Dummy — Dummy( DVD)
Dummy is the 100th film directed by American low-budget horror/ sci fi director Mark Polonia. It regards a troubled/ once famous Ventriloquist- played by a long-term collaborator Jeff Kirkendall- who takes his life, transfers his angst and anger into his dummy Chucklehead. The small-town set picture blends elements of supernatural drama/ light thriller, slasher, and low-key comedy.Here from SRS Cinema is a DVD release of this 2026 film, taking in the always worthy director's commentary from Mark, a pitch video, trailer and trailer reel.
As with many of Mark’s films, we get a fairly short & tight runtime around the seventy-minute mark. It’s set around three or four locations- the main being a small hotel on the main street of a small American town.
After a few Ventriloquist/ fan cameos. We open up seeing Archibald (Kirkendall) with Chucklehead- his almost life-sized dummy, taking to the stage for the very last time after a long career. No one is laughing at the jokes, and they are shouting out negative comments. The show finishes with no applause- so he & Chucklehead slump back to the hotel.
Running the hotel is a friendly, greying-haired woman, who clearly seems concerned with Archibald's glum mood, as he climbs the stairs to his bedroom. We then switch to the car, where old school friends- goateed & bespectacled Alan (Polonia), ragged-haired & under-bearded Trey ( Tim Hatch), hatted & thick-wigged-haired Marty ( Michael Korotitsch) – who we find out are making their way to the same small town to attend a school reunion.
As the film unfolds, Archibald's sadness deepens- he takes his life in his hotel bedroom; his spirit (as a weird ghostly grey alien-like creature) moves into Chucklehead. From here we get effective enough stalking and killing scenes ( mainly knife-bound), glum ghost sightings, and a few more cameos from fans.
The banter/ interaction between the three old school friends is light, amusing/ fairly believable. Kirkendall, as ever, is good/ effective in his role- been most memorable in his glum/ lost ghostly form.
On our killer side- it’s not really a dummy; it’s a guy in a large-eyed/loose-jaw mask with a too-small suit jacket. He omits several types of demented laughter- when we see him full on, I’m getting slight vibes of Marty the killer from 1986 Brit slasher Slaughter High. The gore is brief/ cheap- but this is fairly typical of latter-day Polonia film.
Look, cards on the table, you either like/ enjoy what Mark does, or you don’t- I of course sit very much in the first camp- so with that in mind, Dummy is another entertaining Polonia film. If you're on the fence, I say check the trailer here
On the extra side, we have a commentary track from Mark and actor Tim Hatch, and as always, this is most informative/ entertaining. We find out the film was shot over just four days in April of 2025. We find out that the hotel in the film dates from the 1800s and is in the small town of Wyalusing, Pennsylvania- it’s co-owned by one of Mark’s former students, so they got a good rate on using it. They touch on the reasoning for going for a life-size dummy, and how Tim came up with its name. We find out the shoot was often wet, cold, and windy- with their film days running between 9 am and 8 pm. Later on, they talk about the use of POV shots in the film, and discuss the possible beginning of this trope in genre filmmaking. Mark comments on the basement in the film, which has appeared in many of his films since 1996’s Night Crawlers.
Otherwise, we get a pitch video (1.29), an original trailer and an SRS Cinema trailer reel.
Dummy is another worthy/ entertaining shot of ultra-low-budget horror from Mark Polonia, bringing together elements of supernatural drama/ light thriller, slasher, and low-key comedy in a rewarding manner.