Pulpmovies Reviews

Rosemary Gore seems to have a real talent for portraying unstable characters and, slightly frighteningly, inducing a level of sympathy for them among the audience. She achieved this to great effect in Glen Baisley’s excellent Fear of the Dark, but she really does surpass herself in Baby Doll.

This is the story of Casey Henson (Rosemary Gore), an outwardly normal young woman who never quite recovered from the death of her parents or the subsequent abuse at the hands of various orphanages and foster parents.

And, when she’s out and about, there are clues and hints that something is not quite right with Casey. But these are the sort of clues that we – with the additional knowledge that comes from being in the audience – can pick up on but that the other characters, quite reasonably, don’t.

Because, when Casey goes home she reverts back to the four year old who was orphaned in a car accident – a child who is violently responding to her subsequent years of abuse.

This is more than a little unlucky for the guy (Victor Moreyra) she has tied to her bed.

What makes this such a gripping and disturbing film is that Gore really does lead you into an understanding of Casey’s world – one that is dark, disturbed and intense. Baby Doll is frightening, not so much because of the violence that has happened or is happening, but because if the inevitability of the violence that will follow – that and the fact that you feel yourself sympathising, to some extent, with Casey’s position.

This feeling is amply supported by the Lance J. Reha’s direction with skewed camera angles, atmospheric lighting and a genuinely creepy soundtrack, all of which serve to amplify the general sense of both unease and inherent danger throughout.

Baby Doll is a powerful and disturbing film with a rather effective final twist that easily transcends its low budget origins to create an intense experience that is not easily forgotten.

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