DOLLY
Starring: Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott, and Max the Impaler
Director: Rod Blackhurst
This film has been reviewed by Nick and Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of Fantastic Fest 2025.
QUENTIN
While I appreciate the homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, both in general story and 70s aesthetic, Dolly ultimately falters because there is little in the way of character development. There is plenty of violence and blood, including one especially gnarly kill, but the story is nothing more than paper-thin final girl trying to survive a murderous psychopath. That’s not to say there isn’t some fun to be had, but the unrelenting moments of gore, modest thrills, and doll-driven creep factor can’t make up for the complete lack of actual plot.
NICK
As far as its unsettling imagery, gnarly moments, and a creepy villain, Dolly is great. Unfortunately, you need to build an enticing plot around those aspects, and writer/director Rod Blackhurst never really does. There’s a premise, sure, but there’s only about enough story here for a short film, and this thing runs over 80 minutes. Also, as creepy as the atmosphere and 70s aesthetic of the film can be, the film isn’t particularly scary, which is something you’d want with this kind of “monster movie.” There’s scenes in Dolly that will stick with me, but the film as a whole is fairly forgettable.