The Horror Of Dolores Roach review: A bloody good cannibal dramedy

The Horror Of Dolores Roach, Prime Video’s gory, gripping dramedy that releases in its entirety on July 7, is a contemporary gothic tale that winks at its original inspiration, Sweeney Todd. The show doesn’t reinvent that penny-dreadful classic, exactly, but rather gives it a modern-day makeover to amusing results. Here, the right combo of love, betrayal, murder, and cannibalism gets emulsified with commentary on mass incarceration, gentrification, and classism. It’s a chaotic task to juggle all of that over the course of eight under-30-minute episodes. Yet The Horror Of Dolores Roach pulls it off, presenting a darkly comedic and horrifying character study in the process.

The series, first and foremost, is an effectual portrait of Dolores Roach (played by an irresistible Justina Machado). Everything around her—friends, lovers, victims, locations—adds value, but the script lives up to its title. Dolores’ ambition and struggle to endure leads her down an improbable path. Is she a victim of her tragic circumstances? Can she be blamed for her unbridled anger stemming from deception? Did she really need to commit multiple crimes to survive? THODR raises potent questions about its lead, painting her with empathy and vulnerability but making it crystal clear that she’s still a villain. At one point, she exclaims, “I’m a monster. Worse, I’m real.” And she’s right because, you know, Dolores Roach is an impulsive serial killer.

Considering how quickly THODR sets up this premise, we’re hoping that reveal isn’t a spoiler. Besides, the show is based on Gimlet’s popular podcast of the same name (which was adapted from series creator Aaron Mark’s one-act play, Empanada Loca). The show flourishes with a well-established narrative, with influences from Victorian-era Sweeney Todd. The latter character’s grotesque fable has been memorialized on stage, in musicals, and onscreen for decades—something THODR is well aware of. The premiere opens with a Broadway marquee and an actor reliving Dolores’ life story in front of a captivated audience. That first scene is musical-level flashy, offering a neat sign of what’s to come.

The dialogue, as well as Dolores’ voiceovers, are comical and surreal, but also grim and nauseating (good luck looking at empanadas the same way again). Through macabre kills and often bloody visuals, the show cements itself in the cannibalistic horror genre. It’s no Yellowjackets, with teen girls ripping flesh off a charred corpse. THODR is subtler, but the implications are disgusting nonetheless. The violent luridness is interwoven with a surprisingly grounded central theme of second chances, and how far Dolores will go to maintain hers.

After 16 years in prison for selling weed, Dolores returns to New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood in 2019. That once-familiar and diverse area is now completely strange, full of hipsters, and extremely expensive. She lost her home once; she now faces losing it again. Her only respite is a local favorite empanada place run by the previous owner’s son, Luis (Alejandro Hernandez). The two eventually team up as a gender-reversed Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, using the restaurant’s basement and freezer for diabolical purposes.

Dolores doesn’t want to kill—not right away. Her fresh start includes a masseuse career, dreams of pursuing school, and leaning on Luis and his employee, Nellie (Kita Updike), for moral support. Those plans are thrown for a loop when she confronts the restaurant’s pesky landlord, Gideon (Marc Maron). He’s the first casualty, and it’s only the beginning of Dolores’ rage-spiraled neck twists, knife stabs, and suffocations. Her body count ludicrously piles up, making it hard to take some kills seriously. The sudden switch in Dolores’ mindset feels a bit unbelievable, sure. Then again, we’re constantly reminded of the precious time she’s lost.

THODR really shines when it dives into Dolores’ combined stew of catharsis and guilt after these killings, with Machado’s poignant expressions reflecting relief and suffering. It’s a commendable performance after her turn in the underrated One Day At A Time, and here she commands the screen, anchoring the show’s frenetic energy. When Dolores screams that she’ll put your ass on the menu, she means it. And watching her spar with guest stars like Maron, Judy Reyes, and Cyndi Lauper is equally gratifying. The scene-stealer of the show, though, has to be Updike, who goes toe to toe with Machado, cooking up punchy comedic rhythms.

The Horror Of Dolores Roach is a compelling under-four-hour investment similar to Prime Video’s recent I’m A Virgo, another dynamic, subversive TV show. The streamer clearly benefits from backing more creative projects like these (Deadloch, A League Of Their Own, The Underground Railroad, and The Summer I Turned Pretty also come to mind) compared to spending $300 million on a critical dud. THODR isn’t flawless, but it is a perfectly entertaining endeavor that allows Machado to run wild. And that alone makes it worthwhile.

The Horror Of Dolores Roach premieres July 7 on Prime Video