Curse of the Witch's Doll

Right, well while I had never heard about this 2018 horror movie from writer and director Lawrence Fowler, I still opted to watch the movie, as I had the opportunity here in 2025. Sure, given the low rating the movie had landed here on IMDb, then I wasn't really getting my hopes up. But still, giving the movie a fair chance, perhaps writer and director Lawrence Fowler would surprise me.

It was a slow, sluggish and clunky storyline, that felt very disjointed and seemed to be lacking a red thread. It felt mostly like director Lawrence Fowler was just filming each scene independently of the cohesive narrative, and thus it was a somewhat stinted viewing experience. It was a struggle to get immersed into the narrative as it just felt incomplete.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances in the movie were fair, but the actors and actresses didn't really have much to work with, truthfully.

This was a boring movie, and quite a struggle to sit through, as nothing scary or actually worthwhile happened as the narrative moved along at a monotonous snail paced speed. It was, for a lack of a better word, boring.

My rating of writer and director Lawrence Fowler's 2018 movie "Curse of the Witch's Doll" lands on a three out of ten stars.

It was a cheap copy of Annabelle. Acting was really really bad, the doll was everything but scary. Storyline was confusing. I don't recommend at all. This movie is very cringy. I laughed a lot with the doll's face.

A large part of me actually wanted to enjoy 'Curse of the Witch's Doll'. The idea for the story was so intriguing, it looked pretty creepy with a very unnerving-looking doll and the cover, while suggestive of the film being derivative of 'Annabelle', was good-looking.

'Curse of the Witch's Doll' was not a terrible film and had its moments and good things. Another good thing is that despite any fears it is not a carbon copy or rip-off of 'Annabelle', despite its deceptive advertising indicating this. Those moments and good things conversely were too few, and not enough to save the film from not doing anywhere near enough with its concept. A shame because there was a decent film in 'Curse of the Witch's Doll'.

Some of the first half actually was pretty good. There are unsettling moments, and a real creepiness and suspense. The doll agreed is genuinely eerie as is the music score.

Moreover, 'Curse of the Witch's Doll' has a slick, atmospheric and unsettling visual look. The acting is better than average generally.

There are issues with the pace though. Creepiness and suspense don't come consistently in the first half, there are dull stretches and it does take a little too long to get going. The characters are sketchy in development, and there is very little interesting or explored with the witch's character or back-story.

Do have to agree that 'Curse of the Witch's Doll' falls apart in the second half, where the creepiness and suspense is minimised further and things get duller, weirder and sometimes plain silly. The ending is one rushed and incomplete anti-climax, where it doesn't really end or resolve much needed questions leaving things hanging in the air.

Overall, lacklustre and doesn't do enough with the promise that it had. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I went into this knowing it was going to be a low budget indie film. So all the symptoms are there: mediocre acting, cheap special effects, cheap set designs, amateur writing, etc. However, I do appreciate the attempt to make something great, and with a bigger budget I believe this could've been much better. Still, there are a few negative things to get out of the way. The actors are clearly trying their best, and they aren't terrible by any means, but it ultimately ends up feeling like a local amateur stage play. Also, I don't understand why this movie had to be a period piece, especially considering the budgetary restraints. The best compliment I can give to the flick is that the doll looks great. It's genuinely frightening and the CGI effects on the doll are decent enough, once again considering the low budget. I also did enjoy some of the music, and the story was at least interesting enough to keep me invested throughout.

All in all, if you're a fan of independent low budget slow-burn horror, you may enjoy this. Otherwise, you might be better off skipping it.

It seems like I go into a lot of movies with low expectations because the times I do go in expecting a movie to be fantastic I'm always disappointed. And when I go in with very low expectations I'm pleasantly surprised. Curse of the Witch's Doll was one of those times. I really think the cover does it a bit of a disservice. Going from the cover (and title) it looks like an Annabelle clone. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

Unfortunately I can't say too much about Curse of the Witch's Doll because there are quite a few twists and turns that were genuinely surprising and I'd hate to ruin anything. I will only say one thing. The first 'twist' made me roll my eyes a bit but I can guarantee you...stick with it. I promise it's worth it. The pacing is perfect, it always keeps moving forward with no lags at all. This is a movie that relies on acting, atmosphere and mood to scare you and it does it well. I never felt like they were going for the easy scare.

The cinematography is excellent with some truly beautiful and original shots. Combined with some decent CGI the movie is worth watching for that alone. Particularly one scene near the middle. It's a very simple shot but the way its done is just...perfect. The make-up effects are decent. I'm a little torn on the doll itself. I kept going between creepy and goofy. Although there were some genuinely creepy moments with it. There were a lot of times when they didn't go for the obvious jump-scare and used a more subtle effect. I liked that a lot. The sound design was excellent as well. The music is moody in places and only comes to the forefront during the action sequences and never telegraphs the scares. They also mix sounds in very well with the music to give you hints or to just make it creepier.

The acting is great all the way through. Everyone puts their hearts into it and it shows. The dialogue flows smoothly and naturally. There is one speech in particular that Adeline says that I really, really loved. Adeline's words and actions feel very real. You really invest in Adeline's character and, frankly, I was upset with her and for her. The finale of the movie was a bit abrupt. The switch in styles was surprising but understandable. It just left off of one part abruptly so you're a little unsure of what happens next. I mean, you have a pretty good guess but I would have liked a few things cleared up.

I would have liked a bit more information on The Witch. There is absolutely no backstory for her. I would have liked to have known a bit more with that. Presumably she was hung as a witch but how did the doll end up where it did? Was it in the same place? It's hard to say and with the Witch having an obvious French accent I think those parts should have been explained more. Even if it's just through the trusty "ye olde journal" source. All in all I did enjoy it. Enough to want to watch it again and possibly buy it to keep.

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