I was already working on my Scary Doll Costumes post when I saw a post this morning on Asylum about a new documentary titled Of Dolls and Murder. The documentary features gruesome dollhouse scenes created in the 1930s and 40s for a project called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.  The dioramas were constructed by one woman as an investigative tool.  A grandmother, she was inspired by cases which could be ruled accidents, murders or suicides, to challenge detectives. Eighteen scenes each depict an imagined crime scene down to the last detail.  There are working locks on all the doors.  Despite technological advances over the last eighty years, these dollhouse rooms are still used to train homicide detectives.

“Dollhouses are supposed to represent an idealized version of domestic bliss, and yet these crime-scene dioramas represent a domestic dystopia that is a creepy and horrific reality for many,” says filmmaker Susan Marks.

Is this the scene of a suicide? Why is she only wearing one shoe?

The film is narrated by John Waters (the dioramas live in Maryland so they got the hook up).  The filmmakers are still working out distribution and they need some buzz so help them out by liking their Facebook page “Of Dolls and Murder” and spreading the word.  I cannot wait to see this film!  I’m pumped!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 11:35 am and is filed under Watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.