Dripping with Lynchian style, The Dollmaker (Encantador; Argentina, 2025) is part charming, funny, decidedly weird and enjoyably bloody. Things are not all they seem to be in a cheerfully idyllic town that soon becomes a hotbed of female kidnappings. No one seems to care much about the missing women including nerdy video store clerk and amateur dollmaker Tomás (Rodrigo Noya.) But when a new inspector comes to town determined to find the solve the disappearance, Tomás soon becomes the unlikely prime suspect. A horror film which becomes increasingly dark, and gruesome, and unpredictable.
Cinephobia Releasing is proud to announce the North American release of director Jose Maria Cicala‘s (Shadow of the Cat, Sola) latest feature The Dollmaker on VOD, digital on August 25.
”The Dollmaker is creepy, bloody and surreal…and I loved every minute of it”, said Ray Murray, President of Cinephobia Releasing. “Cinephobia Releasing is excited to bring this original film to the art and genre audiences.”
An unnerving combination of the weird and macabre, The Dollmaker takes place in a quiet village and follows a charming young man, who leads a simple life: caring for his mother, working at the video store and collecting dolls. As women start disappearing, newly arrived Inspector Porter investigates, and focusing on the Dollmaker as his prime suspect.
The Dollmaker stars Rodrigo Noya, Alejo Garcia Pintos, Arturo Puig, Griselda Sanchez, Mario Alarcon, Alejandra Baldoni, Guillermo Zapata, Eduardo Calvo, Santiago Dominguez, and Silvia Petri. Written by Jose Maria Cicala and Griselda Sanchez, the film was produced by Abril Cicala with Shock House Films serving as the production company.
The Dollmaker received its US premiere at Screamfest in Los Angeles where Rodrigo Noya won the award for Best Actor.