Rod Blackhurst’s Dolly is a film I entered in with zero expectations, and left fairly impressed with not only the gnarly practical effects, but its swing for the rafters mentality. Channelling a north east coast Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dolly is the story of Maci (Fabianne Therese) who plans to spend the day on a hike with her boyfriend Chase (Seann William Scott – Stifler!!!), after dropping off his daughter. We start the film with Maci pondering what to do. She’s already found the ring Chase has with him, and she knows he’s going to propose – but she’s not sure she’s ready to be a stepmom. It’s during that fateful hike that they cross paths with Dolly, a woman who roams the woods and looks like an American Girl doll from hell, wearing a shattered porcelain doll mask, a red dress covered in blood and armed with her trusty shovel. She puts her shovel through Chase’s face making short work of him in a ghastly effects set piece and then takes Maci as her new dolly, which she dresses up and treats like an infant.
Will she survive? Is Chase really Dead? These are the simple questions at the heart of this brisk little slasher, that after a slow start gets up to speed and eventually delivers the gory goods.
Dolly is essentially a gender swapped Leatherface and that’s not a bad thing, with her lumbering stalk and menacing physical performance crafted by wrestler Max the Impaler, as a slasher, she definitely works. We also have the crazy rednecks thanks to Dolly’s family, only this time we’re in the dense lush green woods rather than the barren deserts of Texas as poor Maci begins her descent into madness. It’s an interesting take since after Dolly dispatches Chase, she takes the ring meant for her engagement and wears it proudly and that becomes a source of rage for Maci. Fabianne Therese goes straight for the jugular with her take, and while for the most part you’re with her, once in a while she stumbles. The film was just that, shot on film and because of that it really is able to tap into that grindhouse vibe, with a look and feel that could only come from celluloid.
The thing that for me personally won me over is what happens to Chase and how that plays out, infusing this Texas Chainsaw homage with some of the bizzaro humor from two and that really takes this film to some unexpected places. I also think Dolly works better with a crowd. I caught the film at Fantastic Fest, and I honestly couldn’t have wished for a better audience.
I’ve seen more than a few films trying to use the DNA of Texas Chainsaw and most fail miserably, even those that are proper sequels, reboots or whatever. But Dolly for the most part gets it right because of its sheer audacity. I think because of how it took its gimmick and just ran with it, along with a second act twist really elevated this nasty little slasher into something much more odd and interesting than I could have wished for. That being said, it’s one hell of a decent start to a story that no doubt will probably culminate in at least one or more sequels and why the hell not? Dolly is a garishly good little slasher that leans into nostalgia and its inspiration just enough, without getting lost in the sauce, which these throwbacks tend to fall victim to. Definitely check this out on the big screen if you can because Dolly is definitely a film that benefits from the shared theatrical experience and is one hell of a good time.
