19 Creepy Doll Movies & TV Episodes To Watch After M3GAN
We've known dolls were creepy way before M3GAN.
Team Coco / giphy.com
And dolls aren't just creepy when they're holding knives and following you with their eyes. Researchers have found that they're scary on a psychological level. Your brain is disturbed by the fact that you're looking at a face with no mind.
So when that "mindless" doll moves from where you last left it or, you know, murders you, it's even creepier. And these are 19 of the creepiest.
1.Child's Play (1988)
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It may not have been the first, but Child's Play is the definitive killer doll movie. Possessed by the soul of a serial killer, Chucky is the best to ever do it.
2.Annabelle (2014)
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This porcelain poltergeist was inspired by a real Raggedy Ann doll also named Annabelle. Some believe that the Raggedy Ann was also possessed, but I'll leave that to the paranormal experts to decide.
3.Poltergeist (1982)
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One of the best haunted house movies of all time, the scares in Poltergeist come from all over the house (and even out of the TV). Besides Heather O'Rourke's iconic "They're heeere," the nightmarish clown that attacks Robbie has stuck with people the most.
4."Living Doll" — The Twilight Zone (1963)
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Creepy doll movies date back to 1929 with the Great Gabbo, but The Twilight Zone's "Living Doll" episode established a lot of the tropes we still see in the subgenre today.
For example, turning innocuous catchphrases into sinister threats. The doll, Talky Tina, goes from saying, "My name is Talky Tina and I love you very much," to "My name is Talky Tina and I’m going to kill you." A classic.
The mother who gives her daughter the doll is also named Annabelle. Coincidence, or haunted connection?
5.The Boy (2016)
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Did you know you can buy a Brahms doll on Etsy? One customer who bought the doll gave an excellent five-star review: "I received a very nice Brahms doll. I will live with a cat. Thank you very much."
6.Dolls (1987)
7.Saw (2004)
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Jigsaw's puppet, Billy, may simply be a mouthpiece for the serial killer rather than a sentient being, but that makes him even creepier to me. He's a lot less threatening on the tricycle, though.
8.Magic (1978)
9.Dead Silence (2007)
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Directed by James Wan, a veteran of horror, this is another movie where humans are turned into dolls. But unlike in Dolls, no one is spared this time. There's also a great twist that I won't reveal here, but suffice it to say it involves dolls.
10.Deep Red (1976)
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From legendary Italian director Dario Argento (he also did the original Suspiria), the doll in this movie appears only briefly, but like the clown in Poltergeist, it sticks with you.
The doll is just in one quick scene, but as Keith Phipps of the A.V. Club said: "Operating under the principle that a moving camera is always better than a static one – and not above throwing in a terrifying evil doll – Deep Red showcases the technical bravado and loopy shock tactics that made Argento famous."
And Maitland McDonagh has suggested in her book, Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento, that the doll in this clip was the inspiration for Billy, the doll in Saw.
11.Puppet Master (1989)
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Coming out the year after Child's Play, Puppet Master cashed in on the creepy doll hype by featuring six murderous marionettes rather than just one. You've got Blade (pictured above), Jester, Kahn, Pinhead (no relation to the Hellraiser franchise), Tunneler, and who could forget Leech Woman?
12.Dolly Dearest (1991)
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Having pretty much the same plot as Annabelle, Dolly Dearest is a doll that gets possessed by Sanzia. In the film, Sanzia was a Mayan devil-child who is also called "Satan on Earth."
The unique spin this movie puts on the formula is that it turns out the whole Dolly Dearest factory is possessed by Sanzia, leading to an army of Dollys.
13.Demonic Toys (1992)
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Another day, another demonic soul released. In Demonic Toys, however, the demon has one of the clearest goals out of any of these movies. Rather than general bloodshed and mayhem, the demon soul is trying to enter the body of a pregnant woman's unborn child.
Naturally, the demon chooses a Baby Oppsy Daisy, Grizzly Teddy, and other toys to try to get the job done.
14.Dead of Night (1945)
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This horror anthology dates even further back than The Twilight Zone's "Living Doll" episode. This is one of the very earliest movies to ever depict a malevolent dummy named Hugo.
Things were much simpler back in 1945. Rather than humans getting turned into dolls or dolls stabbing people to death, Hugo is simply a creepy doll that manipulates his owner into shooting a rival ventriloquist.
Unlike Magic, which makes it clear the doll is a "split personality" of the main character, Hugo's story in Dead of Night, leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether the dummy was really alive.
15.Pin (1988)
16."The Doll" — Night Gallery (1971)
A lot of the dolls on this list start out looking relatively innocent, if a bit creepy. But that thing pictured above? It has "I will end you in your sleep" written all over it. And sure enough, this doll has some nasty tricks up its sleeve.
This episode also features a human getting turned into a doll, with an ending that, especially for the time it was made, is particularly creepy.
17."Night of the Living Dummy II" — Goosebumps (1996)
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How can we talk about creepy dolls, puppets, and dummies without mentioning Slappy? The mascot of the entire Goosebumps franchise, Slappy comes to life when the words "Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano" are uttered.
You may be wondering, "What about the first 'Night of the Living Dummy'?" For whatever reason, the TV show decided to skip the adaptation of Slappy's first book and skip straight to the sequel.
18.Tourist Trap (1979)
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Toys and dolls get all the attention, but mannequins are just as creepy. Especially when they were formerly people.
Tourist Trap was directed by David Schmoeller, who also directed Puppet Master. But this flick doesn't feature magic or demons' souls. Instead, the villain uses telekinetic powers to turn people into mannequins.
19.Finders Keepers (2014)
Which other doll movies or episodes belong on this list? Let me know in the comments!
And for more movies like M3GAN, check out the best movies about A.I. here!