House of Dolls Blu Ray Review (VMI Releasing)

House of Dolls is a 2023 slasher produced and directed by Juan Salas (House of Dolls 2, The Devil’s Ring, Alp, The Triple D, and The Wolf Catcher). It was written by actress Iv Amenti (Dana’s Story and Karma Police). A sequel is already in the works for this independent horror feature. Three bickering sisters which includes Diana (played by: Alicia Underwood from Ghost Party, Forgiven, The Inflicted, Ghost Note, and Insincere Twins), Helen (played by: Taylor Jean Cox from Como Tú-Marie Monti), and Charlotte (played by: Naomi Lopez from The Devil’s Ring and New Year’s Evil) are forced to reunite forban inheritance from their father. Their grandmother Celine Charles (played by: Dee Wallace from E.T., The Howling, Cujo, Alligator II, Popcorn, The Frighteners, Halloween, 3 From Hell, Abominable, Red Christmas, and Critters) set up this ambitious reconnection. They must face and finally confront all their longtime issues. They’re left to remain in a doll house to collect the money while playing a game with a variety of clues. They are put into a living nightmare when they try to survive from a brutal masked killer!!!! House of Dolls has a very solid body count and quality special fx when it comes to the gore. There’s a few impressive kills in House of Dolls but most of them are your typical slasher deaths. The text murder was beyond cringe. The villain and vicious killer in this actually looked kinda cool. The spiked pink ski mask fits with the main location plus it’s definitely unique. He used a variety of different weapons to slaughter his victims here. The script had it’s issues but I will say that it had a nice twist at the end. All three leads were very solid as the sisters that don’t get along at all. It took their father dying and money to bring them together. Alicia Underwood gave the best performance for this low budget slasher. Dee Wallace is the exact reason why House of Dolls originally grabbed my attention. I’ve always been a big fan of her work and she’s one of the greatest actresses in the horror scene. She has a very small cameo role despite her top billing. Regardless, she is amazing as always and her character Celine Charles is kinda the heart of this bad situation. She’s the most likeable role in House of Dolls. As you know, I’m always honest and I never want to be harsh but sometimes you can’t ignore major problems with something. Jack Rain (AWOL-72) as Justin damn near ruined House of Dolls with his presence. He messed up the chemistry with the girls and he just didn’t fit at all in this. He tries to be the comedy relief but he’s never funny. It’s just awkward, it’s one of the worst performances that I’ve covered in a long time. If the Justin character was removed from House of Dolls, I think this independent horror film would have been so much better. I know that rapper Meeko (Euphoria) was probably the 2nd biggest name attached to this project but he was really miscast as Detective Ramirez. No law enforcement officer speaks like that, it just ruined that role and it became a huge distraction when he was on screen. The rest of the supporting cast includes Stephanie Troyak (Greenhouse Academy), Violeta Ortega (The Umbrella Academy), Phil Blevins (Hunters), Matt Blackwell (Walker), Trey Peyton (Assassin), Michael A Williams (Vid Chronicles), and Gary Daniel Mosher (Jack of Hearts). House of Dolls has it’s moments and I enjoyed a decent amount of it. I think it’s cool that they are making another one because like I said before, it has a villain that stands out so a small budget horror franchise is possible if done right. It’s worth checking out at least once, just keep your expectations very low before viewing it. Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from VMI Releasing! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks fantastic on blu ray. House of Dolls has excellent production design, special fx, and cinematography. This looks much better than it’s budget. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. The audio is better than expected. I enjoyed it’s hip hop soundtrack. All of the dialogue is very clean, the killing is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has an English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Juan Salas. It’s loaded with lots of information and stories from the production. You learn a decent amount about House of Dolls here. It has the almost 22 minute “Halloween Special” with director Juan Salas and Dee Wallace. They chat about Halloween and related subjects for a little bit. The film maker asks the legendary Scream Queen some questions. It’s a very fun and entertaining conversation. It has the little over 41 minute “U.S. Premiere Q and A”. It’s hosted by Natasha Martinez from Instagram. The cast and crew answer questions from a live crowd from the Beverly Hills screening. Lots of interesting stuff on here. It has the little over 20 minute “Making of House of Dolls”. It has all kinds of behind the scenes footage. It has interviews with the cast and the crew while they are on the set. It focuses on costume, makeup, and fx. It has some footage at the end during their premiere. It has the little over 3 minute “The Man Who Was Death” music video from MiB. It has clips from the film in it. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. This home video release is packed with extras so it’s definitely worth adding to the collection if you enjoyed this slasher. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!