Next up on the agenda is Blood Dolls a 1999 flick that, despite it’s apparent Puppet Master influence, is actually pretty dang good.
The movie starts out with two suits arriving at a massive mansion and being greeted by a creepy, child molester looking fellow with clown make-up that’s strikingly similar (and we discover on the ‘Making Of..’) to that of the Full Moon staple, Killjoy. This gentleman, Mr. Mascaro, holds Blood Dolls together in many places and is definitely an integral part of the puzzle.
Mr. Mascaro leads the folks into a large office where they are greeted by a fellow wearing a cheap, Halloween Express special mask and what is, honestly, a pretty nice suit. This gentleman looks like an imposing fellow, that’s for sure. It turns out this guy, eccentric billionaire Virgil Travis, has recently been hit with a judgement in an anti-trust lawsuit over his computer software and as a result has lost close to a billion dollars.
Reason to be upset.
We also meet Hylas (FM’s midget-on-call, Phil Fondacaro) and Travis’ own personal rock band who, as expected, play shitty, “edgy” rock songs that always seem to fit Mr. Travis’ mood or hint at things to come. Crafty. Note the sarcasm. One good thing about the band is that it includes Vanesa Talor, which if you read my Demonicus review, whom I evidently have an affinity for.
Turns out the suits have failed him miserably and must pay as a result. Mr. Travis then reveals his “true form” and takes off his mask to reveal a pin-sized head. Turns out he is a genetic experiment himself. The male portion of the suit equation ends up getting auto-strapped to his chair and waxed via a weird drill-like contraption that emerges from underneath the seat. This was well done.
The female suit is taken to another part of the house where a horrible procedure is described to her, then ends up not happening at all. We get the kinna crappy Full Moon electricity effect and she ends up being a puppet. Her puppet incarnation looks strikingly similar to Leechwoman from Puppet Master, but we’ll let that slide.
Travis’ plan, as we learn is to use his puppets (whom he has created from the judge and prosecutor from his anti-trust lawsuit and the lady suit as I previously mentioned) to exact his revenge against his business rivals. Mr. Mascaro is disappointed that anyone/thing is being brought in to help do what is usually his work. Travis explains this that’s it is cool for about 7 seconds and Mr. Mascaro promptly zips it and plays along.
Flash across town and we meet Mr. Travis’ business rivals in the form of George Warbeck (Nicholas Worth), Mercy Shaw (Jodie Fisher) and a couple comprised of Moira (Debra Mayer) and Harrison Yulin (Warren Draper). They are celebrating the “defeat” of Mr. Travis. As it turns out, Travis has a surveillance device chillin in the front yard of the Yulin’s house and while all parties involved know they are being watched in some way, they continue their “confidential conversation” in an room not protected from the surveillance.
They part ways and Warbeck heads home where, despite the “best effort” of his security team, he is waxed by the dolls (Pimp, Geisha Girl and the Pinhead like Muscles) who gain entry thanks to Mr. Mascaro via a barbell to the face. Nice.
I’ll leave the recap at that. There is a surprise or two to be had, however for the most part the plot is pretty straight forward for the duration.
Now.
There are a lot of things I really liked about this movie. The biggest thing that stands out is the depth of the actual story. There are, at one point, three separate stories/sub-plots going on that are all well written and well acted. Debra Mayer is fantastic and Travis as well as Mr. Mascaro are well played. Even the ‘bit’ players all do their jobs nicely and add little things to their portrayal of their respective character. It makes a movie a lot more fun to watch, that’s a definite. Technically, this looks and sounds better than many (later) Full Moon affairs.
This was a mostly solid period for Full Moon flicks and this is a prime example of them doing it right. A lot of other FM efforts from this period have the potential but fail on the follow-through. Not the case with Blood Dolls.
Definitely one of Full Moon’s better (later) efforts.
**** out of 5.
