Dolly Review: A twisted, heart-racing take on motherhood
Not many horror movie trailers, or even the movies themselves, have truly spooked me recently. However, Dolly really stood out for me with its more backwoods, grainy vibe that, in a sense, reminded me of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn films. I was genuinely a little scared to watch this one, but did the film hold up to my expectations for it? That's what I will be discussing in today's Reel Ranker review.
As always, I'll start with the negatives so I can save the best for last. And honestly, this film had a lot fewer weaknesses than I expected! This was an incredibly competent film! The only real negative I had was that the couple of flashback scenes we got didn't really add much clarity to the present or to the film in general, and could've probably been cut out. In addition, while this is simply a personal preference, I'm typically biased toward movies with richer themes and more complex plotlines, so this movie by default wasn't going to win me over as much as lovers of straightforward slashers or doll movies in general.
The only other minor thing I can think of is how annoying it was that the main character injured Dolly so many times without checking to make sure she was actually dead. Her fiancé literally could have survived if she had made even slightly better choices and just beaten Dolly to a pulp and then checked her pulse... Then again, this kind of suspension of disbelief is overly common in the genre and is what makes many horrors work in the first place. However, I still just love a good film that can break past that trope, and this is not one of them. Regardless, all of those aspects are significantly outshone by the good, and aren't even anything much worse than standard horror problems anyway.
I love how Dolly's title didn't really refer to the "creature" as I had expected, but instead to the creature's obsession with wanting a child of her own. Every element of this "mother-daughter bond" that comes into play is horrifyingly demented and truly effective in the film. Typically beautiful aspects of motherhood, such as rocking a baby, breastfeeding, or making breakfast for your children, are used to perfection to provide scares that go beyond jump scares or gore, which is always a major plus for any film that can pull it off. However, the gore is still incredible in this film (especially when relating to the fiancé character), and it doesn't look cheap at all!
The cinematography also looks fantastic, and I loved that this was another one of those grainy, gritty films that don't just go with the best-looking lens, but the one that best fits the film's vibes, hearkening back to the visuals in Texas Chainsaw in the best way. This film truly feels like a modern-day spiritual successor to that original film, and I have to admit, this one scared me more. As demented as psycho cannibal inbreeds may be, as somebody who can't wait to be a dad and support the love of my life through her motherhood, this is the type of crap that gets to me and really gets me spooked. The pacing here is also stellar, even taking into account the drawn-out death of the killer. Being less than 90 minutes almost seems to be a lost art these days, and this film utilized its brevity to create a rollercoaster ride that takes you on a high-octane, demented-as-hell-itself journey from beginning to end.
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 74%
Letter Score: A-
Star Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
While Dolly doesn't break new narrative ground for horror or possess any deep or new themes, its twisted take on motherhood will grab you by the throat and whip you around from beginning to end with its tight pacing and demented backwoods spookiness.
Check out all of my horror reviews below! There's a lot of fun ones, including new hits like Ready or Not 2 and They Will Kill You!
Brighton Nelson
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