Max the Impaler's Dolly pushing a shovel down into someone in Dolly
For a long time, the slasher genre felt split right down the middle between underwhelming remakes of classics and attempts to deliver the next Scream with a mix of self-aware whodunnit thrills and brutal kills.
More recently, filmmakers are instead going back to basics to deliver straightforward efforts, resulting in everything from the viral sensation Terrifier franchise to Ti West's grindhouse throwback X and Friday the 13th spin, In a Violent Nature. Now, Rod Blackhurst is looking to get in on this trend with Dolly, which can never get past its interesting start to deliver something fun or fresh. Much like Damien Leone before him, the Emmy nominee is aiming for something so over the top, and in many ways succeeds in doing so. But with few attempts to have a humorous self-awareness, or even a consistent style to the proceedings, it never quite reaches the heights of its genre counterparts. Dolly Starts Curiously & Quickly Devolves Into Dull Tropes Based on Blackhurst and Brandon Weavil's short film Babygirl, Dolly opens on Macy and Chase, a young woman and her single father boyfriend who are planning a camping trip for just the two of them to a Tennessee forest. The pair both have very different nerves about the trip, with Chase planning to propose to her on a gorgeous cliffside, which Macy is expecting and is concerned about her ability to be a worthy wife and stepmom. Just as the big moment is about to occur, the pair find themselves the target of Dolly, a large figure looming in the woods, donning a porcelain doll mask to hide her disfigured face. When Macy is taken and Chase is left for dead, the former is in a fight for survival as she tries to escape Dolly's house before she becomes her next destroyed toy. Blackhurst, the Emmy-nominated director of Netflix's Amanda Knox documentary and co-creator of the Blumhouse flop Night Swim, very clearly has an affinity for the grindhouse genre of both new and old. Shooting the film on 16mm, the slasher thriller has a look evoking fond memories of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse duology, as well as Rob Zombie's Firefly trilogy. Making the leap from a short to a feature-length story is certainly no easy task, and Blackhurst and Weavil do a few engaging things with the longer material. But even beyond being a nice throwback to the genre's past, Blackhurst showcases a unique mix of directorial style choices in Dolly's first half that keep the film feeling visually impactful, up until the second half begins. From old-school editing techniques, particularly the use of iris transitions for both Macy's first and last days in the titular killer's house, to such modernized elements as in-camera CGI elements, the movie starts to lack the same sense of style. More troublesome is just how thinly written Dolly's script is. Making the leap from a short to a feature-length story is certainly no easy task, and Blackhurst and Weavil do a few engaging things with the longer material. The film offers teases of Dolly's twisted backstory, and gives a capable heroine who nicely lives up to the legacies of Laurie Strode, Sidney Prescott and every other final girl. But as the plot shifts to largely focusing on Macy's efforts to escape, and Dolly's subsequent torment of her, not only does it start to run in circles, but also can't effectively dig deeper into either of its central characters. The eponymous villain has inklings of being a sympathetic one with a simple desire to be a mother, which almost plays nicely against Macy's doubts of becoming one to Chase's daughter. This attempt at something deeper is apparent from the way Blackhurst and Weavil try to break Dolly down into multiple chapters, each named for the underlying concept of the segments. But they ultimately prove ridiculous and counterproductive to these goals when they change almost every 10 minutes, preventing any from actually getting the breathing room they need. And yet, for all the thematic material lingering under the surface, Blackhurst is instead willing to let Dolly be all about the blood, guts and sadistic violence expected of the genre, but without any of the fun. That's not to say none of the kills in the film are entertaining, as the brutal practical effects land the bloody punch the director's aiming for. Other setpieces, though, are so grim and lacking in the same over-the-top humor of others that the tone skews in the wrong direction. The one other thing that somewhat keeps Dolly afloat through its 82-minute runtime is its cast, particularly Fabianne Therese as Macy and former NWA champion Max the Impaler as the titular killer. Therese, a woefully underrated genre vet going back to John Dies at the End and Starry Eyes, does a remarkable job of balancing her character's genuine fear of her situation with an impressive survival instinct. Subscribe to the newsletter for sharper horror takes and more Dive deeper by subscribing to the newsletter: nuanced reviews and context on slasher films — from practical effects breakdowns to thematic analysis — plus broader genre and filmmaking coverage to help you assess what works in modern horror. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Max the Impaler, making their acting debut as Dolly, similarly finds an appropriately nuanced way of portraying the killer rather than simply physical or twisted. The moments of Dolly's fears and protectiveness over Macy are just as impactful as when she's tormenting the heroine, all of which they gracefully depict without ever having to utter a word. For all of its missteps, calling Dolly an outright bad movie still doesn't quite prove an accurate descriptor for Blackhurst's slasher thriller. It's got a solid cast of performers, occasionally stylish direction, and some shocking brutality, but can never quite find the right rhythm to bring it all together. Should the sequel teased in the movie's credits indeed come to fruition, there are just enough elements from this to pull from to make for a much better follow-up. 4/10 Dolly Like Follow Followed R Horror Release Date March 6, 2026 Runtime 84 minutes Director Rod Blackhurst Writers Rod Blackhurst, Brandon Weavil Producers Betty Tong, Bryce McGuire, Esteban Sánchez, Isaiah Smallman, Joseph C. Grano, Noah Lang, Rod Blackhurst, Ross O'Connor Cast A young woman is abducted by a monstrous figure intent on raising her as its own child.
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