Dolly
Critic Alec Toombs didn't enjoy the folly that is "Dolly."
Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I like a good, gritty horror picture. I did not enjoy the folly that is “Dolly” (now in select theaters).
Chase (Seann William Scott, playing way against type) is a nice guy. He’s a good dad to his daughter Evy (Eve Blackhurst, I’m assuming she’s the real-life daughter of “Dolly” co-writer/producer/post-production supervisor/visual effects supervisor/music supervisor/director Rod Blackhurst) and a kind boyfriend to his girlfriend Macy (Fabianne Therese). So kind in fact that he’s dropping Evy off with Aunt Sadie (Michalina Scorzelli) so they can take a wooded hike and he can pop the question in a scenic spot.
Just as Chase is about to ask Macy for her hand in marriage they hear weird noises in the woods. He goes to check ‘em out and happens upon an odd display of dolls. At first he assumes this is some sort of art installation, but then Dolly (professional wrestler Max the Impaler) turns up.
Dolly is a gargantuan figure wearing an outfit that looks like it was ripped off of Raggedy Ann and a porcelain doll mask over their face. They tool Chase up real bad with a shovel breaking his leg and separating his jaw from his face.
Macy shows up looking for Chase and makes a horrifying discovery. She’s given a warmer greeting by Dolly than Chase was. The masked murderer kidnaps Macy and takes her to their dilapidated house in the woods where they’re looking to raise her as their very own baby.
Macy makes verbal contact with a chained man named Tobe (Ethan Suplee, probably still looking for that goddamned sailboat in the Magic Eye poster) through the wall. He advises her to go along with Dolly’s wants to get along. These include disturbing attempts at breastfeeding and a diaper change.
“Dolly” as co-written (alongside the awesomely-named Brandon Weavil) and directed by Blackhurst is a grotesque and repetitious affair. It’s aiming for “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” but qualitatively winds up somewhere along the lines of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.”
It proudly sports a 1970s aesthetic having been shot on 16 mm film, but it takes place in the modern day as evidenced by the use of cell phones. The whole picture probably should’ve been set in the ‘70s, which would give its aesthetic more purpose. It looks cheap and crappy because it is cheap and crappy. Also, if the filmmakers were going for the whole cinéma vérité vibe it probably would’ve behooved them to cast lesser-known actors than Scott and Suplee … even if these performers do a fine job in the picture.
“Dolly” isn’t without its charms. It was shot in Chattanooga, Tenn. and sports some pretty scenery. The special effects makeups by Ashley K. Thomas and Alex Solorzano are appropriately gory and grisly. I also really liked the country tunes “Too Far Gone (To Find My Way Back)” and “Mama’s Love” by The Babyboys that open and close the picture.
“Dolly” is a feature adaptation of Blackhurst’s short film “Babygirl” (no, not the Nicole Kidman BDSM joint) and it probably should’ve remained a short.
(This appears to be a trend with Blackhurst’s work. The 2014 short “Night Swim,” which he co-directed with Bryce McGuire, was adapted into a feature helmed by McGuire back in 2024. I preferred that slicker flick to this one.)
“Dolly” is a mere 82 minutes and feels interminable. I’m sure there’s an audience for this movie … it just ain’t me.