Thursday 22 November 2018

RAW REVIEW: BANNISTER DOLLHOUSE






Mycho Entertainment is a company that I can’t help but root for.


From humble roots, founder MJ Dixon has built an original horror shared universe, one made up of seven full length movies and a number of shorts.

That an indie company is able to achieve this is already an impressive feat, but what really stands out is that there has not been a single misfire to date.

So you can imagine my joy when Dixon offered The House an early look at his next two films in the series.

The first of these, Bannister DollHouse provides an origin for Slasherhouse II's extremely creepy Molly.

Would it continue the streak of hits? Read on...

BANNISTER DOLLHOUSE (2019)






Dir: MJ Dixon


Stars: Tiana Rogers, Grant Kempster, Susan Lee Burton, Emmeline Kellie, Chloe Badham


SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk.

Bannister DollHouse continues the story started in the Mycho Patreon exclusive short Molly.

It features the Bannister family, dad Kenneth (Kempster), mother Mary (Burton), and their three daughters - Sherry (Badham), Dottie (Kellie) and Molly (Rogers).

Opening at Christmas, we witness a delighted Molly receive a gift of a decidedly unnerving doll from an unknown benefactor.

Of the immediate family, only the eldest daughter, the feisty Sherry, spots something amiss and (following the chilling events already witnessed during the short film Molly) decides to investigate. However, something has its eye on her, and her actions lead to tragedy.

A short while later the fractured family are still struggling to recover from the events of that fateful night. Ostracised Kenneth watches from afar, knowing that something is very very wrong with his youngest daughter.

But even the most devoted of family members cannot ignore the escalating oddness of Molly’s behaviour, forcing the Bannisters to confront the dark and insidious force that has targeted them...




THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): One of the great strengths of Mycho’s expanded universe is that different movies give director Dixon a differential sub-genre to play in - from classic slashers, to sci-fiesque comicbook action flick, to dark psychological thriller, the Mychoverse is exceptionally diverse. Bannister DollHouse adds another new ‘flavour’ to the Mycho menu - the creepy supernatural chiller.

It reminds me a lot of Blumhouse style modern haunting movies, themselves heavily influenced by classics such as The Haunting, The Changeling and Poltergeist. I know some may find the comparison insulting, but as a fan of the likes of Insidious, Ouija (well, the origin movie anyway), The Conjuring and it’s own demon doll spin offs Annabelle (and it’s vastly superior prequel), this is actually high praise.

Bannister DollHouse exudes that throwback ‘spooky’ atmosphere - and is a real hit for it.

Dixon is a talented filmmaker and his movies always look great - his framing of shots and visually striking colour palettes have only become better with each passing movie. This could be the best looking Mycho movie yet. At times some shots look like paintings and the clever use of colour motifs really pops. Bravo!

Of course, good looks alone don’t make a good movie, there needs to be some substance too. Thankfully, Dixon’s script delivers. It’s a very different sort of story to those he usually tells - it’s less grounded and opens up a whole new corner of the Mychoverse (think of this as Mycho’s Dr Strange!)

However, there’s no awkwardness in the transition and Dixon proves just as adept at this type of horror story too. There’s also a strong focus on character in this story, giving us a reason to care about the Bannister clan before the inevitable bloodshed. Too often overlooked in our genre in the past, it’s great to see filmmakers taking the efforts to earn an emotional investment from the audience.

It certainly helps the cause that at the core of the movie there is a cast that are uniformly strong.

Making her return to the Mycho fold having previously portrayed Molly in both 2016’s Slasher House II and the aforementioned short film, Rogers is pivotal to the success of the film. It’s a complicated role requiring real range, and she manages it with aplomb. While I suspect Molly Bannister’s story may be all but told, I’m sure Dixon will find a way to use her again (she’s clearly a favourite having appeared in 2015’s Cleaver too). Fingers crossed!

Badham is another actress who Dixon has used multiple times and it’s easy to see why. She’s quite excellent and I think it’s telling that the only criticism I can find of her scenes is that I wish there were more of them!

Burton is also excellent and takes a role that could well have fallen flat in lesser hands to major beleaguered mum Mary one of the film’s more interesting characters. A classy actress to watch, she strengthens every scene she’s in.

Kempster is also great, and brings a nice degree of pathos to his role. Like both Rogers and Burton, his is a role that could decide whether the film holds up or falls down, and he shows he is more than up to the task with a nuanced performance.

Kellie has plenty of experience and is just as strong as the other actors, even if she does have a little less to do. She’s definitely one to watch.


Now, this isn’t a family drama - Mycho is an unapologetic creator of horror movies. A decent script and talented cast are all well and good, but what about the frights?

Well, I think a strong argument can be made that this is one of the scariest films in the series. Tonally it’s definitely closer to Mycho’s genuinely unnerving Hollower than the more fun and in your face Slasher House flicks.

There are some fantastically creepy set pieces and one of the more terrifying antagonists in the series - a demonic entity that is sure to chill the blood during each of its brief but memorable screen appearances.




THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Honestly, it feels churlish to find fault with a film like Bannister DollHouse, one that achieves so much with so little. In fact I’d go so far as to say that everything in this section of the review will amount to little more than nitpicking, but that is my job after all.

I have referred to MJ Dixon as a microbudget maestro in the past. This is still true, but he is not a miracle worker. While I have likened Bannister DollHouse to the glossy output of Blumhouse, I do feel it is is worth stressing that is a low budget British indie horror movie without the substantial resources of colossal Hollywood studios. Yes it looks good, but do please adjust your expectations accordingly.

Another quibble I have, is with some of the humour injected into proceedings at times. I understand that a film as dark and grim as this needs the tension to be broken at times, but some of the wisecracks felt a little jarring. Sadly the delivery just felt a little off on a couple of occasions too. Perhaps I was just in the mood to be scared? Nonetheless these instances were few and far between and certainly not a big enough deal to have much of an affect on my enjoyment of the film.

Finally, as mentioned above, this is the latest chapter in an ongoing story of many chapters. First time Mycho viewers may find themselves a little daunted. Yes, this is a movie that rewards familiarity with the Mycho brand. However, this is not the equivalent of walking into Infinity War having never seen a Marvel Studios movie.

In fact, Bannister DollHouse is one of the best Mychoverse pictures from a stand-alone basis - and a lack of familiarity with Slasher House II would actually make the entire last act significantly more surprising! But do watch Molly to get the full story - and give those talented Mycho folk a bit more Patreon support while you’re at it.




THE VERDICT: I often review Mycho’s movies positively here at The House. I make no secret of my admiration for what MJ, Anna, and their network of talented collaborators have achieved.

But do not let that trick you into thinking that the movies they create are not worthy of the praise I give them - especially this one.

Putting it simply, Bannister DollHouse is one of the best movies they have made, and a genuine must-see. It’s a dark, creepy spookfest with enough frights to chill the most hardened of horror-loving hearts.

With a superb cast, visuals and plot, this is the real deal - and more than worthy of the Mycho name.

The next effort CleaverS has certainly got its work cut out following this - stay tuned to see how it fares.


Both Bannister DollHouse and CleaverS will have their world premieres at the Horror-on-Sea festival at Southend’s Park Inn Palace Hotel in January. You can buy tickets at www.horror-on-sea.com.


Meanwhile, keep up with Bannister DollHouse news at Mycho’s official web site at https://mycho.weebly.com. And check out their Patreon here.


If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors


Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

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