Dolls, dark secrets and dangerous delusions loom large in this curious and strangely unpalatable Argentinian horror mystery. A mash-up of director José María Cicala’s favourite genre movies, The Dollmaker (aka Encantador) is part Psycho, part Delicatessen, part Twin Peaks, all mixed in with some unpleasant and gratuitous ultra-violence. This is a film in which the tone lurches from the whimsical to the brutally bleak without warning.
In a small town in rural Argentina, nerdy Tomás works in the local video store and fits in a second job helping out at his neighbourhood hospital clinic. But the pressure of looking after his ailing mother, whilst trying to pursue local single mother Tina weigh heavily on his mind. Meanwhile, Inspector Porter, the latest recruit to the lackadaisical police force, is concerned at the apparent lack of interest in a series of disappearances of local women. His efforts lead him to upset the oddball tranquility of the town’s residents, while Tomás’ attempts to woo Tina become increasingly strained.
The Dollmaker benefits from a strong design aesthetic, and the cinematography makes good use of the film’s consciously quirky look. Rodrigo Noya is very watchable, especially as Tomás’ identity as a hapless, put-upon dreamer evolves in some unexpected directions. Although it’s quite difficult to understand why Tina becomes so infatuated with him, Griselda Sanchez (who’s also co-scriptwriter) makes for a sympathetic heroine. Ultimately, things might have played out much better if the producers of The Dollmaker had decided to adopt either the knowingly mischievous or the grisly macabre school of storytelling. But their insistence on trying to blend both ends up as a pretty tasteless dolly mixture.
THE DOLLMAKER has yet to secure a UK streaming release date
