Horror Movie Review: Mandy the Haunted Doll (2018)

Inspired by the legend of the real doll which dates back to 1910-1920’s Germany. Mandy The Haunted Doll is a carbon copy of such horrors as Annabelle and Robert the Doll. Yet is somehow so much worse.

In all walks of life, as soon as something makes money a thousand copycats come out with their attempt to get a piece of the pie. In this regard the success of Annabelle has seen countless haunted dolls/toys related horrors pop up. Even though this idea can be traced back way further to the likes of Puppet Master.

Opening in 1910 we see the events that caused the doll in question to become haunted. A group of boys at a church lock the young girl Mandy in a cupboard whereupon she freezes to death as she is unable to get out. She was carrying a porcelain doll on her and her soul goes into it. Thus, we have Mandy the Haunted Doll.

In modern times, a wealthy old woman is looking for a babysitter for the night and hires Amber (Phoebe Torrance). It’s an odd babysitting job as the old lady sets out a list of instructions that basically amount to…stay away from the child’s room and do not wake her up.

Amber doesn’t mind though as she’s not there just to babysit. In fact, she is part of a crew planning to rob the place. She scopes it out and later, lets the rest of her crew in.

Of course, her curiosity regarding the child gets to much and what she discovers is actually a doll in the bed. Thinking the old lady is a bit crazy, she and her crew figure robbing the house will be even easier. However, Mandy is awake now and she wants to play.

Yawn.

As well as being wholly unoriginal, Mandy the Haunted Doll has some lacklustre performances that will make most cringe. Bad dialogue is delivered unconvincingly and most of the characters have as much depth as a rain puddle. It’s actually a relief when Mandy starts killing them off.

That being said, there are some positives. For an indie horror, director Jamie Weston has a knack for good camera angles and lighting, it’s a nice-looking film.

Also, the actual doll is creepy looking, there’s just something about a porcelain doll that just works in horror. It’s a shame that not enough of the scares work. There is next to no tension and the jump scares won’t get much more then a tried shrug.