Title – Dolly (2025)

Director – Rod Blackhurst (Blood for Dust)

Cast – Fabianne Therese, Sean William Scott, Ethan Suplee, Max the Impaler

Plot – Macy (Therese) and Chase (Scott) find their relaxing nature hike interrupted by the appearance of Dolly (Max the Impaler) who wants to make Macy her own her own child to raise and tend to.

“Mommy knows best”

Review by Eddie on 12/03/2026

A feature length adaptation of director Rod Blackhurst’s 2022 short film Babygirl, Dolly is a 16mm video nasty/grindhouse like slasher that makes no apologies for what it is and while it’s likely to frustrate and turn off as many viewers as it entertains, there’s no doubting that Blackhurst and his casts commitment to the cause ensures this latest Shudder release is going to become a cult favourite.

Shot in and around the Chattanooga area of Tennessee, Dolly absolutely feels as though it has come straight from the 70’s and 80’s of prime video nasties, as the quiet trip of Fabianne Therese’s Macy and her boyfriend Chase (a game Sean William Scott) is interrupted deep in the secluded woods by the appearance of Max the Impaler’s titular Dolly, with Blackhurst’s admiration for genre granddaddies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween on show in his efforts here.

Broken into a series of chapters that take place over the course of roughly 80 minutes of screentime, to say that the foundation of Dolly is simplistic and barebones is an understatement and for those seeking out their horror layered with intelligence, metaphors or social commentary it’s likely Dolly will be a chore to sit through but for anyone wanting a simplistic, bloody and grisly offering, Blackhurst’s feature will do the trick, if you can bypass the many instances of questionable character decisions and plot devices.

With much of the film falling onto the shoulders of Therese’s Macy, with Macy getting most of the films minimal dialogue as well as the masked performance of Max the Impaler, who mostly grunts and finger ticks, it’s hard to argue against the fact that Macy grows to become a frustratingly inept central figure who more often than not fails the most basic of tests to act in a plausible or realistic way in an anything but normal situation.

Whether it’s failings to read the room, inaction to get the upper hand on her doting but violent captor or strange reactions to horrific situations, there’s nothing overtly wrong about Therese’s performance, but Blackhurst often leaves his leading lady without a leg to stand on and for anyone that is unable to get over Macy’s failings, Dolly will likely be too much to endure, even if they were going to be treated to some of the year’s most disgusting and memorably macabre moments.

Elsewhere in the film it feels as though notable performers in Scott and a near unrecognisable Ethan Suplee are underutilised, even if their small roles here make a mark in against type performances that reminds you of their talents that were highly visible in the early 2000’s in a string of notable roles.

A film that is designed by its very nature to be divisive and for a very particular set of viewers/genre fans, Dolly is far removed from a mainstream horror offering and is floored in both premise and execution but there’s also grisly delights on offer here with Blackhurst doing enough to suggest that one day a very notable work is within his grasp should the stars align.

Final Say –

Calling to mind elements of many a classic 70’s and 80’s video nasty, Dolly is rough around the edges and full of untapped potential but there’s also gruesome glory to be found here, making this Shudder offering a cult classic in waiting.

3 fresh bottles of milk out of 5