Amityville Horror Films Codexery

Amityville Dollhouse

Eighth Amityville film, direct-to-video, about a haunted dollhouse.

Amityville Dollhouse

Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons

Amityville Dollhouse is a 1996 American supernatural horror film directed by Steve White. The eighth installment in the Amityville Horror film series, it was released direct-to-video and stars Robin Thomas, Allen Cutler, Lenore Kasdorf, and Lisa Robin Kelly. The story centers on the Martin family, who become plagued by supernatural events after uncovering a dollhouse replica of 112 Ocean Avenue—the infamous site of the Amityville hauntings—on their land, which is inhabited by a powerful demon.

The plot follows newlyweds Bill and Claire Martin, who move into a house Bill built himself. After finding a locked shed, Bill discovers a dollhouse modeled after the Amityville property and brings it into the garage. Strange occurrences soon follow: the fireplace ignites on its own, Bill hallucinates his daughter Jessica burning, and the family car rolls forward, destroying a birthday gift. Claire suggests giving the dollhouse to Jessica, who finds a chest of miniature dolls inside. Her aunt Marla and uncle Tobias react nervously to the toys.

Over the following days, more bizarre events unfold. Jimmy, Claire’s son, loses his pet mouse, which appears in the dollhouse, while Jessica encounters a giant white mouse under her bed. Claire develops inappropriate sexual urges toward Bill’s teenage son, Todd, fantasizing about him during sex with Bill. Bill suffers nightmares of voodoo dolls, demons, and his family’s murder, and reveals he had similar dreams as a child, including a premonition of his parents’ death in a fire that came true. Jimmy is visited by the decaying zombie of his deceased father, who urges him to kill Bill.

One night, Todd’s girlfriend Dana sneaks over. They find newspaper clippings in the shed revealing that the previous owner was suspected of burning down his house with his family inside, and that Bill’s new home was built around the original fireplace—the only structure left standing. While they have sex, a large fly attacks them, trying to burrow into Todd’s ear. The next evening, while Todd babysits, Dana’s hair catches fire by the fireplace, leaving her comatose and disfigured. Todd blames Bill for a faulty gas line.

Meanwhile, Marla and Tobias, who practice magic, take a doll from the dollhouse and perform a ritual. The doll comes to life, possessed by a demon named Gamigin. Objects fly around their home, injuring Marla, and Tobias stabs the

Release year
1996
Director
Steve White
Starring
Robin Thomas, Allen Cutler, Lenore Kasdorf, Lisa Robin Kelly
Series position
Eighth film in the Amityville Horror film series
Format
Direct-to-video
Composer
Ray Colcord

Lore & Background

The plot involves the family's struggle against supernatural forces, including a zombie visitation from Claire's deceased husband, who urges Jimmy to murder Bill. Todd's girlfriend Dana catches fire while sitting near the fireplace, leaving her in a coma. Bill and the uncle Tobias eventually enter the fireplace, which is a portal to the dollhouse, and rescue Jessica. Bill destroys the dollhouse by tossing it into the fireplace, and the house explodes as they flee.

Reader's Guide

Amityville Dollhouse is notable as the last film in the Amityville series before the first installment was remade nine years later. It was released on VHS by Republic Pictures in 1996 and later on DVD by Lionsgate in 2004. In 2019, Vinegar Syndrome released it on Blu-ray as part of the boxset 'Amityville: The Cursed Collection', and in 2022, Screenbound Pictures Ltd released it on Blu-ray in the UK. The film received mixed to negative reviews; it was featured in the 2010 book '150 Movies You Should Die Before You See', where reviewer Steve Miller criticized its lack of explanation for the dollhouse's origin and the characters' lack of distress. TV Guide rated it two out of five stars, noting it adds little to the franchise or horror genre.

Did You Know?

More in Amityville Horror films 1-24

Spotted an error? Know more?

This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →