolls in some parts. A bit of CGI or stop motion animation would have helped a bit. Aside from the poor production, it is short in length, which makes it a quick movie to digest. Doll Graveyard is one of those low-budget movies that's just there to hang out and have a little fun. My rating for this movie is 5/10.

Bury them (alive)

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 13 August 2020]

Can you have feelings for inanimate objects? We do know that children like to play with dolls (usually they are different kind of dolls and some men in hindsight might feel emasculated if their GI Joes were called dolls), but how strong is their connection? One dad is about to find out .. or is he? Actually it's just the pre-history of what happens "today".

Never underestimate the longetivity of dolls and how mean they are. Well in the horror movies that is. You can have fun with this and why not ... I mean, you hopefully don't expect Shakespeare here, right? If you do, boy are you wrong! In any case the movie is ok overall I reckon, especially for fans of that specific genre

Another pooh pooh movie.

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 1/10 · 1 June 2017]

This is an awful movie. 4.1 is not a good ratting. But this is such an awful movie that 4.1 is overrating it. This movie is not scary. It has an awful story line. It also has an awful ending. Do not see this movie it is pooh pooh. If you want see a good horror movie see Child's play. Do not see this pooh pooh. Do not wast your time. And do not wast your money. This is pooh pooh. It is so stinky it stinks. This not a 4.1 this is a 1. This a big pile of pooh pooh. If I want to get scared I will watch Child's play 2. But this not scary. You have been warned. Do not see the pooh pooh.

Doll Saveyard

[barnthebarn · 6/10 · 2 April 2009]

Tame but amusing further foray in to killer puppets for Charles Band and Full Moon. Short on action and on death scenes (though those included are fairly gory) this is watchable mainly because of the cast of hammy young actors and the barely over an hour length. Story begins with 12-year old Sophia (a bewitching Hannah Marks) playing with her only friends, some ugly dolls. Her father shouts at her about everything and anything (more extreme abuse is suggested but never shown) and demands she dig a shallow grave for her puppet friends as he is fed up with them cluttering up her life. She digs the hole and then as he helps her out she falls and breaks her neck. Thus Sophia and her friends are buried 'alive' together.

Fast forward a few decades and another lonely child, this time a boy called Guy (Jared Kusnitz) moves in with his single dad and brat induced older sister. Dad pops out for a date and sister is forced to stay home and watch Guy. However she invites her two friends around (one a blonde slut, the other a very sensible, studious girl). Two dumb lads invade the house to play sex with the girls. They bully Guy and make their moves on the girls. Nice friend Terri is not impressed and joins Guy upstairs admitting that her heart melts when he strolls by. They both have a passion for puppet models and meanwhile Guy has dug up some dolls from the shallow grave out back. The dolls talk to him and take revenge on his tormentors. Can Guy break free from his new friends to save the girl who loves him? Shot on digital video the movie looks good, dolls are superb and well animated. Music is heavily criticised in other reviews but it never intrudes on the story and therefore merely acts as a backdrop to what is going on rather than - as with certain Puppet Master films - being vital to create tension. The closing song sounds very much like Charles Band's musician son Alex (from band 'The Calling') though apparently it is not him...but then writer August White is not Charles Band either ;-0

Entertaining cheesefest

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 12 January 2012]

Weirdo teen loner Guy Fillbrook (a solid performance by Jared Kusnitz) discovers a set of handmade dolls buried in his backyard. Said dolls come to life to protect Guy from the harassment of local bullies. Director Charles Band, working from a hopelessly inane script by August White, fails to generate much in the way of either tension or spooky atmosphere, but does take the silly premise seriously, maintains a snappy pace throughout, and stages the gory doll attack set pieces with considerable flair (one dude gets stabbed right where it hurts most while another fellow has one of his eyes gouged out). The competent cast struggle gamely with the asinine material: Gabrielle Lynn as Guy's bitchy sister Deedee, Kristyn Green as the foxy, but catty Olivia, Anna Alicia Brock as the cute and sweet Terri, Brian Lloyd as the mean and obnoxious Rich, and Scott Seymour as amiable hunk Tom. The dolls are pretty nifty and creepy. District 78's alternately melodic and pulsating shuddery score does the shivery trick. Tom Calloway's sharp cinematography gives the picture an impressive polished look. The tight 71 minute running time ensures that this movie never gets dull or overstays its welcome. Best of all, this flick is so damn goofy and ridiculous that it supplies a wealth of major unintentional belly laughs. A real tacky riot.

Slightly problematic but still enjoyable

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 30 October 2016]

Unearthing a set of dolls in his backyard, a teen finds that they have come to life during a party with his sister and her friends being guided by the ghostly spirit of their original owner looking for revenge for how she was treated and must find a way to get away alive.

This one was quite the enjoyable and entertaining killer doll effort. Among the better qualities here is the fact that there's a lot of nice work done here on exploiting a nice overall premise to this one, which lets this one come off as a classic storyline for this kind of effort overall. The initial scene of the dolls getting buried and the accident that strands the girl with them is a great way to begin this kind of effort, and their discovery scene later on gives this the solid build-up needed to give the scenes of them on the rampage the right context to really give this a solid and engaging series of set- pieces. The fact that the dolls are allowed to wander through the house on a raging thunderstorm works incredibly well here not only at developing a solid atmosphere with the party going on letting the dolls to sneak up unknowingly on them for the bedroom encounter on the tied-up boyfriend, their ghostly taunts in his bedroom and the way they sneak into the kitchen to take out the drunken jock makes for a strong series of scenes here letting the dolls get a chance to show themselves off which has the chance to showcase the usual rather strong effects work on the dolls themselves as they're unique creations that are quite well designed. These here manage to hold this one up quite well over the film's few but still detrimental flaws here. The biggest issue here is the fact that there's very little about the dolls' actions or concept of attack that make sense here, being driven by a motivation of revenge that makes no sense why they're targeting the family specifically which is spelled out here. They're not related to the previous owner who initially caused the incident, and that means the possession attempts don't really work here for the most part as there's little about this that would make for a believable course of action. Likewise, that they seem so unafraid of the dolls makes no sense at all as there's very little that shows them being terrified of the situation and it really makes for quite a troubling and somewhat laughable series of attacks. That's certainly not helped along by the fact that the dolls themselves are quite stiff-looking and rather unconvincing in their movements, and really tends to make their scenes somewhat of a disappointment. Otherwise there's not a whole lot wrong here.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, drug use and excessive drinking.

Grave fun

[lordzedd-3 · 8/10 · 23 December 2006]

Okay, let's start with they did wrong in this movie. 1, it's too short at around 1 hour and 11 minutes. I think more could have been done with the neighbors or something like that. 2, I'm not a fan of the bully character, I think he should have stomped a few feet and locked himself in a room and called the cops and 3, the climax falls a little flat, without giving it away. That's what he did wrong, what he did right. I love the new doll monster characters, the Guy character reminds me of me in some ways. The effects are great, it's good to see Charles Band back in the director's chair where he belongs. The story works for the most part, just short. All and all 8 STARS.

great

[theola1 · 10/10 · 28 December 2007]

this is one of those low budget movies its really short it but good i loved it i bet a lot of people didn't this was different from what i thought it was gonna be the dolls in this movie is the 12 year old boy friends that kill whoever pick on him only two people die those are the two girls boyfriend's they have a party then the dolls get revenge when they see guy getting picked on by them but in one scene where they get out of the house on of the girls say she forgot her purse did you notice when she says Purus it was really a phone and it also takes a while for her to get the purse she grabs it slowly you should grad it fast and run but good movie.not rated but contains violence gore drug use and some language