Dolly

 

Dolly
Starring Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott, Ethan Suplee, Max the Impaler
Directed by Rod Blackhurst

In the Xochimilco canals of Mexico City is a famous, creepy doll graveyard of sorts - decaying mutilated dolls hanging from trees by the thousands, and it's a popular tourist spot. When I first saw the trailer for "Dolly," I was hoping it'd be a movie set in that location, but that hope was soon dashed when I saw the main villain and the backwoodsy setting, I didn't have high expectations. While it still delivered a decent story with great practical effects, it's nothing worth writing home about - but since it was done on a micro-budget and was an original idea, I have mad respect for it getting made. 

While on a trip to a secluded wooded mountain for a relaxing hike, couple Macy (Fabianne Therese) and Chase (Seann William Scott) come into contact with a lot of porcelain dolls hiding out in the middle of the woods. That's creepy enough, but then they run into Dolly (Max the Impaler), a mute, powerful woman who subdues Chase and takes Macy back to her home to raise as her own daughter.

There's several obvious parallels to the iconic Tobe Hooper-directed "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (most obviously a sign in the woods that points to "Hooper Mines" which is an obvious nod to Hooper himself), one of which is using grainy 16mm camerawork to give a surreal, almost gritty found footage-style feel. They both also feature a mute brute with horrible family ties that are both equally terrifying and sympathetic.

The movie is based on a short film by Rod Blackhurst, who expanded his story into an 83-minute feature. Sometimes it works out, but with "Dolly," the shorter film is probably better. There's a lot of moments where the movie drags, and where Blackhurst obviously was running out of ideas for things for Macy to do. It's still an admirable effort, but in the end the bells and whistles of the filming style and gore can only go so far, and the story itself is dragged out far too long.

 Here, Dolly is played by NWA wrestler Max the Impaler, and she is one fierce woman. Standing nearly six feet tall and weighing over 240 pounds of pure muscle, Dolly is a force to be reckoned with. Yet all she wants is to be a mother, and chooses Macy to be her child. Since she was never raised right, she doesn't fully know how to be a mother, which leads to more punishments than praises, and Macy undergoes a string of horrifying moments (none more gross than when Dolly tries to "feed" her in the...most natural way). The porcelain mask is a great touch, though, and really adds to the creepiness of the movie.

Fabianne Therese plays Macy, who is essentially the opposite of Dolly. She's dating Chase who has a daughter of his own, but she doesn't have any desire to be a mother, unlike Dolly. She's young and petite while Dolly is older and more weighty. Macy had a family who loved her, and Dolly is more than likely a product of incest. The two are polar opposites, but Macy is much less entertaining, especially when she's Dolly's captive. She does every trope in the book (from insulting the villain that gives Dolly enough time to fight back, to going back to the scene of the crime, to not listening to simple instructions that could've saved her some torture, and so on) that makes her an unlikable protagonist, especially considering Dolly coming off as sympathetic due to her own upbringing. 

The gore in the movie is extensive, but also lackluster. The first strike is gruesome and violent, but there's only one other really gory moment in the movie, probably due to budget restraints. Still, for a movie that drags on, you want to see more blood and carnage, and that's sadly missing here.

Coming off as a mixed bag, "Dolly" is probably better in its original iteration as a short film, as this one elongates a short story and adds in numerous scenes that feel haphazardly done, with a lackluster lead but a killer antagonist. 

The Score: C