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Doc, Aside from Dead Silence, which I MUST now make it a point to go see, what would be at the top of your list as a recommended must-see?

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Good question, Charles. Y'know, when you're so into a particular movie sub-genre like I am, you tend to forget that others might not have seen the same films that you have. When it comes to recommending ventriloquist dummy horrors, I always go with "The Big 4". Here they are in descending order of personal preference.




4. DEVIL DOLL (1964)

An underrated little gem starring Bryant Haliday and the luscious Yvonne Romain. For once, the ventriloquist is the evil one and the dummy turns out to be the good guy! The current DVD from Image Entertainment features the European version with some brief nudity and a commentary track with producer Richard Gordon being interviewed by Tom Weaver.





3. MAGIC (1978)

A pre-Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins stars as a loopy ventriloquist hoping to rekindle his high school romance with Ann-Margret. His dummy, Fats thinks that three's a crowd. As you'd expect, a tour-de-force performance by Hopkins and lots of unsettling atmosphere.





2. DEAD OF NIGHT (1945)

This British entry is the granddaddy of all horror anthology films, which were later popularized in the '60's and early 70's by movies like DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS.

The hilight of the film, of course, is the segment with Michael Redgrave as an unhinged ventriloquist. I believe this is the first example in cinema history where we see a dummy actually moving on its own. This classic really belongs on everyone's must-see list. The current DVD release pairs it with another exceptional British chiller, THE QUEEN OF SPADES.







1. TWILIGHT ZONE episode, "THE DUMMY"
(season 3, 1962)

Although many prefer DEAD OF NIGHT, for me the top spot goes to this episode with Cliff Robertson. Great performances, moody, inventive photography (watch the camera angle go askew while Robertson's mind begins to snap) and a terrific twist ending make this one of the most horrific entries in THE TWILIGHT ZONE cannon. The dummy, Willie has a loud, maniacal laugh that's the stuff of nightmares.