BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL

Produced, Directed,and Written by Chester Novell Turner
Director of Photography - Anna Holiday

Helen Black - Shirley L. Jones
The Doll - Keefe Turner
Preacher - Obie Dunson
Saleslady - Marie Sainvilvs
First Lover - Ricky Roach

About 10 or 12 years ago, Cinema Arcana's Bruce Holecheck told me about this legendary Nigerian SOV scene. I spent years trying to track down titles to no avail, but was fortunate enough to come across a few U.S. documentaries covering the astonishingly large Nigerian film movement, THIS IS NOLLYWOOD and NOLLYWOOD BABYLON. Turns out most of the rumors were true including the most important one that nearly all the movies produced in Nigeria are Christian-themed horror works. I imagine them to be something like Chester Novell Turner's BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL.

Originally released in 1984 and shot on VHS gear, BDDFH is more no-fi than low-fi, but exemplifies some honest to goodness filmmaking skills and trickery despite its rudimentary technical elements. With no money for effects outside of the puppet, BDDFH is more a novelty film with horror overtones than a true horror film. And I use the term “novelty” because you won't find many films dealing with rapist puppets, and that puppet is really the only reason that the film has gained its cult following. Those focusing on the puppet angle are missing the point of Turner's film which turns out to be a personal story of sexual repression via religion and what it means to one's sexual awakening.

There have certainly been other works with killer dolls and puppets, MAGIC with Anthony Hopkins from 1978 comes immediately to mind, as does the Zuni fetish doll segment from TRILOGY OF TERROR (1975), and the ventriloquist segment from from the British production DEAD OF NIGHT from 1945, but I can't recall one turning up in another blaxploitation film. Some might be hesitant to refer to BDDFH as “blaxploitation” simply because is didn't come along during the era of grindhouse cinema that gave us classics such as BLACKULA, BLACKENSTEIN, and the notorious EXORCIST rip-off ABBY, and it certainly doesn't try to “ghettoize” any other noted horror tropes and conventions, but I feel the term is apt. Just like any film worth the label, BDDFH is firmly rooted in the African-American experience of exploitation, and Turner clearly exploits his then-girlfriend Shirley L. Jones' willingness to get naked as an opportunity to sell copies. The result is more a surreal spin on THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA rather than a traditional monster movie.

When we first meet Jones' character, Helen Black, she's in church listening to a sermon while a friend is whispering into her ear how much Jones needs to get laid. Turns out Helen is saving herself for marriage, but she's not oblivious to the fulfilment her friends receive from their loose libidos. She tries to follow the straight and narrow of the gospel, and even opts for a bit of positive reinforcement/self-hypnosis by only singing gospel hymns, but temptation is all around and one can only do so much to protect themselves from poor decision making.

When The Puppet appears, he's less a demon hellbent on rape than he is a djinn granting one's deepest desires and wishes. For Helen, that's sexual experience. Unfortunately for Helen, The Puppet possesses a magical dong, and she learns first hand that once you've gone puppet dong no other dong will do, and Helen is in dire need of more dong. At this point the film's politics loose me, and that's because I don't subscribe to the notion of the female rape fantasy which BDDFH clearly plays into, but for the sake of a moral parable I'm willing to suspend disbelief and go along with Turner.

Some will say I'm reaching here, but to fully appreciate where Turner is coming from one had to view BDDFH as a modern tale of slavery with Helen trying to overcome the oppressive chains of vice. The first hint of this comes from the gospel hymns Helen finds so much comfort in that have their roots in the negro spirituals sung in the cotton fields. The cotton field Helen endures is one of chastity. She maintains her virginity because God, her master, requires it, not because wants to. The Puppet itself appears to embody both a literal and metaphorical representation of the slavery idea. During the commentary, Turner mentions that he dressed The Puppet is a farmer's outfit, and whether he meant to or not, Turner's decision clearly references the plantation owners of the slave era. If ever there was a devil-like creature for a slave to fear, it was the plantation owners. Turner also makes the decision to give the puppet a Rick James-like hairdo clearly referencing the loose morals of the early 80's which hadn't yet been diminished by the AIDS crisis. With her interactions with The Puppet, Helen becomes not just his sex slave, but a slave to her libido. She's the “superfreak” Rick James sang about.

As with any moral or religious parable there's a comeuppance, and we all know the punishment for the promiscuous in horror, but I'm not sure how to fully interpret this ending. If we follow the slavery metaphor, is Turner effectively labelling Helen a race traitor by so willingly giving in and embracing her slavery? Does that make her deserving of her fate? I'm not inclined to place such a drastic label on Helen, so perhaps a more traditional reading in order where her break with God leads to her downfall. Viewers will have to decide for themselves. Turner clearly passes judgement on Helen by never offering her an opportunity for redemption, but what that judgement means is open for debate.

Chester Novell Turner on Facebook.
You can order a copy of BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL directly from the Massacre Video website.

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