Black Devil Doll from Hell

Last updated

Black Devil Doll from Hell
Black Devil Doll From Hell.jpg
VHS artwork for the Hollywood Home Video release
Directed by Chester Novell Turner
Written byChester Novell Turner
Produced byChester Novell Turner
StarringShirley L. Jones
Gladys Ames
Bernard Brown
CinematographyAnna Holiday
Edited byChester Novell Turner
David Ichikawa (recut)
Music byChester Novell Turner
Production
company
C.N.T. Production Company
Distributed byHollywood Home Video (VHS)
Massacre Video (DVD)
Release dates
1984 (VHS)
2013 (DVD)
Running time
70 minutes (1984 version)
140 minutes (director's cut)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10,000 [1]

Black Devil Doll from Hell is a 1984 American blaxploitation horror film written, produced, and directed by Chester Novell Turner, in his directorial debut. The film stars Shirley L. Jones.

Contents

A copy of the film is held in the Yale University Libraries' archives. [2]

Plot

Helen Black is a religious young woman who is determined to abstain from sex until marriage. This all changes once she purchases a supposedly haunted doll from a thrift store, after which point Helen's sex drive becomes insatiable.

Cast

Production

When Turner began working on Black Devil Doll from Hell, he initially intended the story to be one of several featured in the anthology film Tales from the QuadeaD Zone. The short was turned into a feature-length film after Turner noted that the script had grown too long to be part of an anthology. [3] Turner wrote the script over a period of three and a half days, however filming took place over several years on a budget of about $10,000. [3] [4] Most of the film's budget went towards paying the cast and crew involved with the film, as Turner was unaware that it is accepted practice for some performers and crew to work for free when making an independent film. [5] During filming Turner began dating actress Shirley L. Jones, who would return for Turner's second film. [3]

The titular devil doll from the movie was modeled after the performer Rick James and Turner's young nephew portrayed the doll in walking scenes. [3] [5] As Turner had no prior experience in filmmaking, he took a correspondence course to help him with the film. [5]

Release

The film was first released in 1984 through Hollywood Home Video, a working relationship that Turner has described as exploitative. [4] Copies of Black Devil Doll from Hell were circulated to various video rental stores, where they were rented "over and over and over". [3] Despite the film enjoying some popularity, Turner only received $6 for each VHS copy purchased and was not certain how many copies of the film were actually sold by the distributor. [3] Hollywood Home Video also made extensive edits to Turner's film, resulting in the removal of seventy minutes of footage and of Turner's original soundtrack. [1]

In 2013 Massacre Video released Black Devil Doll from Hell as part of a DVD box set along with Tales from the QuadeaD Zone . The set also featured commentary from Turner and Shirley L. Jones, a documentary on both films, and the original version of Black Devil Doll from Hell. [1] Both Black Devil Doll from Hell and Tales from the QuadeaD Zone received a screening in Austin, Texas that same year, as part of a film event hosted by the Austin Film Society and attended by both Turner and Jones. [6]

Reception

HorrorNews.net commented that the film was "hard to recommend" but contained a good ending and "some truly unbelievable lines of dialogue". [7] DVD Talk gave Black Devil Doll from Hell two stars, remarking that they preferred the edited cut over Turner's original version. [8] Shock Cinema Magazine reviewed the movie in 1991, writing that "It revels unashamedly in its own misogynistic mindset and utter incompetency, and I can't imagine an uglier, more unbelievably inept piece of rotgut. Difficult to endure, impossible to forget, and loads of fun to discuss afterward (sorta like bragging about battle wounds)." [9]

Graeme Clark from The Spinning Image panned the film, awarding it one out of ten stars, calling it "Absolutely dreadful by any estimate, but difficult to look away from (and listen to, thanks to the piercing and droning soundtrack)". In his review, Clark criticized the film's dialogue, sexual content as being "almost softcore pornographic", and called the title character "a low rent Chucky". [10] Reviewing the 2013 release of the film, Nathaniel Thompson from Mondo Digital offered similar criticism. In his review Thompson wrote, "Love it or hate it, there's no way you'll ever forget Black Devil Doll from Hell. The monotonous (and loud) Casio soundtrack, hallucinatory pacing, profane script, and amateur performances combine to create a Black Devil Doll from HellDIY video project so far removed from anything remotely resembling normality that most wondered how it ever escaped onto commercial VHS release at all." [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Broken</i> (1993 film) 1993 American film

Broken is a 1993 horror musical short film and long-form music video filmed and directed by Peter Christopherson. It is based on an idea by Trent Reznor, founder of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, and is a companion piece to the 1992 Nine Inch Nails EP Broken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Zombie</span> American singer, songwriter, and filmmaker (born 1965)

Robert Bartleh Cummings, known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and voice actor. He is a founding member of the heavy metal band White Zombie, releasing four studio albums with the band. He is the older brother of Spider One, the lead vocalist of the industrial metal band Powerman 5000.

<i>The Devils Advocate</i> (1997 film) 1997 film by Taylor Hackford

The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 American supernatural horror film directed by Taylor Hackford, written by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, and starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, and Charlize Theron. Based on Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel of the same name, it is about a gifted young Florida lawyer (Reeves) invited to New York City to work for a major firm. As his wife (Theron) becomes haunted by frightening visions, the lawyer slowly begins to realize the owner of the firm (Pacino) is not what he appears to be, and is in fact the Devil.

<i>Black Sabbath</i> (film) 1963 film by Mario Bava

Black Sabbath is a 1963 horror anthology film directed by Mario Bava. The film consists of three separate tales that are introduced by Boris Karloff. The order in which the stories are presented varies among the different versions in which the film has been released. In the original, Italian print, the first story, titled "The Telephone", involves Rosy who continually receives threatening telephone calls from an unseen stalker. The second is "The Wurdulak", where a man named Gorca (Karloff) returns to his family after claiming to have slain a Wurdulak, an undead creature who attacks those that it had once loved. The third story, "The Drop of Water", is centered on Helen Corey, a nurse who steals a ring from a corpse that is being prepared for burial and finds herself haunted by the ring's original owner after arriving home.

<i>Motel Hell</i> 1980 US comedy horror film by Kevin Connor

Motel Hell is a 1980 American comedy horror film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Rory Calhoun, Nancy Parsons, and Nina Axelrod. The plot follows farmer, butcher, motel manager, and meat entrepreneur Vincent Smith, who traps travelers and harvests them for his human sausages.

<i>Trilogy of Terror</i> 1975 television film by Dan Curtis

Trilogy of Terror is a 1975 American made-for-television anthology horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black. It features three segments, each based on unrelated short stories by Richard Matheson. The first follows a college professor who seeks excitement with her students; the second is about twin sisters who have a bizarre relationship. These two segments were adapted by William F. Nolan. The third, adapted by Matheson, himself, focuses on a woman terrorized by a Zuni fetish doll in her apartment. Black stars in all three segments, and plays dual roles in the second.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Classic Monsters</span> Horror and science fiction films made by Universal Studios (1930s–1950s)

Universal Classic Monsters is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conceived as a franchise, the enduring popularity and legacy of the films and the characters featured in them has led the studio to market them under the collective brand name of Universal Studios Monsters. Steve Jones of USA Today described Universal's most famous monsters as "pop culture icons", specifically Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man.

Nathan Schiff is a Long Island, New York filmmaker best known for low-budget horror features he shot in Super 8mm while in his teens. Image Entertainment, a leading DVD distributor, held these films in such high regard that they restored and released the films on DVD releases in 2004.

FrightFest, also known as Arrow Video FrightFest is an annual film festival held in London and Glasgow. The festival holds three major events each year: a festival running five days over the UK late August Bank Holiday weekend, a Halloween event held in London in late October, and a festival in Glasgow held around February as part of the Glasgow Film Festival.

<i>Never Say Die</i> (video) 1980 video by Black Sabbath

Never Say Die is a live video by heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was recorded in June 1978, on the Never Say Die! tour, at London's Hammersmith Odeon. It was directed by Brian Wiseman and produced by Martin Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Winters (choreographer)</span> American choreographer

David Winters was an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, producer, distributor, director and screenwriter. At a young age, he acted in film and television projects such as Lux Video Theatre; Naked City; Mister Peepers; Rock, Rock, Rock; and Roogie's Bump. He received some attention in Broadway musicals for his roles in West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). In the film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) he was one of the few to be re-cast. It became the highest grossing motion picture of that year, and won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

<i>The House of the Devil</i> 2009 American film

The House of the Devil is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, A. J. Bowen, and Dee Wallace.

<i>Blood Dolls</i> 1999 American film

Blood Dolls is a 1999 direct-to-video comedy horror film written and directed by Charles Band. The film stars Jack Maturin, Debra Mayer, and Nicholas Worth. The story was conceived by Band.

<i>The Devils Hand</i> 1962 film

The Devil's Hand is a 1961 American independent horror film. It was produced by Alvin K. Bublis and directed by William J. Hole Jr. The film stars Linda Christian, Robert Alda, Ariadna Welter and Neil Hamilton. The movie was made in 1959 by Rex Carlton Productions, but not distributed until 1961 by Crown International Pictures. It follows the activities of a group of modern-day Los Angelenos who are members of a cult that worships Gamba, the Great Devil God.

Blaxploitation horror films are a genre of horror films involving mostly black actors. In 1972 director William Crain did the first blaxploitation horror film, Blacula.

<i>The Devils Carnival</i> 2012 American film

The Devil's Carnival is a 2012 American musical horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn and Terrance Zdunich. The film marks the second collaboration of Bousman and writer/actor Terrance Zdunich, their previous work being the unrelated musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera. The film also brings back several of the cast members of Repo!, such as Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre. The Devil's Carnival has Aesop's Fables and other folklore at the core of its story, with the main characters each representing a fable. Flanery's character John represents "Grief and His Due", Evigan's character Merrywood represents "The Dog and Its Reflection", and Lowndes' character Tamara represents "The Scorpion and the Frog", an animal fable that seems to have first emerged in Russia.

<i>Alleluia! The Devils Carnival</i> 2015 American film

Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival is a 2015 American musical fantasy horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Terrance Zdunich. It is a direct sequel to Bousman's 2012 short film The Devil's Carnival, but unlike the previous film, Alleluia is a feature-length project. Production commenced in August 2014 and the film was released on August 11, 2015 by Cleopatra Films.

<i>Tales from the QuadeaD Zone</i> 1987 American film

Tales from the QuadeaD Zone is a 1987 American anthology blaxploitation horror film and cult classic that was written, directed, and produced by Chester Novell Turner. The film was originally released straight to VHS. VHS copies of the film have become collector's items due to their difficulty to locate and extremely limited quantities, with one copy selling for $2000 on eBay.

Chester Novell Turner is an American filmmaker known for his blaxploitation horror films Black Devil Doll From Hell and Tales from the QuadeaD Zone. Since their releases in the 1980s, Turner's movies have developed cult followings and are considered to be much sought after collector's items. A copy of Black Devil Doll From Hell is currently archived by the Yale University Library and Turner's other movie was featured as part of a horror film symposium hosted by Yale University in 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cooper, Patrick (December 6, 2013). "[DVD Review] Massacre Video Resurrects the 'Films of Chester Novell Turner'". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Campopiano, John (April 11, 2016). "10 Favorite Horror VHS Acquisitions as Picked by Yale University Library". Dread Central . Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Abrams, Jon (October 11, 2013). "Returning to the Quadead Zone: The Resurrection of Chester N. Turner". Daily Grindhouse. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Piepenburg, Erik (November 14, 2013). "Chester Novell Turner and 'Black Devil Doll' Are Back". The New York Times . Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Borrelli, Christopher (January 21, 2014). "Horror director Chester Turner's career back from dead". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Chester Turner Overdrive: Black Devil Doll from Hell and Tales from the Quadead Zone with Director Chester Turner Live!". Austin Film Society. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  7. ↑ Angel, Van Croft (December 15, 2015). "Film Review: Black Devil Doll From Hell (1984)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  8. ↑ Gibron, Bill (November 12, 2013). "Black Devil Doll From Hell / Tales From The Quadead Zone Boxset". DVD Talk . Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ Puchalski, Steven (1991). "Black Devil Doll From Hell (review)". Shock Cinema Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  10. ↑ Clark, Graeme. "Black Devil Doll from Hell Review (1984)". The Spinning Image. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  11. ↑ Thompson, Nathaniel. "Black Devil Doll from Hell / Tales from the Quadead Zone". Mondo Digital. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.