The story of Robert the Doll is a fairly well-known one, at least to enthusiasts of the mysterious, the unexplained, and the allegedly supernatural. Dolls said to be haunted/possessed/cursed are very much en vogue (see 'Annabelle' in James Wan's big screen 'The Conjuring Universe'). This drawn out documentary (one hour 21 minutes, which could have easily been reduced to 45 minutes) succeeds so far as telling a chronological history of events is concerned; but the many reconstructions of allegedly paranormal occurrences are poor, with no real attempt at atmosphere. And the modern-day interviewees 'living in fear' because they in some way 'disrespected' Robert are cringe-inducing, as they embarrassingly read aloud their written letters of apology to 'him' (seriously). These people don't come across as gullible so much as self-deluded; they clearly *want* to believe, and enjoy the attention (I'm betting they're all very active on social media). As a non-believer I often find claims of otherworldly encounters fascinating, and love hearing theories that could account for what people think they've experienced; but this documentary really is for the 'angels and crystals' brigade, those who cast 'protection spells' before they go ghost hunting with EMF meters and night-vision cameras. 5/10.
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