Robert (2015)

Jen Otto (Suzie Frances Garton) isn't well, she isn't happy and she isn't finding much support from husband Paul (Lee Bane). Their son Gene (Flynn Allen) has been given a doll, a bug-eyed grinner called Robert, by recently sacked family cleaner Agatha (Judith Haley). Robert will be Gene's best friend forever, promises Agatha. This is writer/director/producer Andrew Jones' first foray into Robert's world – the doll is an enigma he would return to more than once.From then on, strange and unaccountable things begin to happen in the family house. Naturally, poor Gene gets the blame for this, but he's adamant the doll is responsible. If only mum and dad would pay a bit of attention to the evidence. When Jen's painting is daubed with red paint, the doll's shoes are covered with red. Wouldn't there have been a few footprints? The situation is fairly unreal, but that doesn't mean that a certain logic should be ignored.Where the film scores though is in the characters – Jones always writes really well for his characters, and you feel especially for Jen's plight: she is mentally fragile anyway, and the more outlandish things happen, the more likely it is to everyone else that it's all in her mind. The doll, however, sits and leers through it all, as relationships reveal their strained nature and resentment bubbles to the surface as a result of Robert's interference. It is pretty creepy stuff, but rather less so on the occasions when the prop is required to move.I don't often comment on other reviews but a lot of online viewers have been negative about this and I truly don't know why. A horror story about a malevolent doll (based on a true story, apparently – according to IMDb, Robert Eugene Otto (Gene) was first given Robert the Doll in 1906, when he was just six years old, by an angry Bahamian servant with an interest in black magic and voodoo) can either make you laugh or scare you: either way, you're going to be entertained. Perhaps the lack of humour, no knowing wink to the audience, aggravates the audience. Perhaps the leisurely pace of proceedings (a trait of Jones) is to blame. Surely people aren't shallow enough to criticise a low-budget project for having a low budget? This isn't a Hollywood blockbuster and has no intention of being. A pity that people can't enjoy these films for what they, rather than when they're not.I enjoyed 'Robert', as I have enjoyed all of Andrew Jones' output. The ending, open to interpretation, is particularly effective.

I don't normally write film reviews but feel like I owe it to potential watchers of this movie to write one. First of all, the people that gave this movie 7/8 put of 10.. have you ever actually seen a decent horror movie?!The acting if you can call it that was beyond terrible. Literally painful and cringey to watch. Felt like they were all auditioning for a commercial or something. This could have been so much better had they used decent actors and a slightly bigger budget. Also did anyone notice that the movie was filmed inside a hotel?! Nothing about the movie felt genuine and I didn't expect much from the movie but didn't realize it would be this bad!Please save yourselves the time and watch a proper horror movie instead. 'The Boy' for example is a great doll horror with a great twist.

Andrew Jones writes and directs this creepy tale of the supernatural. The story is claimed to be true. Paul(Lee Bane)and Jenny(Suzie Garton)are having enough problems dealing with Jenny's illness. Paul has clients to deal with in town, while Jenny uses her time painting in her home studio. Young son Gene(Flynn Allen)spends a lot his time in his room and there is the housekeeper Agatha(Judith Haley)that takes care of the home and sees after the boy. Jenny grows tired of the forgetful cleaning woman and demands she leave. Before Agatha departs, she leaves Gene with a vintage doll named Robert. An ugly sight to look upon, but the boy likes Robert the doll. The old woman tells Jenny that she would be sorry. Soon, terror begins about the household and young Gene will tell of his talking to Robert. And when Robert doesn't like you, he does something about it.Not totally uninteresting, but with better actors this film could have been something to talk about. Filmed in Wales, I would have expected maybe some fog, rain or howling winds that could have aided in a scarier atmosphere. Robert the doll is creepy enough to look at, but the music is outstandingly spooky. Kudos to the trailers for making me watch this.

I always wondered when someone would actually make a movie based on Robert The Doll. Finally someone did it and is it any good? No! The movie is terrible. The movie is supposed to be based on the real story of Robert but it's not. If you're not aware of the real story you'll fast want to find out, and oh boy you'll disappointed finding out that they screwed up the story so bad. What they did was basically grabbing a story and try to make something on their own using small nods from the real one. First of all, The Otto's weren't British and never did they have a maid.This is one of those movies you want to stay away from. You'll find the small documentary clips on Youtube scarier. I have no idea what the writer was thinking when he made this movie or wrote it. If i had a foot inside the film business i would give them my script i wrote about Robert 3 years ago. Keeping through to the origins.