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Film: The Dollmaker (Encantador)
Year: 2025
Director: José María Cicala
Writers: José María Cicala and Griselda Sanchez
Starring: Eduardo Calvo, Alejandra Baldoni and Mario Alarcón
Review:
Now this was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Scott Motisko. This is coming to VOD and when I saw that it was a horror film, that was enough to request the screener. To add to it, this is a film from Argentina, so I like to not only check out independent horror films, but ones from other countries. Now this did hit festivals in 2025, but will be considered for my 2026 end of year list due to wide release.
Synopsis: in a quiet village, a charming young man leads a simple life: caring for his mother, working at the video store and town clinic, and collecting dolls. As women start disappearing, a newly arrived inspector investigates.
The first thing to point out would be the opening credits which were cool. They are alluding to things that we’ll see and it feels like stop-motion, which I’m a fan of. We then shift over to the video store in town. We see a young woman leaving and walking home. This takes her out of town. She is near a cornfield when she’s attacked by someone with a shovel. She’s taken. In the attack, she dropped her tape which Tina (Griselda Sanchez) picks up. She takes it with her, dropping in the trash outside of the store.
I’ll then introduce her first. She works at a local diner that seems to be playing music and dancing at night. She has a daughter. Her best friend is also here, Robert (Guillermo Zapata). We see Tina go to a therapy session at the local clinic, because she has this ability where she sees her deceased relatives. She’s hoping to find a way to be cured of this. The doctor who runs this is Dr. Palacios (Arturo Puig). The person who helps get set up is Tomás (Rodrigo Noya).
Now Tomás is an interesting character. He also works at the video store. We see him as he goes home to his mother (Alejandra Baldoni) who is bedridden. Upon arriving he sees that she’s watching the tape of his fifth birthday. His mother encourages him to find a girlfriend, but he needs to find the right one.
Let’s then look at this new inspector, Porter (Alejo García Pintos). He goes out with Marcos (Santiago Domínguez) who is bumbling. When word of the woman who just disappeared gets to Porter, he wants to look into it. By doing so, he learns that she’s not the first. There are three missing women so he starts to look into it. The chief of police, Sánchez (Mario Alarcón) wants him to stop, thinking it is nothing.
Now this small town has secrets. The man who runs the video store has a room in the back with a padlock on it. When Porter realizes this, he seeks out a warrant to see what is behind it. We see that two of the kidnapped women are still alive, being held and tortured somewhere. Something we saw about Tomás was him finding a doll’s head in the trash that he took home. He has a large collection of toys like this. Also, through therapy he seeks out Tina who is interested in him. Things then become revealed and the truths will come to light, turning everything into a nightmare.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. What I want to say is that this is a creepy little film. It does wear its inspirations on its sleeves. This is borrowing quite heavily from Psycho and Maniac with things that we’re seeing. It also has a whole sequence lifted directly from The Shining. This does make it slightly problematic, because it makes me want to watch these other films since this movie doesn’t present the material as strongly. That’s where I’ll leave the comparisons though.
What I will say is that this is an interesting character study of Tomás. He experienced a traumatic event that happened when he was a boy. He’s never truly got over it. Something that we’ll also learn later when he’s talking to his mother is this odd condition where he sees certain people as dolls. Now I’m guessing part of that is what he went through and what he’s been doing in the years since then. Tomás needs help, but no one truly knows that due to his isolation. He’s not innocent though, so I will say that.
Sticking with this character as well, he has an odd interest. He collects dolls. Now there’s nothing wrong with it, but I will say that there is something traumatic that happened around his fifth birthday. He’s almost locked into that mindset. Coupling that with his odd psychosis where he sees some people as dolls. There’s more to this that I don’t want to spoil. Tomás does collect parts, even if the doll is in bad shape just in case of needing repairs. This is an interesting reveal for something that we figure out as events play out as well.
Where I’ll then go would be where this is set. It is a small town. Most everyone knows each other. In reality, it is a bit bigger than that, I just think with this having a smaller budget, they’re reusing characters. Clearly, Tina didn’t know Tomás until she went to therapy. There are the police officers. Sánchez doesn’t want Porter to look into the crimes. The reason there makes sense. Marcos is bumbling. He does whatever the chief tells him to. With how things play out here, it makes sense why the women are disappearing and nothing is coming from it. That is scary.
Then other themes that are explored would be like illusion vs. reality. Tomás is dissociating in different ways there. This leads to him not properly dealing with grief. He obsesses on dolls and we even use that he’s ‘making’ them through the parts. This does provide him with control he’s missing from his life. There is definitely presenting ideas through surrealism. I’ll then also bring back up the small-town apathy as well as institutional incompetence.
Now I did have a slight issue before moving away from the story. Tina has a weird experience with Tomás. She then chalks it up as nothing and then Robert goes missing. Part of this could be that Tomás looks harmless. There’s also that surreal element. I don’t fully buy that she’d go back over to his house, especially with her daughter and leaving her alone with him. It just feels a bit convenient at times.
That should be enough for the story so over to the acting performances. Noya is solid as Tomás. He has an interesting look about him that makes him seem harmless. It is disarming and works. Sanchez is attractive as Tina. She also is a bit misguiding due to her plight. She does fall victim to Tomás’ odd charm. Baldoni works as Tomás’ mother. Alarcón is interesting as this figure that is looming and challenging Porter. Pintos, Domínguez, Zapata and the rest of the cast round this out for what was needed. Special credit to Puig, who takes on 3 characters who are actually triplets.
Regarding the filmmaking aspects, the cinematography and framing effectively capture the small town's grimy, 1970s-throwback atmosphere. The practical effects give credit as well due to successfully concealing their seams. However, the explicit sexual assault feels included merely for shock value. The surreal elements, such as recreating the bathroom scene from The Shining, were intriguing. The remaining sound design and music simply serve their purpose.
In conclusion, this is a creepy and atmospheric Argentinian horror film that functions as an intriguing, surreal character study of the traumatized Tomás. While its heavy borrowing from classics like Psycho, Maniac, and The Shining can sometimes overshadow its original elements, the film's grimy 1970s throwback aesthetic, solid practical effects, and strong performances—particularly Noya's disarming portrayal of Tomás and Puig's impressive triple role—make it a flawed but worthwhile entry for independent horror enthusiasts.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10