Review: ‘The Dollmaker’ a Creepy Short Film, and Not Just for Horror Enthusiasts

A creepy short film infused with some light, heartwarming moments; and then some dark, heartbreaking moments, all culminating in a climax that is just one big wtf moment that’ll leave you reeling. 

“The Dollmaker” is built on the idea of motherly love and just how far a mother will go for the sake of her dead child. At the start, we’re introduced to Mrs. Deyton, a grieving mother who’s just lost her son and desperately begs a dollmaker to create a magical doll in order to keep her company, and which she can treat as her surrogate son. 

In her arms and inside the four walls of the Deytons’ home, the doll comes to life—or at least to Mrs. Deyton, it seems to be alive, but outside the home, it’s just a doll. To Mr. Deyton, of course, all this is poppycock; and one day, fed up of his wife’s crazy dependence on a doll she thinks is their dead child, he snatches it away from her. Of course, this act comes with horrific consequences (and no, I’m not talking about dolls coming to life and turning on their owners and all that). To discover the consequences, watch it for yourselves.

“The Dollmaker” theatrical poster.

Let me just conclude this review by saying that this isn’t your run of the mill horror, and it doesn’t rely on jump scares or monsters to propel the story forward. Instead the viewer is deeply invested in a strange story that chooses to portray the psychological facet of a grieving mother, and a father who is on the end of his tether, as well as the crazy things one does for love which can be fatal. It explores how grief can suck one into an endless abyss from which there’s usually no return.

The cast is terrific and I hope they receive more fame and recognition beyond this. Perri Lauren as the grieving mother is believable and Sean Meehan deserves accolades for his performance as the father who is trying to make sense of the absurd situation and is trying to hold on to his wife before he loses her to her own grief-laden mind. Daniel Martin Berkey sets the right tone as the creepy dollmaker. Some of the cinematography in “The Dollmaker” is also impeccable, and the viewer won’t even notice that this is probably a shoestring budget production. 

This short is not just for horror film enthusiasts, and everyone can give it a shot. The film will stay with you for a long time (I say, ominously). So, head on over to “The Auteur Channel” on YouTube, or Amazon Prime to check it out for yourselves.