With the new Blumhouse film Imaginary - about a creepy teddy bear, I thought it would be cool to look at other horror films about sinister toys and oh my god there are a lot!During my self-education, I did come to one conclusion – the doll era was definitely best served in the 80s and 9’s when there was a strong focus on puppetry and stop-motion animation. There is a trend in modern horror, especially in the indie market, where dolls are now over 5" tall wearing crappy homemade costumes. For me personally, it's hard to take a toy movie seriously when the toy doesn't look or move like one. But did I add some of those movies to this list? You bet I did. I'm not about to deny someone their new guilty pleasure.So I present to you 30 horror movies about children’s toys that will have you ready to add every toy in your house to your next council cleanup pile!
TRILOGY OF TERROR [1975]
Director: Dan CurtisWriter: William F. Nolan / Richard MathesonAmelia [Karen Black] comes home with a Zuni tribal fetish doll she just bought for her boyfriend's birthday. Allegedly the doll has the spirit of a Zuni hunter inside and the doll wears a gold chain around it’s waist to stop the spirit from bringing the doll to life. The chain is quite flimsy though and falls off without much effort. What follows is a bloody battle between Amelia and a doll that hunts her viciously around her apartment with a steak knife.
MAGIC [1978]
Director: Richard AttenboroughWriter: William GoldmanSir Anthony Hopkins stars in this 70’s horror as Corky, a failed magician who decides to spice up his act with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats. The problem lies in the fact that Corky has developed some kind of split personality and talks (and argues) with Fats as if he’s real. Whether the dummy is real or not, can we just all agree that ventriloquist dolls are the creepiest things on earth?
The Devil’s Gift [1984]
Director: Kenneth J. BertonWriter: Kenneth J. Berton / Jose Vergelin / Hayden O’HaraMichael Andrews is having his 9th birthday and his father’s girlfriend has given him a cymbal-banging monkey she found in an antique store. The monkey contains one pissed off spirit thanks to an elderly lady who was messing around with an Ouija board earlier, and the spirit seems hell-bent on killing all of the indoor plants, the pets and Michael.
Poltergeist 2: The Other Side [1986]
Director: Brian GibsonWriter: Mark Victor / Michael GraisWhen it comes to toys in horror, most people fixate on the creepy clown in the first Poltergeist film, but the real toy of terror in this franchise is the pink plastic telephone. What would normally look like a cute interaction between a child and her plaything, in this case, is a child conversing with the dead.
DOLLS [1986]
Director: Stuart GordonWriter: Ed NahaIf Toy Story was a horror movie it might look like Dolls. With a big storm brewing, six people end up on the doorstep of a lovely old couple with a house full of handmade toys. Not everyone is grateful for the accommodation though and during the night strange things happen as the toys come to life and not everyone will live til morning.Revisit our re-examination of the cult classic by director Stephen Tramontanahere
CHILD’S PLAY [1988]
Director: Tom HollandWriter: Don Mancini / Tom Holland / John LafiaOnly in the 80’s could someone get away with making a movie about a serial killer who uses Voodoo magic to transfer his soul into a toy, but 36 years later and Chucky is still on the rampage and his story gets crazier with each passing year. Now there’s gossip that a Chucky In Space movie might happen in the future if the fans demand it.
Cameron’s Closet [1988]
Director: Armand MastroianniWriter: Gary BrandnerMonsters really do live in the closet if your name is Cameron Lansing. This 10-year-old lives with his father who has been using his son as a guinea pig for his telekinesis studies. Unbeknownst to Cameron, the figure he plays with, which he has nicknamed ‘Deceptor’, is really a figure of an ancient Mayan demon and mixed with Cameron’s imagination and powers, he’s able to bring the demon to life and he resides in Cameron’s closet.
PUPPET MASTER [1989]
Director: David SchmoellerWriter: David Schmoeller / Charles Band / Kenneth J. HallFour psychics are all “contacted” by Neil and meet up at a seaside hotel where they find out he’s actually dead and left behind a widow. Neil was interested in alchemy and had discovered an old Egyptian spell that could bring inanimate objects to life and had worked out how to use this spell to bring himself back from death. Somehow this movie that barely makes any sense has spawned approximately 13 sequels and a crossover with Demonic Toys but the puppets are really cool looking.
DOLLY DEAREST [1991]
Director: Maria LeaseWriter: Maria Lease / Rod Nave / Peter SutcliffeThe Wade family have just moved to Mexico where they think they’ve got some get rich quick scheme after buying an old Dolly Dearest factory. Unbeknownst to them, it’s built right next to an ancient burial ground and all of the dolls are now possessed by the Sanzia Devil Child whose spirit was just unleashed thanks to some dickhead archeologist. Some things should stay buried.
Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker [1991]
Director: Martin KitrosserWriter: Martin Kitrosser / Brian Yuzna After a mysterious Christmas gift turns up at the Quinn household for Derek, which attacks his father ultimately killing him, Derek is so traumatised by the experience he stops talking. Meanwhile more gifts arrive for Derek and there seems to be something very strange happening at the local toy store between the owner Joe Petto (Mickey Rooney) and his son Pino.
DEMONIC TOYS [1992]
Director: Peter ManoogianWriter: Charles Band / David S GoyerWhat do a pair of detectives, some gun smugglers, a security guard, a runaway and a fast food employee all have in common? They’re all trapped inside the old Arcadia Toys warehouse fighting off murderous toys and a child-sized demon spawn who wants to be reborn. This film has countless sequels and spinoffs and for a fun fact: the security guard is watching Puppet Master on the television!
Amityville Dollhouse [1996]
Director: Steve WhiteWriter: Joshua Michael SternIn the never-ending Amityville franchise, this installment is about a dollhouse resembling the haunted house of Long Island, that is able to manipulate everything and everyone in close vicinity.
Pinocchio’s Revenge [1996]
Director/Writer: Kevin TenneyJennifer is a defence attorney who is convinced her client is innocent and protecting the identity of the real serial killer who murdered children, including her client’s son. After his execution, the puppet that was buried with his son winds up in her car, which her daughter Zoe mistakenly thinks is her birthday present. While the film has you guessing if the puppet is alive or if Zoe is acting out, we see Jennifer come to the realization – based on no evidence - that her now-dead client was protecting his son. Honestly amazed this never got a sequel to explore that further.
DEAD SILENCE [2007]
Director: James WanWriter: Leigh Whannell / James Wan‘The sins of the father will be passed onto the children’ rings true in Ravens Fair as Mary Shaw and her army of ventriloquist dummies murder every single person linked to the men who killed her back in 1941.
Ooga Booga [2013]
Director: Charles BandWriter: Charles Band / Kent RoudebushDevin is a medical student who was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he is shot by a racist police officer who believes Devon robbed and killed a convenience store clerk. As Devin lays dying on the floor, the slushy machine malfunctions surging electricity through his blood, transferring his soul into the small African tribal statue his friend Hambo gave him. He’s now out to see revenge on everyone. It’s as awful as it sounds but does feature Karen Black having a major case of déjà vu.
Doll Factory [2014]
Director/Writer: Stephen Wolfe A group of teenagers ditch a Halloween party to go hang out at an abandoned factory and conjure some spirits. As they start to leave, they realize the spell worked as a bunch of baby dolls come to life and they’re on a mission to collect souls for their master Yegor.
ANNABELLE [2014]
Director: John R. LeonettiWriter: Gary DaubermanWe were first introduced to Annabelle in The Conjuring and somehow this doll that just sits there (ok sure, she’s a conduit for all things evil) has spawned her own spinoff franchise with the films Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Home.
ROBERT THE DOLL [2015]
Director/Writer: Andrew Jones Agatha is fired because she’s become incompetent at her cleaning job, which she takes really well and gives the family’s son a creepy looking doll named Robert as a parting gift. Robert is a bit of a psycho but because mummy has some psychological issues it’s easier for Dad to assume everyone in the house is just going mental rather than believe a doll might be alive.Robert is a real doll but he looks more like a potato in a sailor outfit. He's blamed for a whole lot of mishaps in real life, but in movie-land he's much more adventurous having 4 sequels of his psychotic adventures.
The Boy [2016]
Director: William Brent BellWriter: Stacey MenearThe Heelshire’s hire Greta (Lauren Cohen) to babysit their young son Brahms while they are away on a much-needed holiday. What Greta doesn’t know until she arrives at their lavish home is that Brahms is a large porcelain doll, a fill in child for the real Brahms that died 20 years earlier, and his parents have absolutely no intention of ever returning. At first Greta ignores the strict list of rules and activities, as we all would if left to care for a doll, until one night her telephone rings and it’s Brahms asking her to play with him.
Mandy The Haunted Doll [2018]
Director: Jamie WestonWriter: Shannon HolidayIn 1910 Mandy Goodwin died from exposure after two boys locked her in an abandoned church and the doll she was holding became a vessel for her tortured soul. Now in present day, Amber has just been released from jail and her sister is wasting no time forcing her to break the law once more, making her babysit at a house she plans to rob with her boyfriend. Amber is warned to stay out of the child’s room and should she wake up or cry, Amber is to ring the mother immediately. Amber ignores the one rule she’s given and enters the child’s room when she hears a voice and discovers the child she’s babysitting is really a doll named Mandy.This is another film based off an alleged haunted doll that resides in a museum in Canada.
Evil Little Things [2019]
Director: Matt GreenWriter: Yasin Bakhtiari / Nancy KnightA mother takes her son to the local toy store and gets more than she bargained for when the storeowner starts sharing scary stories about two of his dolls: a leprechaun that comes to life on Halloween night and a beaten up porcelain doll that’s controlling a young woman’s life.
The Jack In The Box [2019]
Director/Writer: Lawrence FowlerCasey has just started work in a small museum that has a large Jack In The Box sitting in the storeroom. Curious about what the box does, Casey unlocks it and over the next week people start to disappear. He soon discovers the box was originally made in France to contain evil entities. If released, the entity needs to feed on six victims and then it will be trapped inside the box once more. Personally, I’d say the French aren’t very good at making locks because all it took was the press of a letter to unleash this demon.
Dolls [2019]
Director: Cuyle CarvinWriter: Justin Hawkins / Josh Hawkins / Jeff MillerRobert is recently separated from his cheating wife and has moved into his deceased mother’s home to work on his next children’s book where he finds inspiration in three dolls he found in the attic. Mental health issues play a big part in the storyline. Robert’s mother Edna was a psychiatrist who used the dolls with a schizophrenic patient who believed he was tormented by demons, telling him that the dolls can be a new vessel for them to live in. Sure enough it worked and Henry was eventually released from the hospital apparently cured but not long later Henry and Edna wind up dead. Now the dolls are in a house with Robert who is an alcoholic and his daughter Sammey who has gone cold turkey from her anxiety medication. Are the dolls really playing games, or are their minds playing tricks on them?
Child’s Play [2019]
Director: Lars KlevbergWriter: Tyler Burton SmithChucky goes Artificial Intelligence in this remake where a disgruntled employee turns off all the safety settings in the Chucky doll he’s working on before throwing himself out of a window. The glitchy Buddi doll makes it’s way to the Barclay house where Andy wastes no time corrupting the doll and then cries because Chucky turned out exactly how he made him to be.
Benny Loves You [2019]
Director / Writer: Karl HoltJack is a bit of a manchild. He works at a toy company and still lives with his parents which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but he does try to bring women home to a bedroom that doesn’t look like it’s been redecorated since he was 9 years old. His life dramatically changes on his 35th birthday when a freak accident sees both of his parents die suddenly and now he faces losing the only home he’s ever lived in to the bank and losing his job so he does the only thing he can think of: he decides it’s time to grow up, and apparently that means throwing out your toys. His best buddy Benny isn’t letting go without a fight.
Toys Of Terror [2020]
Director: Nicholas VersoWriter: Dana Gould Hannah and David have decided to take the whole family (nanny included) to spend Christmas in an old decrepit children’s hospital that they’ve bought and plan to renovate. As if the house isn’t a big enough hazardous site, the youngest children Zoe and Franklin find an old crate filled with children’s toys that come to life when the adults aren’t around. It doesn’t take long before accidents start happening and the children are no longer acting like themselves.
The Curse Of Humpty Dumpty [2021]
Director: Scott ChambersWriter: Sam Ashurst / Scott ChambersA middle-aged woman has just been diagnosed with dementia so her daughters get a bright idea to take her to their old family home. While out shopping one day, the mother finds a Humpty Dumpty doll in an antique store and is convinced it’s the very doll her husband gave her many years ago and insists on buying it. Luckily for the daughters, nobody has any money on them but somehow the doll is on their doorstep when they arrive home. The daughters get more than they bargain for with their mother when repressed memories come back revolving around the doll, being in a cult and what really happened with their father.
M3GAN [2022]
Director: Gerard JohnstoneWriter: Akela Cooper / James WanIf AI Chucky was a 10-year-old girl he would be M3GAN. M3GAN is a life like doll designed to do everything a parent should be doing, so its creator Gemma pairs her prototype to her niece Cady because she’s too busy with work to pretend to comfort this kid who just became an orphan. A sequel is expected to come out in May 2025.
Ragdoll [2023]
Director: Ben IvoryWriter: Ben DalyChia and Monica have just moved into their new home where they find a random box upstairs with a ragdoll about the size of a 10year old child. Not finding this remotely odd, they let Chia’s daughter Crystal have it. With a 75-minute runtime, somehow this movie drags on and the acting is so bad they clearly did a casting call on Craigslist; but I’ve watched it and now I feel like everyone else should suffer too.Fun fact: Chia (Chrissie Wunna) and Crystal are mother and daughter in real life. Chrissie’s son Junior is also in the film as the Ragdoll!
Spirit Doll [2023]
Director: Azhar Kinoi LubisWriter: Alim SudioIn this Indonesian horror flick, Dara has just wrapped up acting in a horror film about a spirit doll – a spirit doll that happens to be owned by a Shaman and inhabited by an evil spirit. You really have to question the rationale behind that prop decision! The danger of Spirit Dolls is that they can become anything their owner misses, and after turning up mysteriously on Dara’s doorstep, she believes the doll is her recently deceased daughter Embun.
In the words of Metallica - sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight...Feature by Katie Torrancehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XoNfrgrAGM
