Hailing from Northern California, Heidi Moore has wanted to direct movies for much of her life. She started Wretched Productions as a way to get her films off the ground, as well as help fellow artists. In 2012, she directed a short called Mommy, initially intended as a segment for The ABCs of Death. That same year, she made the short film, Boyfriend: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Wo-man Scorned. In addition to being a director, Moore was also a mother of two sons named Lawrence and Justin. For her first feature film, she took inspiration from the torment she saw her son Justin go through at school. Moore got her movie off the ground with some bribery and a few favors, but mainly through hard work. At some point, Troma acquired the distribution rights and released Dolly Dearest in August 2016.
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Rating
Synopsis
After witnessing his mother’s death as an infant, Benji (Justin Moore) has to live with his grandma Mitzi (Kimberly West-Carroll). She and her slob of a boyfriend, Donald (Jay Sosnicki), constantly mock Benji for playing with dolls. Even the neighborhood kids, Crystal (Paloma Couoh) and Kenny (Lawrence Moore) hassle him for his doll obsession. In his solitude, Benji retreats into dreams of his mother, Tina Lyn (Dana Nelson), reminding him that she loves him. At one point, Benji leaves home and runs into Rock Bottom (Donny Gonzalez), who shares some bizarre stand-up comedy. He also meets a homeless guy (Christopher Calvano) who says, “Do unto others as they would do unto you!” This inspires Benji to no longer take the abuse and kill everyone who mocked and tortured him. Benji is no longer a neglected child but instead is now Dolly Deadly!
Review
Going into Dolly Deadly, I expected it to be some run-of-the-mill generic slasher film about a creepy doll. However, what I got instead was a fascinating character study of a mentally scarred kid pushed to his limit. It brings to mind similar movies like Sleepaway Camp or Silent Night Deadly Night, where the killer is almost sympathetic. You may disagree with them killing people, but you can understand what drove them to this point. Like the controversial Christmas slasher, this one deals with a character’s identity crisis, with the killer embracing who’ve they become. The cast does a phenomenal job, even the kid actors, which is rare even in big-budget movies. Even if it is nepotism, Justin Moore does a fantastic job of playing a kid who just needed some love. He’s excellent at being sympathetic and terrifying, and I’m excited to see what else he does.
Kimberly West-Carroll and Jay Sosnicki do a great job playing such hateable characters that it makes their deaths more satisfying. The death scenes are creatively gruesome, and the practical effects are top-notch, given the low budget. While the film mostly has an intentionally flat look, some dark sequences utilize brightly-colored lighting, adding a surreal, dreamlike quality. It reminds me of the colors used in Creepshow to give that film its comic-book look. If I had any complaints, I’d say that a few scenes, particularly with Donny Gonzalez, feel out of place. Even at less than 90 minutes, parts of the movie feel padded, and it takes a while to get going. But despite its flaws, this is still an impressively horrific yet heartfelt character study/slasher film that exceeded my expectations. Overall, Dolly Deadly is worth checking out if you want something twisted yet deep.
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