Even with DOLLY DEAREST, killing is "child's play" on Vinegar Syndrome's Blu-ray/DVD combo restoration of this 1990s killer doll pic.

Seeing a money-making opportunity in the lost art of doll-making by hand, Elliot Wade (Sam Bottoms, APOCALYPSE NOW) moves his family from Los Angeles to Mexico and purchases a small factory only to discover that the profit projections that came with the factory were copied from an American business textbook by naïve but well-intentioned attorney Estrella (Enrique Renaldo, KILL SPEED) and that the small factory is falling apart and the equipment is ancient. The quality of the dolls that remain in stock, however, amazes Wade who gives one to his lonely daughter Jessica (Candy Hutson, HIDER IN THE HOUSE). His son Jimmy (Chris Demetral, SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK) is more attracted to the nearby archaeological dig which has been shut off since the accidental death of excavator Larabe (Brass Adams, ZOMBIE HIGH) in a cave-in. He learns from archaeologist Karl Resnick (Rip Torn, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH) that the dig has uncovered a tomb where an ancient cult called the Sanzia (translated as "Satan on Earth") have buried a "devil child," the spirit of which has escaped and seeks to possess a host. Meanwhile, Elliot's wife Marilyn (Denise Crosby, MORTUARY) has noticed Jessica behaving more aggressively and claiming that her Dolly is telling her what to do, greatly worrying religious housekeeper Camilla (Lupe Ontiveros, THE GOONIES) whose Carmelite nun sister Alva (Alma Martinez, UNDER FIRE) has tried to destroy the tomb unaware that the evil has already taken residence in a three foot piece of walking, talking plastic.

Although blessed with freaky poster art and an effective trailer that once raised chills, DOLLY DEAREST now plays like the bland CHILD'S PLAY retread it always was. The Mexican setting is a novelty, but replacing voodoo with a pre-Mayan pagan religion does not amount to much in terms of chills. Dolly herself is a creepy design – the work of Michael Burnett (TWICE DEAD) and Tim Ralston (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3) – most effective in odd, static expressions more so than animatronic movement or attempts at jump scares. The doll has little of Chucky's personality, with electronically-distorted growls and sub-Freddy one-liners, and poor Bottoms, Crosby, and Ontiveros come off the worst for playing with conviction. Torn fares better in a casual and amused performance, playing well off Demetral. The factory stalking climax is more amusing than suspenseful, and it is surprising that there is no last shot twist before the credits roll. The film is an effective DTV timewaster but is more interesting now not only as one of the few horror films directed by a woman, but also as a horror film directed by former Joseph Sarno, seventies sexploitation actress Maria Lease (ALL THE SINS OF SODOM). The film was produced by Daniel Cady, who produced several of John Hayes' seventies horror works like GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE along with Lease's hardcore directorial excursions like LITTLE GIRLS BLUE while fellow sexploitationer Lee Frost (CHAIN GANG WOMEN) served as production manager. The synth scoring of Mark Snow (THE X-FILES) has its moments during the horror set pieces.

Released theatrically by Trimark Pictures and then to VHS and laserdisc by video arm Vidmark, the same hazy video master turned up on DVD from Lionsgate in 2005 with only the trailer as an extra. Vinegar Syndrome's 2K restoration of the film's 35mm interpositive looks spectacular on their 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray, reveling in desert rustic and rocky textures, backlit particles of dust and smoke, and facial textures ranging from ruggedly human to waxy animatronic dolls. Colors pop from Dolly's red dress and a bit of bloodshed to the subtle shadings of moonlight around the grounds of the family's home and the desert factory. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo rendering of the original Ultra Stereo mix has a wider, deeper feel than the DVD with the whispered chanting and sounds that are now recognizable as baby cries goosing the soundscape along with the formerly nondescript-seeming score. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.