The Doll Master (2004)

The Worst Film Ever

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Being a fan of horror movies in particular and also being a big fan of Asian cinema, I bought this movie from Amazon and was sort of excited to watch it because it had gotten fairly good reviews, and the cover of the DVD looked appealing. And the cover also said "Exciting... An atmospheric terror story... A welcome addition to the genre of Asian horror." - So with those words and the movie's first impression, I popped it into the DVD player.The story was easy enough to follow, it just didn't really make any particular sense. There were a couple of glitches and holes here and there in the plot, which really made the movie come off less believable than intended. The overall plot is basically discarded dolls returning to life by some spirits and seeking vengeance on those who threw them away and needed them no more. Yeah, alright, not really much of a solid plot right there.As far as "The Doll Master" goes for scares, then there was none for me. But I am sure Asian people sitting down with the movie will be in for the odd shock here and there, because of the thing they have with the hair covering the face, lots of that trick being used in the movie. That never was scary to me though.The acting in the movie was adequate enough, though the main actress did put me off. She wandered around with a constant look of grand surprise and shock on her face, that really didn't work. It was like watching a female Asian version of Nicholas Cage here - one facial expression for every scene no matter if it was a sad scene, scary scene, funny scene, etc. That didn't' work well, and I think had they opted with another actress, that would have made it a tad more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, her acting was fine enough, it was just her lack of facial expressions aside from the one that was glued on there.One of the best things about "The Doll Master" was the attention to detail. There was a lot of really nice touches to the house and the dolls in particular, in this movie. So that, at least, was working in favor of the movie. And the scene that worked out the best for me in the entire movie was the toilet scene. I will not spoil anything here and give away anything, just watch it.If you enjoy Asian horror movies, and have nothing better to do, you can give "The Doll Master" a go, though you will not be in for anything extraordinary or spectacular. And there are far better Asian horror movies available out there, both new and old movies. I wasn't impressed with this movie one bit, though I did sit through it from start till end.

Have to say, the film has a lot of potential to be something really spooky but unfortunately resorts to the almost Hollywood like style sense of horror with the predictable deaths of its characters which makes this look more like a slasher film.It doesn't help that all the characters feel like card board cut outs - the annoying college girl, the annoying male, the uptight and serious guy, the awkward weirdo girl who can't be removed from her doll and our heroine who is sort of in the middle of everyone. They are all invited to a house so the owner can model dolls from their features and find well....there is more going on in this house than meets the eye - like you couldn't work that out for yourself.The film doesn't build up the suspense which would have been perfect considering there are so many creepy dolls in this house - but relies more on the cheap scare tactics which doesn't work at all here. And it is a pity considering the production design and the look of the film has so much to work with.If the director had seen A Tale of Two Sisters and tried to make that approach by slowly revealing things while still maintaining a sense of mystery instead of throwing it down your throat, this would have been a much better film but unfortunately, is on the same level as a teenager slasher film. Disappointing - has its nice moments but overall just as hollow as normal doll - all looks but nothing inside.

Well, I just saw this movie and I started thinking that may be I have seen too much Asian horror because I just had one good jump of fear while watching this film. Even when I have to say that this is the most "frightening" scary-dolls movie I have seen, I have to say as well that, as an Asian film I was expecting more tension and good psychological horror. It actually only contents a little dose. It has more gore than I expected and that I'm used to (regarding to Asian's movies). Besides, at some point it gets quite predictable, the climax is loose, and a pair of special effects are cheesy. On the other hand the acting was really good, the atmosphere was well studied, because,I mean, the dolls were amazingly creepy and well located. The plot is not bad, it's well justified, but I realized that this is an Asian movie with a north American horror style and that's what I didn't like of it. No offense. Anyway... at this moment I'm wondering if to get rid or not of my old Barbie doll that I keep in my wardrobe. May be she can get upset. :D

Have to disagree with people saying that this is a lousy horror film with good acting and camera-work - I'd say it's an okay horror flick RUINED by shockingly abysmal acting and poor camera-work - watch 'Ju-on : The Grudge instead of wasting your time with this garbage. The principal idea behind the film is rather an original one, considering the abundance of killer-doll-based scare-fests which have been foist upon us over the years; unfortunately, the story is handled with all the subtlety of the latest Michael Bay actioner, with a cast of characters which are uniformly unlikable and played with precision-perfect dreadfulness by actors presumably sifted from daytime Korean soap operas. It isn't scary and only succeeds in dampening your expectations of the next Korean horror movie to come-a-calling. Oh well.