Dolly review
A throwback that hits the target.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Dolly
Directed by Rod Blackhurst
Written by Rod Blackhurst and Brandon Weavil
Starring Fabianne Therese, Russ Tiller, Michalina Scorzelli, Kate Cobb, Ethan Suplee, Sean William Scott and Max the Impaler
Dolly Review
If you’ve seen the trailer for Dolly you know what to expect from it. That’s not a negative statement. It’s actually a very positive one. Dolly sells itself on being a throwback horror film…and it delivers exactly that. Old school film grain covers the screen…which is somewhat funny when a character uses video chat moments into the story. I get why movies put the filter on their stuff…but the growing use of it in modern set tales is a bit odd. Mostly…Dolly is simply about a woman going through Hell in a remote house in the woods. A killer wearing a porcelain doll mask wants to play mother…and baby better not break the rules or things will get bloody.
Dolly wisely doesn’t try to outkick what it can cover. It has a creepy house, a strong lead character and a memorable antagonist. No need to overthink things from there. Throw in some impressive gore effects and some truly messed up moments and you have the makings of a pseudo-slasher worthy of your time. I call it a pseudo-slasher because it is light on kills. If that’s your thing…you’ll only get a couple here. They’re pretty damned great, mind you. But this isn’t a large cast of characters trying to open the wrong summer camp. It’s mostly a one on one confrontation between the two staples of the subgenre. The killer…and the final girl.
The story unfolds across seven chapters…though the purpose of the chapter breaks seems to be for style more than substance. It begins with a couple on their way to a proposal. Chase (Sean William Scott) and Macy (Fabianne Therese) hike out to a remote part of the woods where they come across something very strange. Dozens of dolls. Some are tied to trees…others sit silently watching. It isn’t long before they come across the owner of the collection…a large, supernaturally powerful woman dressed as a doll. And the doll wants to play mommy.
That’s bad news for Macy…who ends up in the woman’s clutches. She wakes to find herself locked in a room, dressed in a baby’s nightgown. Escape seems unlikely. Survival is dependent on how well she plays baby to her new mommy. There’s a lot of cat and mouse in Dolly…and it’s effective in delivering that old school feel. Just unexplainable evil vs innocence. Like many good stories are.
If you’re wondering what happened to Chase…well…let’s just say that Dolly has some gnarly gore effects to show you. Don’t worry about that being a spoiler. Dolly really wants to show off its best gore piece…so you’ll see more of it (and Chase) than you’d think. The real hallmark of Dolly, however,is the interplay between captor and captive. Aside from a man chained up in the room next door…Macy is very much alone with her monster.
Dolly doesn’t look to reinvent the genre. Instead, it wants to play in some of its darker corners. The antagonist here is quite good. She doesn’t speak…instead relying on Leatherface type moans and mannerisms to communicate. She’s unnaturally strong and very hard to get away from. If you like the showdown between protagonists and antagonists…Dolly makes nearly an entire movie out of one. It’s a good one too. Macy is bold and clever. This makes her a good match for Dolly’s relentless mothering. Every slight window is an opportunity for Macy to turn the tables. And playing along buys her a number of open windows. And a closed one to leap through Sally Hardesty style.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre is probably the most obvious influence on Dolly. It’s not trying to be that classic film…but it does evoke the look and style of it often enough to be purposeful. The man tied up in the other room is even named “Tobe”. That can’t be an accident. If you’re a fan of simple but effective slasher horror…Dolly is one to look out for. Excellent gore effects, a strong killer/victim dynamic and the feel of the movies of yesteryear add up to a little film that’s worth checking out.
Scare Value
Dolly won’t be for everyone. Honestly, it won’t even be for most people. But if you’ve found your way to this website…it’s probably for you. Classic elements of slasher horror are boiled down to their bare essentials and played for a pretty relentless good time. Blood and gore…some sick moments…and that never ending battle between innocence and evil. What more do you really need?
3.5/5
Dolly Link
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