Dolls are a horror director’s best friend.
Those old-school toys, think porcelain features and glassy-eyed stares, can make grown men think twice about turning off the lights at night.
Director Rod Blackhurst leans into that with “Dolly,” a grindhouse romp with as many flaws as selling points. The latter wins the day, and we may have witnessed the dawn of a new movie monster.
Freddie. Jason. Michael. Art.
Dolly?
Seann William Scott plays Chase, a single dad who thinks he’s met The One. That’s Macy (Fabianne Therese), who loves Chase but isn’t sure she’s cut out for motherhood.
He takes her on a camping trip so he can propose at the most scenic place possible. A series of dolls elaborately displayed in the woods catches his eye, and he decides to investigate.
No, Stifler, no!
Lurking in the woods is a hulking figure wearing an oversized doll mask. This wordless Dolly (ex-wrestler Max the Impaler in an impressive screen debut) has a shovel and knows how to use it.
Before long, it’s Final Girl time, with Macy trying to stay alive under the worst of circumstances. It doesn’t help that her survival instincts are atrocious, making “Dolly” the kind of film that almost demands audience feedback.
HiT never recommends talking in a movie theater, but …
EXCLUSIVE: @IndieFilmCom & @Shudder’s slasher DOLLY is being called a brutal blend of New French Extremity and ’70s American horror.
We’ve got an exclusive clip of Southbound’s Fabianne Therese trapped by the monster-like Dolly. Watch if you dare. pic.twitter.com/3BBEelKP8o
— Dread Central (@DreadCentral) February 27, 2026
Blackhurst, who co-wrote the screenplay with Brandon Weavil, has a blast recreating that ’70s horror vibe.
- The grainy film stock
- The unexpected musical notes
- The sequences that feel like outtakes from 1974’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
The film delights in torturing the poor humans in Dolly’s path, and some sequences simply go on too long. That doesn’t detract from the ick factor, which begins from the very first frame and rarely lets up.
Scott is playing against type, and it’s such an understated turn that it’s heartbreaking. Therese knows the assignment by heart, alternating between victim and resourceful heroine. And boy, can she scream.
Still, the number of times you’ll roll your eyes at Macy’s boneheaded decisions is high.
The third act features some out-of-left-field creative choices that add little to the chills. And some sequences don’t have the impact the creative team likely expected.
Still, this is raw horror at its most unrelenting, a chance to savor throwback genre moves without feeling guilty.
Best of all, Dolly’s mere presence is all the scares the film requires. Those twitching fingers and warped maternal instincts are pure nightmare fuel.
Now, imagine seeing Dolly again … and again.
Stick around through the credits to see if she’s ready for more.
HiT or Miss: “Dolly” isn’t for the squeamish or those who demand a measure of genre consistency. Everyone else will be dialed in from the jump.
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