in

Review: Andrew Jones’ Robert

444Last night was a doll themed movie night at my friend’s house, where we watched a variety of killer doll movies including the extremely underwhelming Annabelle and UK indie flick Robert. Based on true events, Robert the Killer Doll and his story predates Annabelle by about 80 years, but his legacy is much less scary so it was browsed over… until now. Though it’s been available in the UK for over a year, Robert was only made available on VOD in America in January 2016. Read my review to find out if it’s worth a stream or not.

Robert is written and directed by Andrew Jones, whose previews films include The Amityville Asylum, A Haunting at the Rectory and Valley of the Witch. Starring cast members include Suzie Frances Garton (“Half My Strength, All My Struggle”), Lee Bane (Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection), Flynn Allen (House of Salem), Judith Haley (Dark Vision), Samuel Hutchison, Megan Lockhurst and Annie Davies.

Synopsis: After Paul and Jenny part ways with their sinister housekeeper Agatha, the disgruntled former employee gives a vintage doll called Robert to their son Gene. Soon after Agatha’s departure, strange events begin plaguing the household. Furniture is vandalized, objects are thrown around and maniacal giggles echo through the house in the middle of the night. Nobody believes Gene when he claims Robert is to blame for the disturbances. Paul and Jenny consider the possibility that a supernatural force has taken over their home. But as the occurrences escalate they discover that it’s not the house that’s haunted… it’s the doll.

18278f8dd2e0ecdd328905e4085bcf43

I get what Andrew Jones was trying to do here – capitalize on the legend of another creepy doll and hopefully turn it and his film into a lucrative success story. The only problem with this particular haunted doll is that there isn’t enough meat to keep horror fans full. Robert‘s story is about 30% “based on a true story” and about 70% artistic liberties, with the story diverging from original content almost immediately and forging into new territory. The awesome promo poster and DVD cover art, the flashy trailer… These marketing tools are going to paint Robert as a very scary story and quite the thrilling one at that, but in reality the plot is very slow and leaves a lot to be desired. Plus, the kill count is… well, two people. Only two people. So, not only does this mean that Robert is low on horror, but it’s low on gore as well.

What saves it, though, is the atmosphere Jones created – one that has a stark resemblance to Child’s Play and Puppet Master. The formula, the cinematography and the mood makes it feel like Robert is a long lost entry in the Puppet Master franchise and I have to give it a lot of praise for that. The make and style of the haunted doll also resembles the iconic franchise and I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of nostalgia while watching. Cinema viewers who love this time period of horror, the late 80’s, are going to thoroughly enjoy Robert. While it wasn’t my cup of tea, I do believe it’s going to reach an audience who enjoys more slow burn kind of horror films where the creepiness is almost palpable It’s a small market, but I’d highly recommend this flick to them.

I was going to rate Robert low on my 0 to 10 scale… but I don’t think I’m going to be able to do that. The acting was better than I expected. The film had a lot of moments that made way for comical commentary from me and my friends. And it was an honest homage to previous killer dolls movie… and it worked. Wasn’t scary or very interesting, but Puppet Master people are going to love it. I’ll give it a 5 out of 10.

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.