Project Dorothy
October 1st, 2026
MOVIE: PROJECT DOROTHY
STARRING: ADAM BUDRON, TIM DEZARN, DANIELLE HARRIS
DIRECTED BY: GEORGE HENRY HORTON
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: ½ STAR (Out of 4)
RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 80 MINUTES
If Project Dorothy were a proof of concept or a student midterm project, I might be a bit more forgiving. If you’ve read many of my reviews of low-budget films, you already know that I am quite forgiving of artists trying to get their feet wet or make a movie with whatever little budget they have. Sadly, and perhaps a bit harshly, director George Henry Horton should not have let Project Dorothy see the light of day. Even while attempting to be relevant to current topics and make a thriller with the resources available to him, Project Dorothy is a waste of time for everyone, especially the viewer.
The film follows a pair of bank robbers: Blake (Adam Budron), the younger of the two, and James (Tim DeZarn), the veteran, whom we meet with a bullet wound to his leg. We simply catch up with the two running past train tracks while mentioning that they stole something from a safe-deposit box. In their rush to flee from…nobody. I’m serious; nobody seems to be following them. They eventually become trapped inside a warehouse operated by an AI system known as Dorothy (voiced by horror movie legend Danielle Harris). In their attempt to escape, Dorothy sends a gang of forklifts after them, forcing the two men into a fight for survival between man and machine.
If that description of the plot seems limited, that is because it is. I’m stuck trying to come up with more details or anything else worth noting. It was surprising to discover that Project Dorothy was actually written by two people- Horton and co-writer Ryan Scaringe- who somehow came up with a story that feels like Chopping Mall meets the warehouse section of a Home Depot. For the majority of the runtime, it is simply two actors running from forklifts, breathing heavily, talking to Dorothy, and coming up with no plan beyond blowing the place up.
One could at least mildly reward the effort and passion required to make a film of this caliber, but hands down, Project Dorothy is stupid. Horton uses rapid-fire editing to create the illusion of a thrilling chase, while I found myself wondering how these forklifts were supposedly AI-operated when they run on propane gas. All of this happens while Horton keeps the lights off, making it difficult to see what is happening, and Blake and James repeatedly stop to figure out how they will escape their predicament. The whole thing becomes increasingly silly because they could simply go to higher ground or climb a flight of stairs, and the forklifts would seemingly be defeated by a small set of steps.
I’ll spare myself from being any harsher on Project Dorothy. Frankly, it is simply a movie that should not be viewed by anyone. If Horton were smart, he would forget this effort ever existed and try again with more money, more imagination, and, most importantly, an idea that goes beyond two men running away from AI-controlled robots. There are plenty of other movies that have done that much better. This Project is a big failing grade. Why just a 1/2 star and not a zero? All the actors seemed to be hopeful that they were making something good, and I can’t crush that optimism. I’m glad they tried.
½ STAR
PROJECT DOROTHY IS NOW AVAILABLE ON TUBI, PRIME VIDEO, AND PLEX.
Written by: Leo Brady
