It's a shame the original cut of the film was thrown out back in 2009 and has never been recovered, I really would have liked to have seen the original ending and the alternate death scenes. I think the film seems a little incomplete in its current form - I'm guessing there was more appearances of the doll and a bit more character development.
shareRichard Ciupka was interviewed in Rue Morgue for the July issue and said much of what was thrown out from his shoot were scenes with Michael Wincott. He didn't clarify any further than that, unfortunately. But he did state that he shot the picture more or less as it was on the page by the time filming started (the beginning and ending were heavily rewritten after he exited), so for the late Peter Simpson to rant and rave that he only had "half a movie" thanks to Ciupka shows him for the classless truth-bender he was.
Lesleh Donaldson and Simpson both spoke of a scene that he shot during the 1982 reshoots, a flashback in which Christie gets dumped by her college professor, played by Peter MacNeill. It was supposed to show that Christie was a slut. Simpson naturally thought it was a good scene and couldn't figure out why it didn't make it to the final cut. (Um, because you didn't include it? What do you suppose, it got up and walked off on its own?) Meanwhile, Donaldson thought it was "ridiculous." The fact that Simpson hired a new actor and called Donaldson back a year after the fact to shoot a new scene only to end up scrapping the entire thing in the end tells you what a mess he, and not Ciupka, made of the production.
The production was an absolute clusterfuck.
The only one that comes to mind in Horror that was even more of a mess is Cursed (2005).
The fact this film turned out so good is a miracle.