Normally I try to keep features covered here within the confines of speculative or fantastic fiction, particularly when considering things classified as horror. From what I initially read about Rod Blackhurst’s new slasher feature Dolly, I somehow thought that there was some supernatural or fantastic element to it, but it turns out not. I imagine there still may be some readers of this with general horror interest though, even if within mundane fully human realms of ‘monstrosity.’
Ultimately, I think that Dolly would only be of strong interest to those who particularly like the slasher subgenre, or those with an appreciation for superior achievement in visual effects of gore and the grain of film through traditional methods of horror filmmaking. I expect that these good points would largely be overcome for the average audience member by what Dolly lacks. Though by no means a bad film, it doesn’t manage to become unique enough in its characters or storytelling to set it significantly enough apart from the oceans of slashers out there.
My first thought upon finishing the movie is just what an exceptional short film it probably would make over a full-length picture. I then discovered that this is exactly how Dolly began, as a short feature from 2022 written and directed by Blackhurst titled Babygirl. Even at just around an hour and twenty minutes, Dolly doesn’t seem developed enough in plot or characters to warrant going beyond the short form. The core of the movie focuses on the large porcelain-masked wearing killer, Dolly, and a woman named Macy who she abducts and takes home to raise as her doll-like child.
Dolly is played by the NWA wrestling star Max the Impaler, and they do a very good job in the wordless role in conveying the extremes of angry violence, yearning, panic, and love from moment to moment. The gargantuan but childlike Dolly is clearly psychologically broken, though we don’t fully know why. Relatively underdeveloped character for the slasher antagonist is a good thing, keeping the air of mystery rather than trying to explain everything.
But how the movie deals with its protagonist Macy (Fabianne Therese) is less effective. Macy is taken from the woods after Dolly seemingly dispatches Macy’s possibly-soon-to-be-fiancé Chase (Seann William Scott). Despite the runtime, we never get a good perspective or closure on the emotions of their relationship or get a good enough sense of who Macy is as a person. She very quickly becomes a victim and then proceeds to make staggeringly bad decisions to keep the movie going without any further exploration of who she is or would become from this ordeal. Therese doesn’t play the role badly, there just doesn’t seem to be enough here for her to use in the script.
A few additional characters are present in the cast, including a mysterious male voice coming from a locked room next to where Macy is kept (and seeming to be helping her survive). But the side-plots created from extra bits such as these don’t seem to go anywhere significant enough to make their inclusion interesting or worthwhile enough. Instead, things go along for poor Macy exactly as one would expect in the universe of standard slashers.
The effects are what stand out as making this beyond a standard slasher. The damage done to boyfriend Chase particularly stands out. I’ve seen the move described as brutal and gruesome, with comparisons to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I find these comparisons (usually phrasing Dolly as a poor imitation) to not be entirely fair or accurate. Yes, there are similarities, including the general atmosphere by making this something actually filmed on 16mm film stock. It looks like something from the ’70s or ’80s despite being set in the present day. However, the movie could equally be compared to something like Charles Kaufman’s Mother’s Day. And the brutality or gore doesn’t come to the level I’ve seen in other films of past decades or later. At times it’s hard to look at, but never seems over-the-top or gratuitous.
The other positive aspect worth mentioning for Dolly is the large numbers of creepy dolls in the woods and the house, which look grimy and great in that 16mm, like a little army of children of the porcelain-faced antagonist.
As I write that word ‘antagonist’ I realize that Dolly might be more interesting if it had been framed with the killer as the protagonist and Macy as the antagonist. Though the film doesn’t give definitive answers for Dolly’s ‘origin’, enough is implied to show that she is dealing with trauma and can be violently disturbed, but would not be so if actually given care and empathy. This also could have made Macy more interesting by giving her something deeper than ‘victim ineffectively trying to escape crazy person.’
There’s a shell of great stuff here (that short film) expanded with really strong technical skills, but with writing skills lacking to back that all up. Blackhurst has talent there that could be improved, and maybe writing collaborations would also help. But big slasher fans should certainly give this a watch if able, for the effects and atmosphere alone.
