Fantastic Fest 2025 Review: Dolly

Fabianne Therese stars in Rod Blackhurst’s brutal grindhouse slasher Dolly, which premiered at Fantastic Fest 2025.

Rod Blackhurst’s Dolly drops Sean William Scott into pure grindhouse territory, and to call it uncomfortable would be an understatement. Drawing from the American slasher tradition, the film wears its influences on its sleeve — nods to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses, and other grindhouse staples are clear. Yet within that lineage, Dolly attempts to carve out its own identity through sheer brutality.

The story follows a young couple (Seann Williams Scott and Fabianne whose carefree outing turns nightmarish when they cross paths with Dolly, a towering masked figure played by professional wrestler Max the Impaler. Behind a porcelain doll mask, Dolly is an unstoppable force of violence, and the film wastes no time plunging the audience into a relentless chase drenched in gore.

Where the film excels is in its unflinching violence and commitment to midnight-movie energy. The kills are brutal, the gore is plentiful, and the tension rarely lets up. Scott, playing far against type, grounds the chaos as one of Dolly’s unlucky victims.

But while Dolly entertains as a popcorn shocker, it struggles to establish a distinct voice. The film’s reliance on familiar grindhouse tropes makes it feel more like a collage of past influences than a step forward for the genre. Dolly as a character is memorable in presence, but not yet iconic — too much a mixture of other killers rather than something entirely new.

For fans of blood, guts, and relentless pacing, Dolly delivers exactly what it promises. But its lack of originality keeps it from becoming more than another homage. The question isn’t whether Dolly can shock — it’s whether Dolly can last.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)

Unapologetically gory and relentless, Dolly entertains in the moment but struggles to carve out its own identity in a genre already crowded with killers.

Director: Rod Blackhurst

Writer: Rod Blackhurst, Brandon Weavil

Cast: Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott, Ethan Suplee, Max the Impaler