Special Look: The Dollmaker

True love is what you make of it, so why not make it perfect? All it takes is finding the right pieces to stitch together until you have everything you could have dreamed of. No matter who those pieces are currently attached to.

Though posted within our Reviews section, this entry will not include a Key Rating. As a team, we at Escape Authority feel the correct thing to do is disclose that I was the Designer of this attraction on behalf of Chris + Creative. While I am excited to share its final results with you, our readers, I cannot officially endorse it in order to remain neutral to other games we have and will continue to review around the world.

Each Halloween, I produce an elaborate haunted attraction at my home for the local community to enjoy, free of charge. I call it “Peachstone Scream!“. For me, there’s only one rule: Each year must be bigger than the last.

2021 brought with it an exciting opportunity – a reboot of sorts – welcoming guests back live after being forced to a remote play online format the year prior with The Harvest Homecoming. By its very nature of being a fully screen-based experience, it pivoted to meet that need by becoming a much more theatrical, scripted affair; it was essentially writing a movie with live puzzle interactions scattered throughout. The Dollmaker directly benefited by evolving from that, creating the truest form of an escape game + immersive theater hybrid experience to date.

Focus shifted toward solidly telling a compelling story – one wherein the audience not only instantly become invested in the characters, and learn more about them as their adventure progresses, but also make choices that impact them in very personal ways. The Dollmaker also marked the evolution of the Peachstone Scream! event as a whole, into an episodic narrative wherein one year builds to the next, all apart of a multi-year plan for truly long-term storytelling.

They say when you wish upon a star, everything you desire will come true. Sometimes, wishes are granted with a little bit of magic. But sometimes, it takes the thoughtful work of a simple man, solely trying to bring his dreams to life.

Metzger von Leben is referred to by some as the “Butcher of Life,” but you’ll soon come to know him as… The Dollmaker. From his modest shop at the end of Peachstone Lane, he’s created some of the most lifelike dolls ever to be seen. Their hands and feet perfectly proportioned; their eyes somehow reflect the human glimmer of wonder from within. One might say it’s as though they are alive!

But they’re not alive, of course; that would be silly. No one could be alive after their arms and legs were cut off, or eyeballs carefully pulled straight from the sockets. But this story isn’t about them; they are merely the materials needed to created something so pure. And only The Dollmaker’s skilled hand can sew those pieces of perfection into the most lovely dolls. You see, humans are flawed – filthy – like pigs. Dolls can be loved like no human would ever be capable.

You see, this is a love story. Say what you will about his methods, but Metzger is merely out to create the perfect vessel in which to bring his beloved wife back from the grave. He did this – all of this – for her. For his Teufel. And soon, with your help, with your pieces, their love will be reunited – forever.

Like a dark and twisted take on Geppetto in Pinocchio, The Dollmaker holds the skill to create true works of art, and wishes upon a star to bring them to life by any means necessary. At first glance, he might even seem friendly; his jolly German accent and comical laugh that always seems to end in a snort feel harmless.

But The Dollmaker is the most twisted type of monster – one who can simply justify his horrible deeds, without any care for those impacted by them. After all, he’s only doing it for love.

Revealing a brand new villain in a storyworld with years of established lore takes the proper introduction. For The Dollmaker, nothing could make more sense than through a puppet show:

Following the events of The Harvest Homecoming, Miss Bunny was locked away in “The Evil Room” – a logical place to store all evil things one has. It’s here that she lures unsuspecting neighbors in to do her benevolent bidding once again.

Rising from a perpetual cloud of ominous red fog, Miss Bunny admits that getting the Little Miss Bunny doll last year has, surprisingly, not solved all of her life’s problems. In fact, her capture proves things have gotten worse. But, with help of the neighborhood (in exchange for not killing them this time) she hopes to turn things around with the most simplistic and obvious problem-solving possible: she’s going to cast a magic spell to open a time traveling portal, allowing her unwitting helpers to get rid of the doll by locking it away in the Anti-Evil Cabinet™ before it was ever sold in the first place. It all makes sense if you think about it (though you may need to be a cross-dressing psychopath in a rabbit mask to see it for yourself.)

Joining hands in the malevolent fog, the wishful time travelers chant a powerful incantation: “mori ad lepus!” (Some people never learn, because once again, it’s Latin – this time translating to “death for the bunny.”) Just the same, it’s powerful enough to open a portal back in time, all the way to the year 2017.

On the other side of the swirling vortex, time travelers do indeed find themselves four whole years in the past. Any skeptics in the group will no doubt be convinced by two of The Dollmaker’s bumbling puppet henchmen, rambling on about the current cost of gas ($2.32) and their favorite song (Justin Bieber’s Despacito remix.) I think we can all agree these are definitely things you’d only know if you were there, and that can not be simply looked up using the internet years later. In the process, the henchpuppets also inadvertently reveal how to unlock the door into The Dollmaker’s shop.

Inside the shop, an eerie purple light leaks through the slotted ceiling boards, casting a most unsettling glow across the hundreds of pairs of doll eyes staring silently at intruders from all corners of the room. They’re almost judgmental. The air is thick with an aura of suspense, as though something bad could happen at any moment.

The sound of distant whispers seems to get louder, until… silence. That silence is only broken by the screams of our unwilling explorers as dolls start flying off the shelves, seemingly come to life all on their own.

It’s here that Old Uncle Monty makes his first appearance. Monty is a character who has been referenced through voice-over several times throughout Peachstone Scream!’s lore, and has always been the ultimate MacGuffin. He’s never consistent, and serves whatever purpose is needed to further each year’s plot. Some years he’s a narrator, others a radio personality. Some years he’s good, others he’s evil. And – yup – now we know that all these years he’s been a sock all along!

Old Uncle Monty is more than just comic relief; he also serves as the hint system, and is even a vital piece of some of the game’s puzzles. He’s here to help – but just don’t get too close; he’s got pink eye!

Being an old sock, Monty has, of course, lived in the walls of the Doll Shop for years – so he knows a thing or two about how to survive. He warns his new friends that if The Dollmaker finds them in the shop, they will most certainly be skinned alive – so, if they’re going to make it out of here in one piece, it’s best to never get caught. This might not be as difficult as it seems though; The Dollmaker only enters the shop from the back room, always causing a bell on its door to ring.

Having a plan for where to hide is important, and luckily Old Uncle Monty has some suggestions for that as well. A small doorway into a storage space behind the wall will fit most of the group – but it’s not big enough for everyone. The last person can hide behind a large drape hanging on the wall; The Dollmaker probably won’t ever notice their sneakers sticking out from under it!

Unfortunately despite their best efforts, it seems this mission won’t be easy for Miss Bunny’s unwitting helpers; the Anti-Evil™ cabinet is padlocked shut, and just as they try to find a way to open it… THE BELL!

From the storage space in the wall, those helpers quickly become voyeurs. As The Dollmaker enters and monologues his evil plan in several phases, they’re able to see and hear all of it thanks to conveniently placed vents in several spots around the shop. The story of The Dollmaker’s twisted desire to bring his wife back from the grave unfolds through these voyeuristic monologues as well; unlocking a closet marked private, he cites how much he’s missed what’s inside. As it would turn out, this closet where he stores his dead wife’s wedding gown, and, apparently, it has retained her scent. In a private moment of pernicious bliss, The Dollmaker, thinking he is alone, ballroom dances around the shop with the dress – often swinging it into the storage room where watchful eyes try their best to remain silent.

Lucky for them, The Dollmaker never seems to notice their prying gaze. Not only does this create uncomfortably intimate show moments, but it also becomes a mechanism to organically convey vital information necessary for the next puzzle. Sometimes, these voyeuristic moments of hide and seek even serve as the key to a padlock, as The Dollmaker might leave a door, a closet or even the Anti-Evil™ cabinet itself open upon one of his hasteful exits.

Placing the Little Miss Bunny Doll inside seems, at first, like it will be the happy ending that allows would-be time travelers to escape back to present day. Except something isn’t right. The Anti-Evil™ Cabinet fills with fog, and then a banging is heard from within it. As hesitant helpers open its door, it becomes clear that the Little Miss Bunny doll has, indeed, disappeared, and in its place sits Knucklehead, the vile ventriloquist dummy mastermind who first surfaced ‘two years from now’ in Peachstone Scream!’s 2019 event, The End.

As it turns out, The Dollmaker created Knucklehead, who still refers to him as “Papa.” Their relationship, however, is anything but that of a happy family – and Knucklehead has returned to off his crafting father once and for all. The problem is, he needs some new henchmen to help get it done – and guess what? You’re them.

They say there’s no honor amongst thieves, and that will never be more apparent than when you’re tricked into being several different villains’ henchmen. With the Little Miss Bunny doll out of the picture, focus shifts to Knucklehead’s personal agenda: ending The Dollmaker once and for all. But first, his cronies – uh, that’s you – are going to need to capture old Papa. Doing so will require tricking him back into the shop, where he’ll be out in the open.

Obviously there’s a great deal of risk with that plan; it’s been well established that The Dollmaker skins intruders on sight – but what if it wasn’t an intruder? What if it really was one of his children brought to life by a wicked wish?

Well, wishing certainly won’t do it – but dressing the bravest henchman in a costume exactly matching the doll then sending them in alone to stand posed in the middle of the shop? Why, that might just be crazy enough to work!

As The Dollmaker returns, this time, there’s no hiding; the only way out is to face him one on one, alone. Lost in wishful thinking, The Dollmaker poses his “child” to examine just how realistic they are. He assesses them to be nearly perfect… but they’re missing… something. He turns his back and kneels to dig through the doll parts cabinet in hopes of finding whatever it may be.

It’s with this distraction that the deceptive doll imposter is able to sneak behind The Dollmaker and physically chain him to the wall, leaving him trapped for whatever Knucklehead has planned. As expected, the key to the exit door is found safely stowed in his apron pocket. The Dollmaker’s last defiant warning can be heard as the group finally escapes victorious: “Run away little piggies! But you can’t run from what’s going next year! He sees you when you’re sleeping!”

Perhaps this story is far from over after all. Stay tuned.