Happy Tuesday, Bookshelf Battlers!
This post is a tough one for me because in honor of this site’s month-long celebration of Halloween Horror Fiction, I’m tackling a subject that gives me the heebiest of jeebies – creepy killer dolls.
Earlier this month, I went to my local theater a bit late hoping to catch Gone Girl. Alas, it was all sold out. Being already there and not wanting to waste the evening, I saw *Gasp* Annabelle instead. I did not want to. Why?
Because I really hate friggin’ creepy killer doll movies.
There I said it. Don’t judge me. You know you hate them too. You know you watch one of those movies and for at least a week later, no matter how educated and worldly you might be, you look at every doll you pass by as if it is harboring secret evil desires.
Annabelle turned out to be a decent movie but the subject still freaks me out. Don’t even get me started on Chucky from Child’s Play.
Oddly though, like watching a car wreck, I inevitably end up watching these movies and today I’m here to tell you about a rather spooktacular one from long ago.
The novel? Magic by William Goldman. If you’ve never heard of him, many of his novels have been turned into films. He wrote The Marathon Man in which an evil Nazi dentist violently tortures a man while uttering the iconic line, “Is it safe?” Yet, surprisingly he also is the author of the much beloved and adored fantasy tale, The Princess Bride. He is an example of an author who managed to move amongst different genres and do so effectively.
Yet, the man who gave us Inigo Montoya also gave the world a Chucky precursor known as “Fats” – a rude and obnoxious ventriloquist dummy.
Here’s the plot:
Believe it or not, but in the 1978, venerable Sir Anthony Hopkins, a virtual Sir Laurence Olivier, arguably one of the most accomplished thespians of our day, appeared in this wacky movie sporting a bowl cut. Hopkins played Corky, a down and out magician. Corky revitalizes his act by adding Fats to it, and the duo are a it. His agent, Ben Greene, played by Burgess Meredith (you may know him as the Penguin from the 1960’s campy version of Batman) is prepared to take Corky to big time celebrity status. But the idea of being in the spotlight frightens Corky, so he retreats to his childhood home town.
There, he is reunited with his former girlfriend, Donna played by Ann-Margaret. She’s with Duke, who treats her terribly. Fats, who is basically a result of Corky’s split personality run amuck, gets jealous and starts ordering Corky to kill people he feels threatened by. That’s about it.
Here’s a creepy clip. Don’t watch it if you a) are adverse to bad language b) are adverse to creepy killer doll movies or c) want to get to sleep tonight without having creepy killer dolls on the brain or d) are adverse to seeing a legendary actor with a bowl hair cut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li78BwTgFEM
In the end, this is one of those “so bad that it’s good movies” and if you’re looking for scary movies to watch this Halloween, you can’t go wrong with this one. Also, I mainly wanted to celebrate the author. Some people can write about a creepy killer doll. Some people can write about the brute squad. Few people are able to do both effectively.
Tune in tomorrow, where I hope to have yet another spooky tribute to scary fiction. I’m challenging myself to write one post a day until Halloween. And as always, I’ll be tweeting away at @bookshelfbattle so feel free to follow.
In the meantime, what creepy killer doll movie and/or book creeps you out the most? Feel free to discuss in the comments below.
Bookshelf Battle 