Dorothea review
True crime gets a true redesign.
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Dorothea
Directed by Chad Ferrin
Written by Chad Ferrin
Starring Susan Priver, Pat McNeely, Ezra Buzzington, Robert Rhine, Ginger Lynn, Lew Temple, Brinke Stevens and Brenda James
Dorothea Review
Director Chad Ferrin pumps movies out at a pretty incredible rate. This website has only been operational for about three years, and Dorothea marks the fourth one of his films we’ve covered. And we missed one (H.P. Lovecraft’s the Old Ones). Scalper, Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep and Ed Kemper are the three previous ones we’ve reviewed. That last one is particularly relevant to his latest film. Dorothea is the second of three planned true crime films focused on a specific serial killer. In this case, Dorothea Puente, the killer granny whose social security check scam left a lot of bodies buried in her yard.
Ferrin often works with the same actors. With Dorothea he turns to his most common leading lady Susan Priver. It feels like the project they’ve been building towards. You don’t want to say that someone was born to play a serial killer…but Priver is so effortlessly great here that I’ll try to put it out there in a positive way. The entire tone of the movie feels in sync with her performance. Dorothea achieves the kind of unity that comes from a writer/director and star having put in countless hours of previous collaboration. I genuinely believe that every aspect of this movie would be different with someone else in the role. At least it would feel different. There’s an unsettling joy behind Priver’s Dorothea that bends the whole movie into its warped point of view.
Dorothea never goes camp though. It manages to present a true crime through a tilted lens without veering into parody. That’s a tough line to walk. A serial killer story isn’t something you’d normally associate with being “fun”. Dorothea…is kind of fun. It’s hard to explain why. The story is grounded in reality…but it’s viewed through a heightened lens that lets you enjoy it. Which is sick, of course. But I’ll be damned if it doesn’t result in an entertaining hour and a half watch. Priver is the headline, but the entire package carries her energy throughout the story.
It’s what elevates Dorothea above your regular, garden variety serial killer movies. The movie makes you feel the way the real Dorothea’s victims must have felt. You like this woman. Even when you know there’s something wrong…as many of her victims did. They may not have known she was a serial killer…but they certainly suspected something was fishy in how she handled their finances. It’s not going to stop you from breaking bread with her over the dinner table or enjoying your time in her company. Picture the entire movie presenting that strange feeling of conflict. That’s what Ferrin and Priver have pulled off in Dorothea.
Ferrin pulls back on the gore a bit in Dorothea. Ed Kemper indulged the sicker impulses of the story…but still throttled back the horror aspects to fit that film. Dorothea still has effective effects work when it’s called for…but the movie’s focus is rightfully placed on what works best: Performance and an ice-cold casualness about the violence being perpetrated on screen.
What impressed me most about Dorothea is how light it felt without ever going to outright comedy. It creates an enjoyable tone…breaking the fourth wall while also having a framing story tickles me…but it’s not doing punchlines. The kills are the punchlines, as they should be. The film understands itself to an impressive degree. It allows you to sit back, learn about a terrifyingly terrible person, and enjoy yourself while doing so. I suppose there is a question about who this film is aimed at. Hardcore true crime aficionados may be turned off by the tenor of this story. I ate it up though. I’m not the biggest fan of this kind of story done in a more traditional manner. Purposefully diffusing any suspense (because we already know the beats anyway) and presenting it as something different is one of Dorothea’s greatest strengths.
The other is Priver. She’s so good here that I wanted to rent a room from her even after seeing her kill multiple people. There’s a great scene in the middle of Dorothea where the victims, sitting around a dinner table, break the fourth wall to tell you that they are soon to be victims of the woman whose home they are in. Your initial reaction is to ask why they stay. They, at least, suspect that she is taking advantage of them. She’s an ex-con who gets constant visits from the authorities. Then she refills the pitcher on the table and flashes a warm smile…and I understand completely.
Scare Value
Dorothea is an enjoyable story about an un-enjoyable subject. Featuring a stand-out lead performance and a tone set to match it step for step…this is one for a specific type of sicko. True crime die-hards may be turned off by the almost whimsical way in which violence and deception are presented. For the casual movie watcher, however…Dorothea feels unique and well worth investing your time in. A Night Stalker based movie is on the way from Ferrin to finish off this strange un-connected true crime trilogy. After watching Dorothea…I can’t wait.
3.5/5
Dorothea Link
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