PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I love documentaries! Some of the best ones I’ve seen this year are For the Love of the Boogeyman: 40 Years of Halloween, The Bill Murray Stories, Wolfman’s Got Nards, and now The Dollhouse.
I got the chance to watch The Dollhouse as coverage for the 2018 Screamfest Film Festival. When I requested it, I had no clue it was a documentary nor did I know anything about it, but as the opening credits began to roll, I was pleasantly surprised.
This lovely documentary was directed, written, and produced by Kyra Gardner. Some of the people who make an appearance throughout the documentary are Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, FX Artist Tony Gardner, franchise Producer David Kirschner, and Kyra herself.
Official Synopsis for The Dollhouse:
A filmmaker (Kyra Gardner) who grew up with the Chucky doll seeks out the other families surrounding the franchise to get their perspective on life with Chucky.
From Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, this special documentary has a run-time for less than 8 minutes and is something all horror lovers will appreciate, especially fans of the Child’s Play franchise. It gives a wonderfully unique insight on the series, the people behind it, and what it was like for their families.
Kyra Gardner is a brilliant director, and I’m sure it comes naturally growing up around the film industry, especially with a talented father like Tony Gardner. He is an amazing makeup and special effect artist, not only for the Child’s Play franchise but many other wonderful films like Hocus Pocus and Zombieland. In The Dollhouse documentary, you can tell the two have a beautiful relationship and both admire each other’s accomplishments.
It was intriguing to get a behind the scene look at what it was like for the actors, crew, and family during filming and how lonely it can feel to be without your family for days, weeks, and months at a time. Kyra and Fiona Dourif share a unique bond because of that, both having their fathers away a good chunk of time due to filming. It’s also interesting that, despite missing their father’s during filming, they both went on to play different parts in the film industry and are kicking ass doing so.
After a movie or franchise is over, you often wonder if the cast and crew ever see each other ever again, or if it’s just a movie to them and they go there separate ways. In The Dollhouse, we get to see that the Chucky family is very close and have a unique bond because of horror and everything that comes with it.
Final Thoughts on The Dollhouse:
This is such a fun and heartfelt documentary that horror fans will love. Not every day do you get to such a personal insight on the people you love behind your favorite films and with The Dollhouse, you get that and much more!
You May Also Like:
Interview with Alex Vincent, Star of ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘Descending’
