For a long time, horror filmmakers have been obsessed with the motif of the creepy porcelain doll — so much so that it’s hard to breathe new life into the archetype. A no-frills survival horror picture, Dolly plays into these fears that are commonly exploited by the horror genre, but fails to add its own distinctive mark, resulting in a film that flounders despite its impressive craftsmanship.
Dolly Review
Dolly is adapted from the short film BABYGIRL, which follows a woman as she attempts to escape a deranged individual who wants to raise her as her own child. It’s the type of high-concept horror film that feels like it would come from a first-time filmmaker, but this is actually director Rod Blackhurst’s third narrative feature, on top of several documentaries.
Like so many films that are adapted from shorts, it’s clear that Blackhurst and co-writer Brandon Weavil are really struggling to stretch this concept to feature length. Dolly does have a compelling “monster,” which is the foundation of a great horror movie, but it is just that: a foundation. For a horror film to be successful, it must build upon a killer concept with things like story and character that make you actually care about what happens in the film. Otherwise, you get a demo reel.
You don’t just remember Halloween for Michael Myers or A Nightmare on Elm Street for Michael Myers and Freddy Kreuger; you also remember Laurie Strode and Nancy Thompson. Even Barbarian — the closest analog to Dolly, given its narrative structure and similar concept, even though Blackhurst’s short was released first — gave audiences two compelling leads despite its nonlinear structure.
Dolly does have a very good cast, led by Seann William Scott (American Pie), Ethan Suplee (Remember the Titans), Kate Cobb, and wrestler Max the Impaler. And credit where it’s due, the physicality of their performances — particularly Cobb and Max the Impaler — is impressive. However, the character motivations are so thin, shallow, and generic that the actors don’t really have any material to work with.
That being said, Dolly is rather impressive from a technical standpoint. The make-up and practical effects are impressive, with one specific effect being so gnarly that it will delight horror fans and maybe even be talked about for years. The costume design for the eponymous character is also strong, playing into the established grammar of “creepy doll” lore without resorting to bland stereotypes.
Cinematographer Justin Derry also deserves a lot of credit for the film’s success, with the 16mm cinematography being incredibly atmospheric. It’s clear that the film is an homage to grimy exploitation films like Texas Chain Saw that were also shot on a low budget in this format, so for hardcore fans of the films that it is referencing, this may be more endearing. However, unlike those films, Dolly is never able to create a convincing sense of scale. It never feels like more than a couple of people going into the woods with a camera, and it really suffers because of that.
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That being said, with a short 84-minute runtime, Dolly thankfully doesn’t overstay its welcome. Audiences aren’t likely to remember the film long after the credits roll, but there are enough thrills and gory moments that it’s hard to get bored by what transpires. If anything, you’d simply grow desensitized to the film, as its best moments come early.
Is Dolly worth watching?
However, in this day and age of horror, a simple exercise in genre techniques doesn’t really satisfy. Dolly has great effects and good cinematography, but they aren’t good enough to justify the film’s shallow and derivative story. It’s made to satisfy the lowest common denominator of horror, and while it does that, there’s no reason this shouldn’t have been more.
Dolly premiered at the 2025 edition of Fantastic Fest, which runs September 18-25 in Austin, TX.
