The horror genre has several staples that are bound to give you the heebie-jeebies: jump scares, creepy kids, basements, isolated settings and creepy dolls. We'll be taking an exclusive look at horror movie dolls. What is it about dolls, ventriloquist dummies and mannequins that scare us? The fear of non-human but human-like things is called automatonophobia. Perhaps the unblinking, soulless eyes are unnerving. In a dark room, dolls can be mistaken for a lurking figure. Dolls can even be made to resemble a particular person, which often hits that uncomfortable spot in the uncanny valley. Whatever the case may be, scary dolls aren't about to stop appearing in horror films anytime soon, especially this year with movies like Annabelle Comes Home, the Child's Play reboot and Brahms: The Boy II. If you love niche horror and you're interested in delving into other creepy doll horror movies, we collected some of the most unsettling automatons in the movies for you.
Welcome to the nightmare collection, a dozen of the most iconic creepy dolls and dummies featured in horror movies. Doll boxes are made to advertise the product inside of them...but would you buy any of these? We made sure to mention the dolls' first or main movie, the kill count for the original film, the dolls' evil origins, an interesting movie fact and other franchise movies that feature the doll. (For example, we know that Poltergeist was originally a trilogy before the 2015 remake, but we're not counting movies 2 or 3 because they didn't include the clown doll!) The horror movie kill counts also account for all deaths in the original films, which may or may not be attributed to the doll itself. (Let's face it, not every doll goes on a killing spree due to being the new body for the vengeful spirit of a dying serial killer.) Ventriloquist dummies are also included because they're basically dolls with moving jaws. Check out our collection of creepy doll boxes below!
Click Image for Larger View
Embed This Image on Your Site:
Creepy Dolls: The Nightmare Collection Transcript
Chucky - Child's Play (1988)
- Origin of Evil: consciousness of a serial killer transferred to doll in voodoo ritual
- Kill Count: 4
- Spook Scoop: The movie began as a satire on marketing toys to kids and the children's toy industry. Later, the plot changed into the horror movie that we know today.
- Other Movies: Child's Play 2, Child's Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, Cult of Chucky, Child's Play (2019 reboot)
Annabelle - Annabelle (2014)
- Origin of Evil: demon possessed doll seeking human host
- Kill Count: 5
- Spook Scoop: The story is very loosely based on a real doll owned by Ed and Lorraine Warren. They claim that two nurses once gave them a Raggedy Ann doll and that it would change positions while they weren't in the room.
- Other Movies: The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Home
Brahms - The Boy (2016)
- Origin of Evil: dead boy's spirit lives on or is he actually alive
- Kill Count: 4
- Spook Scoop: The actors on set would play pranks on each other by placing the Brahms doll in random places, including other actors' trailers. One actor threw and broke the doll, so the crew had to make a replacement Brahms.
- Other Movies: Brahms: The Boy II
Slappy - Goosebumps (2015)
- Origin of Evil: brought to life with a magic phrase (karru marri odonna loma molonu karrano)
- Kill Count: 0
- Spook Scoop: In the movie, Mr. Stine mentions that he has sold more books than Stephen King, which is true.
- Other Movies: Goosebumps 2
Clown Doll - Poltergeist (1982)
- Origin of Evil: possessed by a poltergeist
- Kill Count: 0
- Spook Scoop: There are rumors of a "Poltergeist curse" because two young cast members died between the first and third movies.
- Other Movies: Poltergeist (2015 reboot)
Billy - Saw (2004)
- Origin of Evil: Kramer's creation for his unborn child
- Kill Count: 6
- Spook Scoop: The first Saw was originally made as a low budget, direct-to-video film.
- Other Movies: Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D, Jigsaw
Blade - Puppet Master (1989)
- Origin of Evil: fed an elixir of stolen magic mixed with essence of the dead
- Kill Count: 5
- Spook Scoop: There are five main puppet characters in the first movie, but Blade and Pinhead are the only two puppets featured in all the films so far.
- Other Movies: Puppet Master II, Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge, Puppet Master 4, Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter, Curse of the Puppet Master, Retro Puppet Master, Puppet Master: The Legacy, Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys, Puppet Master: Axis of Evil, Puppet Master X: Axis Rising, Puppet Master: Axis Termination, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich
Billy - Dead Silence (2007)
- Origin of Evil: possessed by a deceased ventriloquist
- Kill Count: 6
- Spook Scoop: Dead Silence was directed by James Wan of the Saw franchise. Billy the puppet from Saw has the same name as the puppet in Dead Silence.
- Other Movies: None
Hugo - Dead of Night (1945)
- Origin of Evil: ventriloquist's double personality
- Kill Count: 1
- Spook Scoop: A mirror is smashed during a scene in the film. It was done in a single take because the film studio didn't have the budget for more than one mirror.
- Other Movies: None
Mr. Punch - Dolls (1987)
- Origin of Evil: bitter person murdered & transformed into doll by sorcerous toy makers
- Kill Count: 3
- Spook Scoop: One of the actresses, Carrie Lorraine, only had a single acting credit before she was cast in Dolls. Her first film role was in the movie Poltergeist II: The Other Side.
- Other Movies: None
Fats - Magic (1978)
- Origin of Evil: ventriloquist's double personality
- Kill Count: 3
- Spook Scoop: Fats was designed to look like Anthony Hopkins, who played the ventriloquist in the film. Hopkins would take the doll home at night for practice, though he once had someone come and take it away because it unsettled him.
- Other Movies: None
Suzie - May (2002)
- Origin of Evil: inanimate friend of deranged owner
- Kill Count: 7
- Spook Scoop: May makes a new friend named "Amy", which is both an anagram of "May" and a pun of the French word for friend.
- Other Movies: None
*Kill counts based on total deaths in the first film, may or may not be attributed to the doll
**"Other Movies" is referring to other movies the doll appears in
Sources: IMDb, Villains Wiki, Horror Film Wiki, Puppet Master Wiki, Wikipedia
We hope you enjoyed our collection of creepy ventriloquist dummies and dolls. How many of these movies were familiar to you? Did you find a few flicks to add to your horror movie watch list? Are there any other horror movies topics that you would like us to touch base with next? We love hearing your comments and suggestions! Hopefully, you found several new horror movies to add to your list for your next horror movie marathon. Check out our scary costumes for Halloween if you're feeling inspired to dress like any of these characters too!
Infographic designed by Amanda Anez
