Dolly (2026)
All She Wants is a Baby
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Dolly is a throwback to gritty ’70s style horror. It’s a meanspirited and twisted story about an ill-fated couple who have the misfortune of encountering a bizarre backwoods monster.
Macy (Fabienne Therese) is taking what is supposed to be a romantic hike with her boyfriend Chase (Sean William Scott). Chase plans to propose during their nature walk, but Macy harbors private doubts about their relationship.
I was surprised to see Scott, best known for playing Stifler in the American Pie comedy series, in a horror film. He and Therese don’t have much onscreen chemistry. Maybe this was on purpose but their relationship, and the tragedy that ensues, would have increased emotional resonance if they were more believable as a couple.
Chase heads off on his own for a brief period and encounters a mysterious figure wearing a red outfit and a creepy battered doll mask. Most people would hightail it out of there, but Chase tries to have a conversation with the person for some reason. This predictably does not turn out well for him.
Macy searches for her boyfriend and encounters the monster, who kidnaps her and takes her to a ramshackle cabin in the woods. Dolly, whose gender identity is unclear, is played by nonbinary professional wrestler Max the Impaler. Dolly is consistently referred to as “she” in the film, so that’s what I’m going to use in this review.
Dolly intends to make Macy her child (or perhaps a doll that she wants to pretend is a baby), and she becomes extremely upset whenever Macy resists her attempts to “take care” of her. This leads to multiple grotesque stomach churning sequences that will put off many viewers. That’s fine.
Director Rod Blackhurst wanted to emulate the grainy nastiness of retro grindhouse flicks. He chose to shoot this film in 16 mm to imitate the look of ’70s classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
In fact, Dolly bears more than a passing resemblance to TCM‘s Leatherface. Both characters are hulking monsters who make lots of noises but don’t speak intelligibly. Both have childlike emotional states and appear to be victims of extreme trauma and abuse. And both are extremely dangerous when they are upset, although Dolly prefers to use a shovel instead of a chainsaw.
Dolly is an intriguing villain that I wouldn’t mind seeing in more movies. What this film lacks, however, is interesting protagonists. Macy is a rather bland character who makes annoyingly stupid mistakes. Chase isn’t compelling, either. This movie needed victims that were worth caring about.
Most of the effort in Dolly was clearly expended on making a memorable antagonist. It accomplishes this, but the best horror films have both great protagonists and great villains, like Laurie and Michael in Halloween. This movie has only half the equation.
Rating
At just 83 minutes, Dolly is a fast-paced gory journey that’s worth watching for fans of gritty backwoods retro horror. A sequel with a better final girl could be great.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 7
Dolly streaming:
