Rating: 
Summary: Daring and disturbing psychological horror film...
Review: Lions Gate continues its tradition of risk taking and releasing controversial films with this entertaining, but misogynistic look into male sexual dysfunction and psychosis.
Kenneth(Desmond Harrington) is an attractive but timid fellow with a mundane job at an instruction manual printing company. His existence is complicated by his lack of success with the opposite sex, relegating his sex life to cruising dingy porn shops and spying on his weird landlord's(Udo Kier, italian film star from such films as Flesh For Frankenstein) sexual conquests. Kenneth's life changes when he discovers a company that manufactures custom made sex dolls. Nikki, the sex doll, becomes Kenneth's constant companion and is given a makeover to resemble one of Kenneth's pretty co-workers, Lisa. When Kenneth and Lisa begin to see each other, the jealous doll snaps and attempts retribution to separate her former lover from Lisa. I will not spoil the film by revealing the conclusion, but let's just say that Lisa's fate will not endear this film to any feminists.
This is an intense and well-acted film. Desmond Harrington(Wrong Turn) and Melissa Sagemiller as Lisa are particularly excellent. The film has enough suspense and plot twists to keep the viewer interested throughout. Many female spectators may be offended and repulsed by this film as it confirms the darker and domineering aspects of male sexuality. Most disturbing is Kenneth's refusal to view women as anything but sexual objects existing only to satisfy his twisted sexual desires.
I watched this film on a whim, knowing very little about it ahead of time and was pleased to find a well paced, thought provoking thriller miles ahead of much bigger budgeted films.
Rating:
Summary: Eerie but uneven tribute to the late Hans Bellmer
Review: "Love Object" is an intense film to say the least, but as with so many horror films about mannequins/dummies, we don't find out it until actually we rent it or buy it whether the dummy in question (in this case a sex doll) is actually alive, or a product of the protagonist's deranged imagination. Nikki, the sex doll, is NOT alive. Kenneth is a repressed, neurotic pervert hellbent on obtaining some kind of affection from the
female sex, and as we find out later in the film, at any cost.
If nothing else, the mood of this film is so unrelentingly weird that we cannot not help but appreciate being given a glimpse into the life of an empty shell of a human being--a neat trick for any filmmaker to pull off. It deserves four stars just for the moody ambiance it creates. The presence of Udo Kier as the loopy, nosy neighbor adds to it.
Kenneth goes from being a quiet loser who works diligently at his office job during the day to a fetishist within a very short time. Paying 10,000 or so dollars for "Nikki", a creepy looking S&M doll, there is an uneven kilter to the film: at times it is simply laughable to watch this guy, with the personality of a rock, try to relate to a not even remotely looking human dummy, and other times really sick and scary. This is what throws the movie off.
It really takes off when he meets his new temporary assistant, Lisa *Bellmer*. Here the director pays homage to Hans Bellmer, the dark surrealist artist who was obsessed with female mannequins and dolls of all kinds. Perhaps the relationship between Lisa and Ken is a kind of take off on the relationship between Unica Zurn and Hans Bellmer--one driving the other mad with fetishistic idealization and the other suffering as a result.
The ending is a little unbelievable but somehow fits with the skewed dream logic of the entire movie. You have to see this to really experience it, if you want to. A great mood piece, sort of Lynchian.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Object
Review: A modern and most sophisticated version of 'Tales from the Darkside'. I'm thoroughly impressed by the turning point. If you enjoyed the Ray Bradbury theatre, then you will really like this film. The film delivers the most diverse excitement mixed with panic and skepticism to your entertainment choice.
Rating:
Summary: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Read the Instructions
Review: Ah, the perils of office romance. Here we have Kenneth (Desmond Harrington) a man who works at a tech firm. He can't get a date because he's shy. So he spends his nights nursing a closet porn habit and goes to weird S&M shops.
We also have Lisa (Melissa Sagemiller, who looks quite good in a teddy) a newcomer who is having trouble fitting in around the office. See, she's a temp. She's also pretty, blond, and thin so naturally, everybody hates her. Even Kenneth shuns her at first when they are assigned to the same project together. However, Kenneth still takes note of her looks.
One night Ken decides to order a sex doll off of a website. For $10,000 you can have "Nikki" custom made to your specifications. Everything from eyes, nose, hair color, body shape, etc. Almost as an afterthought, he uses Lisa's appearance as the mold. Soon, "Nikki" arrives and Ken starts having fun. However, at the same time he also developes a closeness with Lisa. And perhaps subconsciencely influenced by Nikki's resemblence to her, Ken strikes up a romantic relationship with Lisa. Soon, all is bliss. Kenneth & Lisa are not only working like a well oiled machine on their assignment together, but they are pretty hot n' heavy too.
However, there's trouble afoot. Turns out "Nikki" is the jealous type...
I'm going to leave it right there. This movie is too much fun to give away the ending. It's made in the same spirit as "May" and "Ginger Snaps." It revels in its own twisted humor but smartly handles it to keep you glued to each to scene up to the last one. However, it's probably not the most ideal date movie.
Did I mention that Melissa Sagemiller looks quite good in a teddy?
Rating: 
Summary: NOT ORIGINAL
Review: I bought this tonight at Best Buy. It's crap. It is about this man who buys a sex doll and suddenly, the doll gets jealous...all in his head. It's not a new twist. It's not a new idea. It was done in the 1980 film, MAGIC. It was done on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was done SO many other times, it's been DONE TO DEATH.
Save your money. DON'T BUY THIS STUPID FLICK.
michael
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Psychological Horror
Review: I found the concept behind this film fascinating. I'd read about life-like sex dolls, like the one portrayed in "Love Object," and wondered why someone would want one. It's easy to understand why a man would want a doll that looks and feels like a real woman, and the people who make these dolls are genuinely talented. But why would they be willing to pay so much money ($10,000 in this film) for what is esentially a masturbation aid? Truly, some men have no imagination. But when "Love Object" examines the relationship between Kenneth and "Nikki," it shows that for some people, the doll may be a substitute for human companionship.
Kenneth orders a realistic sex doll named Nikki over the internet, and selects preferences that allow him to model Nikki after his attractive new coworker, Lisa. Kenneth talks to Nikki, and acts as if she is also speaking to him. He even serves her dinner and watches films with her that he thinks she might enjoy. He observes Lisa, her makeup and clothing choices, and even the music she listens to, and imposes them all onto Nikki. Lisa is a temp, and wears a lot of clothing from thrift stores. She mentions to Kenneth that she when she gets a real job she wants some new clothes. Kenneth responds by buying clothes for Nikki that he thinks Lisa would want if she could afford them. After a while, Lisa and Kenneth become close, but Kenneth has become so accustomed to Nikki that he can't imagine her letting him go. The conversations he imagines between them become jealous fighting.
After Lisa and Kenneth are an "item," he takes her out shopping for new clothes. He mentions his "ex," Nikki. Lisa learns the truth about Nikki when she finds a postcard advertisement for the sex doll. The doll has been modeled after Lisa from the beginning, but since she has just bought the new, expensive clothing, she sees it backward, and thinks he has modeled her after the doll. This is one scene in an otherwise successfully rendered film that doesn't quite work. Lisa thinks, at first, that Kenneth has chosen clothes for her so that she will look like his "ex," until she turns the card over to see that Nikki is a doll. I expected her to feel really dumb and apologize, because that's what I'd do. The only reason she thinks this is a picture of his ex is because it has the same name. I don't think that her first assumption would be that this sex doll had to be the "ex," just because they were both named Nikki. Of course, in Kenneth's mind, this IS a picture of his "ex." I think Lisa should have learned the truth about Kenneth by Kenneth's REACTION to her finding the card, instead of her figuring everything out just by finding it.
From a feminist perspective, the film is interesting because Nikki represents what some men want women to be. Nikki is attractive, allows her partner to have sex with her any way he chooses, and only tells him what he wants to hear. When Kenneth begins to interact in a sexual way with a real live woman, he learns that in a real relationship, there will be conflict. When a woman has her own personality, you can't control what she'll say or do. His relationship with the doll represents his desire to control every aspect of a woman for his own pleasure.
I thought the lead actor was brilliant in the role, but he was a little too good looking to be believable as being this socially inept. It was obvious he was too shy to approach women. That much was certainly established. But I found it hard to believe that a guy this cute had never had a woman interested in him before. A theme explored in the film "May," was that the female lead was actually quite pretty, and had no problem getting a few people to talk to her. The problem was that she was such a weirdo that once they got to know her, they were no longer interested. In "Love Objects," it's never really clear what was so weird about Kenneth to begin with. Before the doll, he seemed a bit shy, but shy enough to repulse all women in spite of his good looks.
Others have said that the ending, as well as the overall tone of the film, might not appeal to women, but as a feminist, I found it very appropriate. A woman being victimized will often respond in anger, and a woman's anger, even when justified, is often interpreted by society as irrationality and hysteria. If you take your girlfriend to a restaurant and flirt with the waitress, and your girlfriend (or the waitress, for that matter) gets mad, do you really think it's because she's having her period? (hint: if you answered "yes," you are incorrect.) This film examines a male's instinct to assert dominance and control over a female, as well as society's temptation to blame the victim in such a case.
Rating: 
Summary: Nikki the Sex Doll and her Paranoid Friend
Review: Interesting movie to say the least. Weird movie to say the most. But let me first say, there have been other movies made in a very similar fashion to "Love Object." It could have been better ... there could have been more twists or a more original plot. I would suggest you watching the movies "May" or "Pin" instead ... they are very comparable to this one, but better.
In this movie the main character obviously has an obsession with sex, but feels ashamed about it so when he buys a sex doll online ... he make-believes the doll, "Nikki" is punishing him because he's been a "bad boy". But alas, it is all in his head. The ending of the film was a bit twisted (I don't want to give it all away ... you'll have to form your own opinion) but it was also a teensy bit predictable. I didn't feel enough for either of the main characters ... the audience is just kind of forced to feel bad for them. I don't know, it wasn't a horrible movie, I've just seen better so it's hard to really like it. It's a very dark movie so if you are into morbid, intense, thriller-type movies, you should give this one a try. But check out the films "Pin" and "May" as well.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than it had any right to be!!!
Review: Isn't it nice to actually stumble on a small movie and enjoy it way more than you expected? Here's your movie. It's creepy. It's actually laugh-out-loud funny in places. The acting is suprisingly good. And, well, the whole thing just works really well.
There are little pieces of "Frankenstein", "Reanimator" and "Magic" dropped here and there, but it really is it's own original idea. One sentence synopsis: A lonely, work-obsessed guy buys a $10,000 sex doll and things really go wrong from there....
If you like quirky horror movies, this is better than 90% of the garbage on your local video store shelf. Give it a try!!
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly effective creepfest
Review: Kenneth is a single bachelor who can't score with the ladies. It's not that he's a bad-looking guy really, he's just painfully shy and has no clue as to how to speak to members of the opposite sex. Kenneth has a crush on Lisa, a typist who he works with, but cannot bring himself to ask her out on a date. One day Kenneth sees an ad for ultra-realistic love dolls and chooses to purchase one for the sum of $10,000. He names the doll Nikki and customizes it to look exactly like Lisa, everything from body dimensions, to hair, make-up, lipstick, etc. Kenneth does everything with the doll; dining, dancing, movie-watching, kissing, intercourse. As his infatuation with the doll increases, so does his work relationship with Lisa and soon him and Lisa are actually dating each other. But within this love triangle someone is bound to become jealous and either Lisa or Nikki is gonna have to go... Throughout the first half of the film I didn't even realize I was watching a horror film, it felt more like your routine drama picture. Kenneth's sense of loneliness and isolation is well-developed and we are made to sympathize with him and hope that he finds happiness and love. Then after a while, things take a turn for the worse as Kenneth turns into an absolute degenerate sicko right before our eyes. The film becomes increasingly dark as the minutes go on, leading to its blood-soaked ending. This is an example of a movie that chronicles the madness and despair that can be caused by loneliness. Comparisons to the film "May" are inevitable except that May Cassidy was someone we sympathized with throughout the entire picture. Towards the end of this film however you will come to loathe Kenneth. "Love object" is a well-executed and engaging film. The acting by the two leads is first-rate especially for a straight-to-video release. Not to mention the delicious supporting role performances of Rip Thorn and genre veteran Udo Kier. Despite the outrageous central premise, the film has a very serious tone. It is haunting and disturbing not so much due to traditional horror movie scares but rather because of its unflinching realism. For those who live in apartments and live the single bachelor lifestyle, some of this stuff will really hit home on a personal level.
Rating:
Summary: Delightfully Creepy Thriller
Review: Love Object is an intense, slick low budget thriller that looks and feels like a much bigger film than it is.
Given an astonishing performance by Desmond Harrington, the protagonist, Kenneth is a disturbing, likeable fellow who reminds us of someone each of us probably knows - as well as a little bit of ourselves. Harrington's presents us with the too-identifiable factor that success and professional achievement do not equate with personal satisfaction or happiness. Life can be cold and lonely.
When Ken orders $10,000 doll Nikki and begins a relationship with her, things are only bound to get messy. Really messy. The already blurred lines between reality and fantasy have only one way to go here - and it isn't up.
Watching Kenneth completely unhinge over the course of 90 minutes is a treat, albeit a delightfully, dark and disturbing one. Ever bouncing between his fictional reality and the real world, Kenneth finds himself ever closer to a precipice which, having once jumped, there is no turning back.
With dark comedic writing, atmospheric lighting, music and sound effects Love Object visually and aurally point up classic horror films with a particularly eerie and beautiful Frankenstein feel in the film's penultimate moments make this a winner.
Hey, Nikki - ya gotta sister?
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