When most people think of killer doll movies, typically what comes to mind is the Child’s Play franchise, but one that deserves more attention would be the highly underrated 1978 psychological horror film Magic. Okay, technically it’s a killer ventriloquist dummy movie, but you get the idea. This spooky little picture helped usher in the subgenre before Charles Lee Ray ever put his body into a Good Guy doll and became Chucky. As opposed to being like most of these movies and leaning into slasher territory, Magic makes moves to play with your head and keep you guessing as to what’s really going on with the plot and its lead characters. This is all made endlessly more effective with Anthony Hopkins’ hugely overlooked and incredible lead performance as the psychologically damaged, up-and-coming magician, Corky Withers. If you’re looking for an interesting take on this branch of horror, then Magic is the movie for you.
At this point, killer doll movies are a dime a dozen. They’re not quite at the level of zombie movies or masked killer movies, but they probably occupy a third-place spot in that conversation. Ever since the original Child’s Play, we’ve had the Puppet Master movies, James Wan’s Dead Silence, the Annabelle franchise, and this year’s new, interesting spin, M3GAN. Needless to say, the subgenre has nowhere near the novelty that it did when Magic first hit theaters back in 1978. At this rate, the biggest story of them all might just have been The Twilight Zone’s Season 5, Episode 6 titled “Living Doll.” It’s an incredibly effective piece of television, telling a tight and terrifying story in less than half an hour — one of the best episodes in the series. 1975 saw the release and popularity of the Zuni Fetish Doll in Trilogy of Terror, but this decade would go on to see an even more effective killer doll.
Magic came along in 1978 to take the throne of the best killer doll movie for the next ten years after its release. The film follows a struggling nightclub magician, Corky Withers (Hopkins), who begins to find success after integrating a dummy named Fats (also voiced by Hopkins) into his act, and after a while, it starts to seem as though Fats might be alive. After beginning a relationship with an old high school crush, Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret), the lines become blurred whether Fats is influencing Corky to kill those who stand in the way of his relationship and career, or if Fats’ actions are all in Corky’s head. Part psychological horror, part proto-slasher, Magic is one of the most formative films in its lane.
While there are many great things about Magic, arguably the best part of it all is Anthony Hopkins’ underrated performance as Corky Withers. He’s such a sad shlub of a man, a meek and greasy failure who, as soon as things start to go well for him, Hopkins’ performance makes you question things. Once he starts to “see success” and runs off to the countryside in southeastern New York, you can’t tell if he’s afraid of what life will become with fame and fortune, or if he’s made this new direction up in his mind and is actually escaping thinking about his failures by leaving the city. In the beginning, he’s mostly a wary and depressed figure who only shows small signs of an explosively angry side. As the movie goes on, his rage only continues to become more and more apparent. He’s kind, and you want to see him come out of this rut that he’s in, but he’s also terribly shady and has frightening emotional bursts. These bursts are especially evident when it comes to defending his dummy, Fats.
If Hopkins’ main performance isn’t the best part of Magic, it has to be the character of Fats. His clunky wooden build obviously gives him an inhuman feel, but his massive blue eyes make it seem as though he is permanently staring into your soul. He’s a physically terrifying villain at first glance but only gets better as you get to know him more. Fats is an obnoxious and manipulative little doll! He screws with Corky’s head throughout the movie constantly and repeatedly makes him lose trust in those around him and kill people, making Corky all the more tragic and Fats even scarier. His high-pitched, obnoxious voice doesn’t help either. Any time he’s being the little devil on Corky’s shoulder, egging him on to do something terrible and Jerry Goldsmith’s eerie harmonica-led score is blowing underneath it all, it’s sure to send chills up your spine. Fats is an awesome killer doll and only made better by Hopkins’ vocal performance. Between both lead characters, this film is an all-time early calling card for an up-and-coming iconic actor. It’s no question that Hopkins only went on to become more critically acclaimed after his performance here.
The movie also owes its successes to Richard Attenborough. No, Attenborough didn’t act in Magic like he did in movies like Jurassic Park and The Great Escape — he directed it! And in doing so, ushered in many of the subgenre’s future tropes. Everyone focuses on Hopkins as the best part of this film, but Attenborough deserves a great deal of praise. At times, Magic is a gothic supernatural film, blanketed in shadows, largely set in a secluded home, and with Fats seemingly appearing around every corner. Speaking of Fats, he obviously fits the bill of the untrustworthy talking doll. Neither the audience nor the main characters seem to believe that he’s actually alive. It’s a question that lingers throughout the entire film, but unlike a movie like Child’s Play, it is never 100% answered. The movie also opens in a seedy part of New York City, almost an essential location type of killer doll movies. Attenborough’s stylistic flares, mysterious characterization of Fats, and location choices have been felt forever in this small pocket of horror movies.
Killer doll movies would go on to become less mysterious and lean way farther into shock value. Most do typically find themselves starting out trying to lead the audience to wonder whether the doll is alive, but then end up erasing the mystique and diving head first into schlock. Fun schlock, but schlock! That’s where it would be nice if more movies took the approach that this one does. Magic is sure to stick with you long after you watch it. You’ll be sure to be questioning if Fats was ever actually talking on his own, if it was all in Corky’s head, and what exactly happens at the end of the movie. It’s a fantastically simple movie in premise, but a deep character study that never would have been possible without Anthony Hopkins’ massively underrated performance. If you’re looking for another movie in this subgenre, or want to cross another Hopkins movie off your list, Magic is sure to do the trick.
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