Dolly [Fantastic Fest Review]

by Mike McGranaghan

Dolly, which had its world premiere at the 2025 Fantastic Fest, offers an excuse to share one of the most incisive cinematic quotes ever. Wes Craven once said: “The first monster that an audience has to be scared of is the filmmaker. They have to feel in the presence of someone not confined by the normal rules of propriety and decency.” Director Rod Blackhurst immediately fulfills that goal by showing a shovel grossly disfiguring a man’s face. How brutal is this chiller? Well, it sort of feels like the gates of hell opened up and spat the movie out into the universe.

Chase (Seann William Scott) has arranged to take his girlfriend Macy (Fabienne Therese) on a hike in the woods. He plans to propose to her there. The excursion is ruined by the appearance of Dolly (Max the Impaler), a hulking figure whose entire head is encased inside a porcelain doll mask. She forcibly takes Macy back to her house, with the expectation of mothering her. Each attempt to escape simply ups the terror for Macy. The home has another captive, Toby (Ethan Suplee), whose appearance spins the plot in an even eerier direction.

It's impossible not to think of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre when watching Dolly. The title character is very much like Leatherface – uncommonly strong, face hidden by a mask, ruthlessly violent, etc. Blackhurst shoots entirely on 16mm film stock, giving the movie a stark look that recalls that 1974 Tobe Hooper classic, along with Craven’s 1972 shocker Last House on the Left. Those pictures are a clear influence, although the concept of a human doll-baby killer is completely original.

Over the course of its brisk 83 minutes, multiple violent incidents occur that made me react with vocal outbursts. A breastfeeding scene starts off icky and quickly becomes savage. Dolly’s shovel does additional damage to a couple supporting characters, and Macy becomes disfigured in a way guaranteed to send the squeamish running for the nearest trash can. Once upon a time, grindhouse theaters showed grotesque horror movies on a loop. You could take Dolly back in time, show it inside a cinema on 42nd Street, and expect a line to form around the block.

Therese gives a believably frightened performance as Macy. As Dolly, professional wrestler Max the Impaler sends chills down your spine without ever speaking a word. The only – and I mean only - source of comfort comes from seeing familiar faces Scott and Suplee. Their presence reminds you that, as the Last House on the Left slogan famously proclaimed, it’s only a movie…it’s only a movie…

Why would anyone want to watch a film of this nature? As Craven suggested, it represents horror in its most visceral form. There’s artfulness in how deftly it gets under your skin and jangles your nerves. Most fright flicks, even those that are well-done, don’t get that far inside us because we psychologically know everything is fake. Here is one of those rare ones that does feel dangerous and scary to watch. Blackhurst is not confined by the normal rules of propriety and decency. Dolly is in that elite class of horror movies that make you feel like you need to be held so you can calm down when they’re over.

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