‘The Horror of Dolores Roach’ series review: Creepy, revolting but fun black comedy on serial killers and cannibalism

A still from ‘The Horror of Dolores Roach’
| Photo Credit: Prime Video

Disclaimer: Do not eat samosas on the day you’re watching this show about a serial killer who kills people, stuffs their meat into empanadas and sells them! In this series, based on the infamous fictional character Sweeney Todd, we have Dolores Roach who wants people to really know exactly how it all transpired. Of course, if you had led a life like hers, you wouldn’t be kind to inaccuracies and so she takes hostage a theatre artist (Flora Frias, played by Jessica Pimental) gaining popularity for playing her. And there she begins to tell the tale.

We begin with her struggles in fitting into the world post-prison. Dolores’ douchebag boyfriend is gone, the city is moving faster thanks to advancements, someone else is living in her apartment, and her neighbourhood Washington Heights is now gentrified — these are all great ideas but the series refuses to dig deep to chart a line to the serial killing and cannibalism. Empanada Loca, a local one-buzzing empanada shop run, is the only remaining thing from her time and Dolores finds some anchor thanks to her cordial equation with Luis Batista (Alejandro Hernandez), who’s currently running the shop post his dad’s death.

Struggling to get a job, Dolores sets up a massage parlour in the shop’s basement, and all is good until she, in a fit of rage, kills Luis’ nagging landlord on her massage table. The body disappears when Dolores goes for a breather, and things take a bloodcurlingly creepy turn when she realises that Luis is a cannibal, a manchild more deranged than she had thought.

The best part about the story is how it fleshes out the coming together of an unhinged sociopath and a deranged psychopath; the writers have handled this creepy but fascinating affair quite spectacularly. Understanding the psyche of Luis is another wormhole altogether but the series hardly bites into that. He’s the usual hipster who grows weed, but he’s also someone who would shake the bag of meat (Gideon’s) in front of Gideon’s son before feeding the father to his son.

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Dolores on the other hand stands tall, especially thanks to Machado’s spectacular performance; she brings subtle changes to her body language in the most hilarious of situations to leave you in splits. And yes, The Horror of Dolores Roach doesn’t take itself that seriously and you might have a fun time if you ride with its tide. Dolores snaps necks and Luis makes empanadas like it’s their day job. By making the killings so trouble-free and moving the story purely on something carnal as disposing of the bodies, we are put into situations we dare not think about and the writers have fun pushing the boundaries of their imagination.

That these killings and cannibalism only create gore and not necessarily horror might disappoint some. The real trouble with the series is the writing of the last few episodes. A lot seems awfully contrived, like gimmicks, and your interest in the story dips, something that’s bound to happen as the series gives little importance to the world it tries to build.

None of the secondary characters make a mark. Jeremiah (K. Todd Freeman) and Ruthie (Cyndi Lauper) seem interesting when they are introduced but they never do anything substantial. There’s also the problem with the series’ attempt to make the whole narrative some sort of therapy for Dolores in telling herself she’s a victim of circumstances – the last episode however offers some respite with this.

The Horror of Dolores Roach is a lot of fun if you take it seriously only as much as it does. For those who were versed with other Sweeney Todd stories, this Prime Video adaptation may or may not do much.

The Horror of Dolores Roach is currently streaming on Prime Video