Dollhouse

Van Wirt Toy Company Natchez, Mississippi 1961 – The show begins with Mr. Van Wirt (Denis O’Hare) telling the history of dolls, including the one found in King Tut’s tomb. Coby Dellum (Kristine Froseth) listens as he explains how God sought perfection while creating man from dust. He believes a plastic doll is incapable of sinning since it doesn’t have a soul. He goes on to suggest if humans were plastic and soulless like plastic dolls, the Lord would love them even more. After reviewing Coby’s resume, Van Wirt says she doesn’t qualify to be his secretary. When she protests, Eustace (Matt Lasky) who had his tongue removed shocks her with a cattle prod. A miniature doll replica of Coby lies on a sofa inside a dollhouse.

Waking up in a daze, Coby looks around as Van Wirt introduces her to his very own custom-designed dollhouse. When she asks what’s the purpose of her being there, he says she will call it home for the next week. After expressing how impressed he was with her resume, he informs her that she is now enrolled in a pageant. She admits having no interest in his pageant. Laughing, he assures her it is not optional. After fleeing the room, she tries the windows and doors only to discover they are secure. As he prepares to leave, she demands to not be left alone. He assures her that she won’t be.

With Van Wirt gone, French maid, Aurelia (Abby Corrigan) immediately begins to show hostility toward Cody. When Bride Faye (Maryssa Menendez) tries to defend Cody, Aurelia says she only cares about her being exempt from the first three tests. Coby pleads with them to explain what is happening. Aurelia says their abductor, a crazy, doll-obsessed toymaker, forces them to perform tests as part of a pageant to find the “perfect doll” to mother his son, Otis Van Wirt (Houston Towe).

In the dollhouse bedroom, Harlene (Simone Recasner) tells Cody she should rest before the next starts. Cody assures her that she is only interested in getting out of there. Harlene warns she wouldn’t like the only way out of the dollhouse. She claims Aurelia was a dancer and Faye (Maryssa Menendez) a kindergarten teacher. Bonnie (Emily Morales-Cabrera) adds that she was kidnapped from her home.

When Cody refuses to eat, Harlene tells her about Otis’s mother who supposedly drowned in the swamp. They imagine seeing Van Wirt walking in on his wife, Ellen (Genevieve Aitken), and her lover (Simon Potter) having sex. He gives a signal for Eustace to take care of them. Eustace renders them powerless with a shock before tossing them into a well while Van Wirt watches. A loud bell brings Coby and Harlene to their senses.

Harlene escorts Coby to a room filled with mannequins wearing costumes. After choosing to be a clown, Coby hurriedly chooses a spot before Otis carrying his dolls walks through the door. He asks her name. She identifies herself as “Coby the Clown.” When Mr. Van Wirt asks how he feels about Coby, he sarcastically says it’s the happiest day of his life. Van Wirt goes to work, leaving Otis alone with the dolls.

Following a brief discussion about clowns, Otis threatens to order Eustace to dispose of Coby. She convinces him to reconsider by using her special power to move his firetruck across the floor. After a thorough inspection of the firetruck, he demands she does it again. When she refuses to comply, he explains how the dollhouse was a gift from his father because he is the only heir to his fortune. He starts to beckon for Eustace when the firetruck rolls across the floor.

Aurelia asks Coby how she made the firetruck move. She claims to have seen her uncle do it. Aurelia accuses her of lying to get win the pageant. Coby asks the other dolls if they have any idea what being Otis’s mother would be like. She points out that it would also mean being Van Wirt’s wife. Aurelia says winning would give her enough time to come up with an escape plan. When the bell rings. Harlene warns it is a test.

Van Wirt announces the next test, which would require the dolls to make a place setting. He uncovers a cutlery set before disclosing the menu – crawfish cardinal and terrapin soup. He tells the dolls that they have 60 seconds to complete the task. Just before the timer expires, Coby accidentally knocks over a glass. Van Wirt holds his cattle prod in his hand while inspecting each of the doll’s table settings. Aurelia passes the test while Harlene receives two points. Coby receives four points.

After expressing his disappointment towards Faye’s failed attempt to make a proper table setting, he signals Eustace. Eustace shocks her with a stock cattle prod before throwing her whimpering body over his shoulder. He walks out the door, with Mr. Van Wirt in tow. The dolls rush over to the window just in time to see Eustace toss Faye into the well. Aurelia shows Faye no sympathy.

Coby magically moves Otis’s firetruck across the floor. When he says it isn’t magic, she admits it was a gift from birth. Otis asks if she has utilized her gift to do anything else. She admits being too afraid her parents would find out about her gift. He questions what her family would do if they found out. She assumes they would think she had a demon possession. She implies they both understand what being different is like. He denies being different. She reminds him of how he plays with dolls. He tells her that his classmates and teacher bullied him, so he stopped going. He admits wanting her to be his new mom. She promises to be the “best mommy” if he agrees to tell his father to free the dolls. They pinky promise.

Otis gradually walks down a hallway as Van Wilt pleads for more time to increase the sale of his hand-sewn dolls. When the phone call ends, Otis says he wants to ask him something. Van Wilt jumps right into telling him that his mother’s replacement must be “perfect.” He later asks what he wanted to ask him. Otis says nothing before walking away.

The dolls rush to get situated before Van Wilt walks through the door. He announces the details of the next test in which the dolls will create an ironing spray and fold a shirt. Before the text begins, he provides a brief history of Monsieur Seydoux, owner of Dauphine Street Laundry. The timer is set at three minutes. The dolls work frantically until the timer expires. Van Wilt starts by inspecting Harlene’s shirt. She receives three points for utilizing too much lavender and too little Courvoisier. Coby’s shirt is described as too stiff and scorched. He forces her to place her hand on the ironing board. She reluctantly does as he asks. While he presses the hot iron to the top of her hand, she doesn’t make a peep.

After Van Wirt describes Bonnie’s shirt as smelling like a “who**house,” he signals for her to be taken care of. Eustace shocks her before carrying her limp body to the well. Van Wilt warns the next test is their last before leaving. A frightened Harlene asks what they are going to do. Aurelia tells Cody her sweet-talking Otis was pointless.

Aurelia eavesdrops on Cody and Harlene’s conversation. She hears Cody pitting Van Wilt. Harlene warns her of a fate much worse than an iron burn.

Cody concocts a plan while Aurelia removes a spindle with a metal spike from a wooden rod. She carries the wood spindle to an upstairs room, where she believes Cody is staying. She stabs the spike through the clown costume and into a mannequin. Harlene and Cody rush into the rush to see what is going on. Aurelia assures Cody that she will be alive when the pageant comes to an end. Cody suggests neither of them needs to die because they can walk out the front door. Aurelia warns that Eustace will hunt them down. Cody says they can figure out a way to get a head start.

Hiding behind a curtain, the dolls watch Van Wirt talk to the mannequins wearing their costumes. Coby utilizes her power to open the turn the doorknob. Once they are outside, Cody has a change of heart. She decides to rescue Otis before fleeing the Van Wirt. Harlene apologizes for being too afraid to help her. She and Aurelia flee while Cody enters the house in search of Otis.

Van Wirt asks the mannequin wearing Cody’s clown costume to answer a biblical question. When there is no response, he removes the mannequin’s mask.

Aurelia abandons Harlene as they run through the swamp.

When Cody finds Otis, he asks why she is there. She warns of his father being a sick man before asking him to run away with her. He shocks her with his cattle prod, sending her body to the floor.

After falling to the ground, Harlene looks up to see Aurelia holding a rock. Aurelia warns her that she is too loud when Eustace shoots her. A frantic gradually turns to get a better look as another shot rings out.

Van Wirt congratulates Cody who is strapped to a table for winning the pageant. He demonstrates how Otis’s vintage doll has a porcelain head with sound conduction capability. He admits choosing her escape plan was chosen as the dolls’ final test. A frantic Cody stares as he describes how profoundly moved, he was that she risked her life to save Otis. He promises she won’t experience any discomfort as her body is encased in plastic. Her telekinetic power fails to cause a power outage, only flickering lights.

As Cody the Doll services tea, Otis wishes she would talk more. Van Wirt reminds him that her adjustment has been quite difficult, and to give her time. He explains how she needs a name that is more refined than Cody Rae when his teacup goes flying through the air. He looks up to see two witches from Miss Robichaux’s Academy standing in front of him. When he signals Eustace, Anna Leigh Leighton (Caitlin Dulaney) freezes him in his tracks. She assures Cody that no harm will come to her as the plastic covering her face begins to crack. Cody eventually collapses on the floor. A young witch (Cosima Cabrera) assures her that they would’ve arrived sooner, but her spells were too weak.

A confused Cody asks if she said “spells.” Anna informs her that she is a Miss Robichaux’s Witch like them. Otis pleads with them to not leave him behind. Cody warns he cannot return to the home before promising to be his mommy.

As Anna, Otis, and Cody walk out the door, the young witch casts a spell. Van Wirt and Eustace’s frozen bodies engulf in flames.

Upon arriving at Miss Robichaux’s Academy, Cody suggests Otis choose a different name for his own safety. He decides to utilize his middle name, Spalding. As she reminds him of what he is to tell people when they ask about his father, Myrtle Snow (Ellie Grace Pomeroy) approaches. She expresses relief that someone her own age will now attend the academy. They walk hand-in-hand into Miss Robichaux’s Academy.

 

American Horror Stories Review

The overused plot is cliché and unintriguing. The only appealing aspect is the title, which has quite a following. The lackluster screenplay has a kindergarten appeal. The repetitiveness got old really quickly.

Denis O’Hare and Kristine Froseth’s acting was believable but not enough to make up for all the missing elements of an extraordinary horror flick.

The lame doll costumes looked like they came from Party City. Cody the Clown was laughable compared to the “Dancing Clown” extraordinaire, Pennywise, Steven King’s “It.”

The theatrical props were quality, excluding the rock Aurelia had intended to utilize to end Harlene. The slightest impact would’ve probably caused it to splinter into a thousand pieces or dent beyond recognition. Since I’m already focused on this particular scene, I must question why Aurelia would return to end Harlene when she could’ve possibly escaped to freedom.

The episode deserves a 5.5. Get more American Horror Stories recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking on the link to learn more.