THE STORY – Chase and his girlfriend, Macy, take a hike in the woods when they encounter a hulking, monstrous figure who abducts Macy to raise her as his own child.
THE CAST – Fabianne Therese, Russ Tiller, Kate Cobb, Eve Blackhurst, Michalina Scorzelli, Ethan Suplee, Seann William Scott & Max The Impaler
THE TEAM – Rod Blackhurst (Director/Writer) & Brandon Weavil (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 83 Minutes
A lot of horror films have tried to be 1974’s “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” over the years, and a lot of really incredible movies and movements have spawned in its wake. TCSM coined a style and tone all its own that both spoke to the current moment and presented scares too terrifying to ignore — and it feels as though Rod Blackhurst’s exciting new horror film “Dolly” is following in the footsteps of Tobe Hooper’s legendary nightmare.
The movie follows Macy (Fabianne Therese), a woman grappling with the prospect of becoming her boyfriend’s stepmother. During a weekend camping trip with Chase (Seann William Scott), where she suspects he’s going to propose, she stumbles upon an unhinged masked figure who is dead set on kidnapping her and raising her as their child. Twisted, right?
This film really is a perfect blend of its influences — which are clearly 1970s American horror, new French extremism, and a dash of folk horror — in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s relying on them as much as it’s using them to build something new in the spirit of what came before. The film feels visually in line with its influences, particularly the grit and grime of the 1970s horror fare. Being shot on Super 16mm, the entire picture has a raw, grainy quality that makes it feel of the era, like it fits alongside Hooper’s film and other classics of the time that share a sense of unfiltered realism drenched in a macabre dream.
But it isn’t just in the visuals that “Dolly” connects with and expands upon its inspiration. The story — and the way information is disseminated through chapters, as well as the clever places Blackhurst and co-writer Brandon Weavil decide to end them — is paced perfectly, leaving the audience overflowing with intrigue from the moment we meet the film’s antagonist. Dolly, as a character, stirs curiosity in every choice Blackhurst makes by playing into the audience’s human nature: Who or what is that figure? How did they become what we’re seeing now? What do they have in store? Their story is innately fascinating, and the film’s script plays with form in order to highlight the outlandish yet truthful cruelty of both Dolly’s story and the overarching situation the characters find themselves in. Textually, the film works like a charm.
But the viewer can’t help but want to know more because of what they see. Dolly’s design makes the entire film an enigma from the moment we meet them, and it ends up being perhaps the most significant force keeping the audience hooked to the story. But further still, the character and its perverse design end up not only being a vehicle for investment in their narrative — and, by extension, Macy’s own opposing fight for survival — but also a touchstone for both sympathy and empathy, much like “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” ‘s Leatherface before them.
The film is full of emotional highs and lows, and those moments stand out because of the strength of the foundational performances. Therese is a powerhouse, taking on so much physical and mental turmoil throughout the movie and using that to force herself with all the strength she can muster into final girl territory — a label she should wear with pride after the rollercoaster that is this picture. Scott plays wonderfully against her as the kind boyfriend who ends up in an unexpected fight for his life, tapping into the raw realities of survivalist instincts and, even sadder, the truths of pure love.
Character actor Ethan Suplee is also noteworthy here, taking on a fun, double-edged sword of a role. It’s a really fun and compelling part that allows him to play both to and against type in the same scene, and because of his two-faced performance, he adds an extra layer of messed-up fun to the already insane turn of events. It’s great to see him show up in a small part that makes big waves, something he’s always been immensely good at.
Finally, the performances perhaps peak with Max the Impaler, who plays our titular character Dolly. What a discovery here, as Max — whose day job is in professional wrestling — has never acted before. But despite that, Max was able to tap into the most human elements of this demented, nearly inhuman character in such a way that lays bare the notion that deep-seated, ruinous trauma made Dolly this way, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Plus, the character never speaks, which makes Max’s work that much more impressive — because it’s all in the gestures and in the depraved, tortured cries. It’s a warped yet inspired turn, a truly excellent horror performance that people will be talking about for years to come. Max’s Dolly is, no exaggeration, the modern-day Leatherface, and it feels like Hooper would be proud of the evolution of empathetic psychopaths he inspired, and that this new character so clearly stands firmly atop them.
Remember when I mentioned maintaining focus on the story? The character of Dolly, in all their complexities, is definitely a big reason to lock in — but the film’s brutality and insane gore is the ultimate reason to stay locked in. There are some absolutely harrowing moments in this movie, both with and without blood. In fact, the physical and, of course, mental abuse in the narrative really runs the gamut.
From forced infantilization to savage disregard of the human body and its limits, the violence in this film really pulls out all the stops to give its audience an absolute onslaught of terror, unrelenting from one moment to the next. The artistry behind the movie’s most blood-splattered moments is next level, and there are a few specifically impressive gore-filled set pieces you’ll know when you see them, simply because of how squirm-inducingly real they feel. It’s easily some of the best practical effects in a modern horror film, hands down. Add in some brilliant and ruthless fight and chase choreography — and everything else this film is doing and bringing to the table — and you’ve got yourself a recipe for one exciting and barbaric journey for both Macy and the audience.
Ultimately, Blackhurst’s new film is an unmissable horror gem that heralds the arrival of both a fresh new horror voice and an electrifying new villain for the ages. A compelling story that interrogates the questions of connection, found family, and autonomy, “Dolly” is the perfect marriage of the intellectuality we’ve come to love in the genre and the brute-force terror we’ve come to crave.
