Best Friend – review of the horror film “The Doll”

My name is Buddi

Karen, a single mother after a struggle, moves into a new home with her son, Andy, to start life anew. This is a difficult time for her teenage descendant. The new environment, acquaintances and problems with adjusting to the situation make the boy feel lonely and alienated. In addition, after changing his place of residence, his relationship with his parent becomes tense. The boy receives a doll as a birthday present, the latest technological wonder constructed by the Kaslan company. The toy is synchronized with all home devices, thus fulfilling the dreams of having an interactive system that makes life easier, increases comfort, social status and improves the well-being of the average American family. The function repertoire of the candy-looking doll is very rich: she will order a taxi when needed, it will lull the child to sleep or remind him to take textbooks to school. Buddi quickly becomes a teenager’s constant companion and friend. However, it has a manufacturing defect, which means that it is devoid of any blockades and control mechanisms. Soon it begins to pose a deadly threat to our heroes, quickly externalizing its destructive properties.

Social appeal

Dollyit is a surprisingly successful picture. When necessary, we are frightened by the unnatural, ironic, sometimes dispassionate and cold tone of Mark Hamill’s voice. At other times, it is fun, relieving tension, saddening and evoking reflections on trust, relativity in interpersonal relations and death. The film is adapted to contemporary realities and is based on the desire to show the threats posed by new technologies. The cyberpunk nature of the work allows it to be considered in much broader categories. The horror film is created in the spirit of the cinema of a new adventure, in which the average recipient will find something for himself, cutting popcorn, comfortably sitting in an armchair. The scenario is a big advantage of production. The dialogues are loaded with a huge dose of black humor, grotesque and self-irony. The plot takes place in stages, and the situation in which the protagonists found themselvesPeter Jackson’s brain necrosis . A moralizing story about the difficulties of growing up, marginalization of single-parent families or the need for affiliation in a peer group, and above all, disturbed family relationships and the need for unconditional love, are met with positive reception.

A genre mishmash

If the horror was stripped of all its socio-psychological threads, the film could easily be called a teen slasher , in which only the fearless final girl is missing from the full picture . However, the number of issues raised testifies to the multifaceted specificity of the picture. Apart from the main axis of the Doll, which is the social commentary, Klevberg skillfully operates the horror prop. The gore scenes are really impressive, while faithfully reflecting the atmosphere of B-class production from the 1980s. In addition, the plot has many references to the classics of the genre, including the Texas Chainsaw Massacrethat Buddi watched with undisguised excitement, thus learning to behave aggressively. Such flavors only add genre value, and the whole proves the metatextual nature of the film. In addition, the level of escalation of sadism and cruelty in the actions of the title character (unscrupulous murdering all the people he meets on his way) is close to the zenith. Such a genre collage, a mix of drama, black comedy and horror may appeal to those who go to the cinema only for good, almost two-hour entertainment. In turn, maybe it will not be possible to fully satisfy the appetite of fans of stronger experiences. It is difficult to find innovation in such a heavily exploited, but still fertile ground.

A bit about heroes

The heroes do their job flawlessly, and the actors show a lot of mimic and stage-stage skills. In addition, thanks to Klevberg’s demonstration of the authenticity of family psychodrama, we easily and quickly gain the trust of our protagonists, identifying ourselves with their location, which is probably very close to some recipients. The theme of Karen’s motherly love for her son, which regains the status quo in moments of mortal danger, is most touchingand true, undeniable, original value. Not without significance, the creators show general interpersonal relations and the functioning of the human being on many levels. The socio-psychological mechanisms and instincts they adhere to are primarily intended to arouse reflections in the recipients about the basic values: love, closeness, friendship and death. Hence, the social commentary is also a kind of appeal for more mutual respect and reconciliation. The Klevberg doll is a horror film that faithfully reflects contemporary realities, putting great emphasis on showing the dangers of continuous technological progress, which gradually causes the society to atrophy interpersonal relations, which in turn may lead to the extermination of humanity.

We would like to thank the Cinema City chain for the opportunity to watch the movie Laleczka .