‘Dolly’ Movie Review [Fantastic Fest 2025]: A Doll-Faced Killer Forgets to Be Scary

Photo from Fantastic Fest

From Jeff Nelson

Dolly is a throwback to 1970s horror, particularly The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but with all of the exploitative bloodshed intact that Tobe Hooper masterfully evaded, allowing our minds to fill in the blanks. Unfortunately, this lacks the suspense and fear that should accompany the carnage. 

The charming Chase (Seann William Scott) takes his girlfriend, Rachel (Kate Cobb), to the woods for a scenic proposal, even though she’s hesitant to commit to marriage. Their romantic trip crumbles when they come across the ghastly scene of a collection of disturbing dolls hanging from the trees in true Blair Witch Project style. When an eerie tune interrupts Chase’s proposal, he tracks the sound to a porcelain doll-masked killer called Dolly (Max the Impaler). Their idyllic day turns into a fight for survival, where Chase receives some of the harshest treatment. 

Told over the course of a nonsensical seven chapters, Dolly’s title cards foreshadow the plot beats to come. Dolly is determined to make Rachel her child, forcing her to play the role to survive. As more of the macabre house of horrors opens up to her, she’s confronted with a grotesque test of endurance. How long can she keep playing this role before she fights back? Writer-director Rob Blackhurst has a filthy playbox of gross-out gags beyond the bloodshed, although Chase’s few moments will likely earn most of the chatter. 

The film leans too heavily on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, trying to recreate some of its most iconic moments. While the doll aesthetic is unnerving, Dolly herself isn’t scary. The static porcelain mask limits Max the Impaler’s ability to perform, although they do bring an exaggerated physicality to the part. Opting for a shovel as the primary weapon, the killer doesn’t have a purpose, a backstory, or a motivation to grasp onto. They’re matched against Cobb, who adopts the role’s physicality. 

Shot on film, Dolly absolutely nails the grisly, gritty look it’s going for. It aesthetically fits right alongside the scrappy slashers of the ‘70s, along with gnarly special effects that create a couple of stomach-churning moments. Blackhurst leaves some of the non-gory grossness to the imagination, dipping into exploitation without going too far.

The style and sporadic grotesqueness aren’t enough to save Dolly from being a nothingburger of a slasher. It isn’t scary or thrilling, and the small body count makes the lack of suspense particularly glaring. All art has its inspirations, but it shouldn’t feel like an imitation without perspective, and that’s where Blackhurst falls short. There isn’t anything about the killer or the butchery that makes this stand out from countless other mask-wearing villains.

Rating: 1.5/5

Dolly played at Fantastic Fest 2025 on September 21.

Follow Jeff