Black Devil Doll from Hell (1984)

"These are the only eyes that will see me naked before I'm married." - Helen

A woman finds an evil doll that changes her life.
Starring: Shirley L. Jones, and a doll

Link to IMDB

Black Devil Doll from Hell is one of those movies that leaves an everlasting impression on anyone that sees it, so come with me on a journey into the bizarre...

The opening credits are a tedious seven minutes of sonorously slimy gronked-out guitar licks to the brain (off to a great start,) and then finally we are introduced to a woman named Helen.
She's a lonely, middle-aged lady that has been a devout Christian her entire life, and despite her friend's constant attempts to find a man that she can date, Helen has decided to save her virginity for when she hopefully gets married.

One day Helen stops at an antique shop and purchases a ventriloquist puppet that piques her curiosity. The shopkeeper warns her that the doll has a strange history... Or something... It's not entirely clear because the dialog is rendered inaudible by a loud, high-pitched noise coming from the VCR... Hold on, let me fix the tracking... Nope, that didn't help...
Wait a second, is this sound actually part of the movie!!?


Shot on a handheld camcorder and seemingly capturing the audio with the built-in microphone, many moments are nearly incomprehensible. It's a visual and audio disaster but don't get me wrong, it's still hilariously watchable, you just have to brace yourself for the ultimate low-fi experience.

So, back to that shrill noise I mentioned...
At first, I honestly thought my fire alarm was going off, and then I suspected that the quality of the VHS had degraded over the years and the sound was corrupted... Wrong! This high-pitched, feral screech is actually "music" that was intentionally added!!

This is the magic of Black Devil Doll from Hell, and we've only just begun.

Happy with her new little friend, Helen poses him in a chair so that she has someone to talk to, but we quickly see that the doll is alive and he spies on Helen in the... *ssskkkkkrrreeeeeeeeeeeee*
Oh, god! The noise is back!!!!

The doll is superbly creepy, and Helen begins disliking the way it seems to watch her and she has nightmares about it attacking her. The tension builds for awhile as Helen grows more uncomfortable.
And then the doll ties her down and rapes her. A lot.
Wait, it gets weirder.
Although terrified at first, Helen soon realizes that she enjoys having this evil little doll screw her brains out; and sweet-buttery-Jesus, I'm rewarded with one of the most bizarre scenes I've ever watched!!
No matter how strange you think it might be, it's actually much stranger.

"Wake up, bitch!" - The doll

The next day, Helen has become a new woman with uncontrollable carnal desires, but the doll has vanished without a trace. Now desperate for more sex, Helen decides it's time to find a real man, but the forces of evil have other plans for her.

VHS box art

The movie is quite short but it does still find ways to include pointless scenes that are synonymous with watching paint dry, and yet I wasn't bored for a second! It's just too damn peculiar and surprisingly sincere to take my eyes off the screen.
When the music isn't a complete garbled mess of high-pitched static, it actually employs some funky little Casio tunes that are quite amusing.


Black Devil Doll from Hell is truly a relic from a bygone era.
Created by one man, Chester Novell Turner, this simple homemade project became an underground cult hit without him even realizing it until 2013. Copies of the rare VHS have become highly sought after collectors items, and its also been archived in the Yale University Library to ensure its preservation.

That is the beautiful dichotomy of outsider, trash art like this. It might offend all your sensibilities but it still earns a place in history by continually attracting viewers with its perplexing lunacy.

Be sure not to miss:
- That stuffed bunny on the dresser has seen some serious shit. It's blank, expressionless eyes are almost like a surrogate for what the audience is also witnessing.
- If you think I was exaggerating about the high-pitched screeching music, you can hear a song for yourself, here on Bandcamp. (volume warning)

Internet review:
"It scarred me for life, but also gave me some pretty solid dating tips." - Doc Slime4

Should I watch it?
Yes.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Black Devil Doll from Hell gets...