By Mark Young
The Dollmaker represents a first for me; it is my first experience with Argentinian horror, and certainly my first exposure to director José María Cicala. I appreciate that the first order of business for any distributor is to paint it up with all kinds of descriptions, and growing up these would normally take the form of the most extreme promises that would often be better than the film itself.
So when you read that it’s based in a ‘Cheerfully idyllic town’ – this means there is a secret. Throw in a ‘hotbed of female kidnappings’ – and you look to the central character almost straight away; you are going in with an idea already formed, and I think that is dangerous as it could negatively affect your experience. Especially when it is a decently put together piece of work. Early on, we are introduced to the fact that Tomás is suffering mentally, with blood-soaked visions, which points to him being that focal point of all things odd that are happening or are likely to happen in this village, and yet early sequences show that others have similar visions, almost as a deliberate method to throw off the audience. It’s almost like the narrative that they had in mind was maybe too pedestrian, but it works from the view of trying to muddy up the view. It deliberately wants you to question what is real in this, especially from Tomás’s view.
And his view is of the outside looking in, an outsider whose rage is triggered in an instant. Rodrigo Noya as Tomás is excellent in portraying this, running from the happy son to a manic rage and back without overplaying it. Initially, the violence is hinted at, with brief graphic moments in the first half that is more concerned with Tomás’s unravelling state.
What this does mean is that you have to set yourself up accordingly and recognise that this isn’t a gore-fest with explosive kills that occur every five minutes. It wants to get under your skin in a way so that when we do enter the dungeon, those fleeting moments of violence hit hard. It loses its way slightly towards the end, the expected reveal from which you think should trigger a climactic ending. It doesn’t; instead, it continues along, trying to pull the loose threads together in an effort to wrap everything up and, in doing so, leaves you with a finish that avoids any real resolution. Still, it is worth your time if you are looking for something that is parked outside of the genre norms, and I think is one of those films that you can come back to.
The Dollmaker will be available for digital download from the 25th of August.
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