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Doll Graveyard. USA 2005. Directed by Charles Band

In the beginning of 1900's, a little Sophia plays with her dolls until her father gets mad at her. He forces Sophia to bury dolls in their backyard and after an unfortunate accident, Sophia dies. Father buries Sophia with the dolls and 100 years later her curse still lives on. A group of teen boys & girls will be the victims of Sophia's curse!

Charles Band's Doll Graveyard continues playing with killer dolls, which began with 1989's Puppet Master (directed by David Schmoeller, who by the way is nowadays a film professor at the University of Nevada). It is clearly a thing of his own and it's nice to see him getting back in the mood of Full Moon Pictures golden years. Although Doll Graveyard is a proud  low-budgeter, the look of digital video doesn't give this film the atmosphere it would deserve.

The best element of this film is the straight-forward attitude - there is not a single hint of filmmakers trying to make it more clever than it is, but even a dumber viewer can notice the humorous tone it contains. And of course, if you're into old-fashioned gore then Doll Graveyard might be worth to look at. There are lots of reminiscents to 80's American horror, which is either good or bad -  depending on the eye of the beholder. The young unknown actors and actresses are surprisingly sympathetic, especially Anna Alicia Brock as Terri - who is also one of the more likable characters here. Otherwise there are lots of stereotypically irritating characters, for using them as  perfect victims for the killer dolls.Ken Lyle does a double role as abusive father and understanding, present day dad. He succeeds a lot better with latter role.

     Doll  Graveyard has collected few praises from other critics, so at least I can say is that there are a million more dreadful ways to spend 71 minutes. Maybe I just waited for the next Puppet Master, which Doll Graveyard truly is not.

Wizard Entertainment's DVD release is technically good, since the colors are rather vivid, as well as sharpness level being reasonable. Extra material contains a blooper reel and 17-minute  Behind the Scenes-featurette, which is very traditional but nevertheless interesting look at the set of low-budget film. Then there's a message from Charles Band - and  I think it's a nice way to make Wizard Entertainment releases "more personal" to viewers.