Review and Haiku: Dolly

Living human doll

Terrorizes a couple

Deep inside the woods

One of the big highlights. I enjoyed the fact that it felt like it was a combination of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Wrong Turn, the good Wrong Turn, the first one or the remake. Dug that aspect of Dolly.

Also dug the score. Added so much to this throwback vibe it was giving me and speaking of throwback vibe,16mm film made it look old school like something from the 70s or 80s. Another one of Dolly’s biggest highlights. 

And a third big highlight – Direction by Rod Blackhurst. He has to be given some praise. No lag or drag. No time wasted. Once it started. It kept rolling until the end – just two people hiking in the woods – running into a force of nature trying to survive. That’s it and that’s all you needed.

Minimal cast but they all did a great job in their roles. Fabianne Therese – good final girl – Sean William Scott – good in his role. Ethan Suplee – very terrifying in a very small role. 

Gore, not abundant but both of the leads took a beating and so did Dolly so among them there was some blood shed. Stiffler’s mouth was unhinged and open for a long time – that made me squirm – but not as much as the dinner scene. The nasty pot pie was bad, so was the binky, so was the diaper changer, but that baby bottle, about put me over the edge. Vile milky rotten liquid in that thing that she had to drink. I couldn’t crawl back in my seat far enough during that scene. Disgusting. 

And I don’t know if Dolly will be a household name like Art the Clown or Freddy or Jason those kinds of villains but she is a force and looks terrifying in that doll mask. Plus, she’s huge and tall and thick. Played by max the impaler – a pro wrestler. She was a great choice for this role. 

I have heard there are sequels planned. I wouldn’t mind seeing Dolly again, this time with more carnage, more blood shed, more dismemberments. Sign me up for a bloodier sequel.  

That’s it. Dolly is on Shudder as of 4/26/2026. Easy to find and watch. If you see it. Let me know your thoughts about it. 

Also, if you need a couple more good, at times great, survivalist movies. Dusted these two off after Dolly.

Bridge to Nowhere is a 1986 New Zealand horror/thriller film directed and co-written by Ian Mune,^[1] and produced by Larry Parr.^[2] It centres on a group of teenagers who must fight for survival after coming across a mysterious hermit while on a camping trip.^[2]

Better than expected and I was surprised by how into it I was. 

And this one.

Apex is a 2026 survival action thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur, written by Jeremy Robbins, and starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana. It tells the story of a rock climber in the wild who finds herself being hunted by a hunter as she works to survive. It was released on Netflix on April 24, 2026.

It was another one much better than I thought it would be. Some by the numbers stuff but the rock climbing and rafting are edge of your seat thrills and the chase scenes are too. When I see Netflix attached, I am always cautious, they’ve put out some stinkers, but this one was good. Charlize Theron did a lot of her own rock climbing stunts – adds to the tension.  

Video Review of Dolly.

Dolly: Movie Review and Haiku
https://youtu.be/EdI-uG6bMbA