House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 12, 2015

Jeremy Summers' "House of 1000 Dolls" a.k.a. "La casa de las mil muñecas" (1867) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent U.S. distributors Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle and filmmaker David Decoteau and original trailers. In English, not subtitled. Region-A "locked".

The dolls

In the beautiful city of Tangier, American businessman Stephen Armstrong (George Nader, Death and Diamonds) and his wife Marie (Ann Smyrner, The Black Cobra) run into an old friend who reveals to them that his girlfriend (Maria Rohm, 99 Women) has disappeared. Armstrong immediately agrees to help his friend find out what has happened to her, but before they can find the girl someone kills him.

Meanwhile, the bored Marie visits a chic night club where the popular magician Felix Manderville (Vincent Price, Tales of Terror) and his beautiful assistant Rebecca (Martha Hyer, The Carpetbaggers) hypnotize her and then drug her behind the stage. When later on Armstrong comes looking for his wife, he discovers that the magician and his assistant are working for a merciless gang of white slave traders.

The plot of Jeremy Summers’ House of 1000 Dolls is fairly straightforward, which could be one of the reasons why Price apparently wasn’t particularly thrilled to be part of it. Another good reason could be the fact that he and Hyer were supposed to appear in a different project that collapsed during the pre-production process and AIP abruptly transferred them to House of 1000 Dolls. (At the time Price was renegotiating his contract with AIP so it would have been a very bad move to walk away from the film).

The bulk of House of 1000 Dolls looks and feels like a big-budget Jess Franco film. It is full of very beautiful and very naïve young women who don’t mind following silly orders and taking off their clothes for gentlemen with deep pockets and secret desires. However, instead of focusing on the erotic rituals, as a Franco film typically would, House of 1000 Dolls tries very hard to be an exotic thriller.

This desired identity is arguably the film’s biggest weakness -- as an exotic thriller it simply does not work well. Almost immediately after Armstrong’s friend is killed, the film begins to stutter because the main characters are placed in a series of silly conflicts and then essentially left to expand the story with various odd discoveries and revelations. Needless to say, the 'surprises' are anything but surprising. (And the final revelation with the card is just plain bad).

What does work well is the footage with the dolls. The introduction, the escape and the torture sequences have that specific Euro-trash vibe that makes the film somewhat attractive. Obviously, the visuals are beyond absurd, but the attitudes and the desire to shock make them quite entertaining.

Ultimately, House of 1000 Dolls should be most effective if seen in the early morning hours, when the brain is too tired to function properly. Franco’s frequent collaborator Manuel Merino (Vampyros Lesbos, She Killed in Ecstasy) makes the most of the beautiful locations and then points the camera at the dolls. For most people who have a soft spot for these types of films this will probably be enough to tolerate the 'surprises'.

A couple of different versions of House of 1000 Dolls have emerged during the years. Included on this release is the longest English-language version, which runs approximately 97 minutes.

House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1m encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jeremy Summers' House of 1000 Dolls arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Generally speaking, detail and clarity can be pleasing, but the transfer is quite inconsistent. Contrast levels and shadow definition, for instance, frequently fluctuates and as a result the film never looks as fluid as it should be. During the nighttime/darker indoor footage depth also can be better (see screencapture #9). Grain is visible throughout the entire film, but isn't always well resolved. In fact, there are various sequences where it appears blotchy (see Vincent Price's hat in screencapture #16). There are no traces of recent sharpening adjustments. Color saturation also fluctuates. At times colors appear stable and lush, but elsewhere they can be quite anemic. Overall image stability is good, but there are a few shaky transitions. Finally, some minor specks, blemishes, and even a few large scratches can be spotted. All in all, the technical presentation is somewhat inconsistent, but the Blu-ray definitely represents an upgrade in quality over the older R1 MOD DVD release. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles have not been provided for the main feature.

During the majority of the film clarity is quite nice, but in select sequences there are distortions in the mid/high-frequencies. To be perfectly clear, the sound is too thin in the upper-midrange and lower-high-frequencies. Basically, what you would hear is a tiny sound -- the type that you would typically hear from a sound cone -- that lacks depth and vibrancy. Examples can be heard around the 00.17.13 mark (listen to the car engine) and the 00.42.28 mark (listen to the clapping). On the other hand, the dialog is clear and stable. My score is 2.75/5.00.

House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, film historian David Del Valle and filmmaker David Decoteau discuss in great detail the production history of House of 1000 Dolls, the film's stylistic identity, its pacing and narrative structures, the careers of its main protagonists, etc. It is an excellent, extremely informative audio commentary.

• Trailers -
  
  1. Madhouse
  2. Tales of Terror
  3. More Dead Than Alive

House of 1000 Dolls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeremy Summers' House of 1000 Dolls would have been a much better film if it did not try so hard to be an exotic thriller. There is no doubt in my mind that as an over-the-top Euro-trash piece it would have been far more effective because the only bits in it that actually work are the ones where no one tries to be serious. It is a fine film to see very late at night, but despite the impressive cast expectations should be low. The film looks rather decent on Blu-ray, but the audio should have been remastered. Consider adding it to your collections only if you find it on sale.