New in select theaters from Vertigo Releasing, Shudder, and IFC!
Directed by Rod Blackhurst.
Written by Rod Blackhurst, Brandon Weavil.
Check out the trailer here!!
Chase (Sean William Scott) and Macy (Fabianne Therese) are a young couple who set out to have a romantic hike in the woods. Chase has brought a ring and intends to propose to Macy at the perfect time, but this time is interrupted by Dolly (played by someone known as Max the Impaler), a hulking mountain of rage that has a penchant for turning people into her own personal playthings.
What makes DOLLY stand out is not that it delivers the most original story. The guy and gal go hiking with intentions a proposal in the air is the setup for at least five movies I can think of released in the last few years, most notably BACKCOUNTRY and SIGNIFICANT OTHER, that hang the horror around this setup. But what makes the film stand out is how simply the premise is and how it is all executed in a claustrophobic and intense way. While there are a few twists and turns along the way, for the most part, DOLLY is a straight forward slasher in the woods story most reminiscent of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE in that Dolly lives in a house of horrors in the middle of the woods and her mannerisms reflect the way Leatherface was portrayed, specifically in the first TCM. More on that later. But the story basically only has two protagonists and one of them is taken care of pretty quickly in the first chapter of this seven-chapter tale. Along the way, a few others stumble into the spotlight, but for the most part, this is Dolly stalking her victims through the woods and that’s that.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Sometimes a stylish representation of a simple stalk and slash is just what the doctor ordered. Dolly is savage and vicious, forcing her playthings to do what she wants them to do and unafraid of breaking her toys in the process. The way Dolly situates her playthings and then punishes them when they disobey them is disquieting, to say the least. DOLLY focuses much of its screentime on putting the victims in different play scenarios in Dolly’s secluded house in the woods, only venturing outside of those creepy walls at the beginning and end of the film. This delivers a horrifyingly claustrophobic feeling as Dolly smothers her playthings with a warped kind of affection, not really knowing how to be gentle with the things she holds precious. The unsettling juxtaposition of Dolly’s affectionate actions causing so much pain and unease for the victim really makes for an uncomfortable watch, specifically, one scene where Dolly forces her victim to eat. I won’t spoil it, but it makes for the freakiest scene of the entire movie.
Whomever Max the Impaler is, he sure does a good Leatherface impression in Dolly. While it might be a little bit too close of a similarity to the way the original chainsaw maniac behaves, there are a few nice details setting the two apart. Dolly’s love of her dolls seems to be her prime motivator with her twisted sense of motherhood causing more harm than good. Dolly seems to have a strong natural instinct to play the motherly role but simply lacks the skills to do it properly. Still, as much as I think seeing Dolly rock back and forth and twiddle her fingers frantically is downright disturbing, it is very much like Gunnar Hansen’s performance in the original TCM, specifically after the second marvelous meat hook kill where Leatherface checks the windows to see if anyone else is coming to visit for dinner. Of course, Dolly is female, or at least seems to be that, but her hulking frame and simple savagery definitely doesn’t seem ladylike. All of this put together makes for a new slasher with infinite possibilities for her to go.
The look of the film stock of DOLLY is what will really remind you of the gritty and grindhousey original TCM. The grainy footage feels unearthed, especially during the scenes inside of Dolly’s house. The darks are deep and while it seems a lot of production was made for the house and the woods decorated with dolls on the trees, the blown-out film stock makes it all hard to register. It reminded me of trying to figure out specifics from the old VHS copies of TCM, knowing there are all of these details that are too blurred out to really see. It’s ironic that new cleaned up versions of TCM make it feel like a brand-new movie, removing all of that grimy schmutz from the film, but a newer film like DOLLY seems to work overtime to digitally make things look grainy and blown out.
Fabienne Therese is really strong in the role of Macy. I remember the actress from SOUTHBOUND and STARRY EYES and it’s great to see the actress headline this film. I hope it leads to bigger and better roles as she really delivers the goods in DOLLY. It’s also refreshing to see Sean William Scott in a film like this, meaning a no-frills slasher. Not that he has never been in horror, but this seems an especially gnarly turn for the actor.
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So, while DOLLY isn’t the most original, something has to be said about how it does everything just right in terms of delivering a brutal and electrifying feature length chase sequence in the woods with a hulking maniac wanting to cuddle someone to death. Coming in at just under an hour and a half, DOLLY may not have the deeper themes of TCM, but it definitely has the look and feel down pat. And since TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is my favorite movie of all time, I have to say, I appreciate the effort to recreate that harrowing experience in DOLLY is viewed as a high achievement in my book. If you’re a fan of TCM and slashers in general, DOLLY is a bare bones stalk and slash you need! Just be prepared to be skeeved out more than a few times. I highly recommend this one.
