DOLLY V EVE: HOMECOMING (REVIEW)

Dir. Dean Midas Maynard

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

Firstly, there is credit for any director to grab a camera and make a film, it's no easy feat and one that gives little to no financial reward for the effort put in. It's worth mentioning that before we review DOLLY V EVE: HOMECOMING because this is below a micro budget but what Dean Midas Maynard has crafted is a piece of art that him and all those involved can be proud of.

Unfortunately, for movie goers and fans of horror, DOLLY V EVE: HOMECOMING is a poorly constructed horror film that garners very little suspense or drama to make it worthy of the thirty minute run-time.

DOLLY V EVE: HOMECOMING is the fifth and final entry in the DOLLY series of shorts that brings together two of the series villains for an underwhelming confrontation. Those looking for a spiritual successor to FREDDY VS JASON, ALIEN V PREDATOR or even GODZILLA V KING KONG won't get their bloodlust here as neither slasher gives much of a fight in a few minutes of light punching. There's even a voice over saying "place your bets now" and all it needs is for Mr Banzai to pop up...

Where the film, and mostly the series, fail are not in their ambition but execution. Namely the performances are more amateur than a film should be and without too harsh a criticism, it's as if the film is a bunch of friends literally reading off a script, the characters delivery lacks emotion which really hampers any absorption into the piece that many micro budget films can lift above. The sound is often muffled in the case of Eve Valentine and Dolly wherin the voice over/dubbing is abstract to the voices on screen further taking audiences away from the film world that Maynard has created. To add into that that the main killer literally slaps people over the head with a shovel for the most part really does raise a chuckle rather than a wince.

The film injects far more humour than horror but whether this is intentional is a curious question and as such even loyal horror fans will find this hard to endure. That's not to say there is potential in Dean Midas Maynard and any voice in horror is an increase to the volume, it's just awkwardly bittersweet that this voice is muted.