As a young child, you want to know what my favorite toys were? American Girl Dolls.
So, for that reason, I’ve always been a little weary of scary doll films, even though a few are considered some of the best horror movies of all time.
But today, instead of avoiding them, I've faced my fears to round up the best horror movies featuring truly terrifying dolls. There are the classics such as Child’s Play and some horrifying newbies, like M3GAN, but one thing is for sure, you'll never remember your childhood in the same way again.
Child’s Play (1988)
When you think of a scary doll movie, this is the movie you think of. In Child’s Play, a mother who just recently lost her husband decides to gift a doll to her son in order to cope with everything going on. As time passes, the mother begins to realize that the doll isn’t as innocent as it looks, and that there’s actually the ghost of a serial killer in there.
Fun little fact about me – my brother once bought a doll and made it look exactly like Chucky from Child’s Play in order to scare me. Good ol’ big brother antics. But on a real note, this movie is everything and more when it comes to scary doll movies.
Chucky is probably one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time. You can’t really forget the way he talks, and especially the way he kills, and a whole Chucky franchise started because of this movie. If you want a series that’s seriously going to make you look closely at any dolls you have, this is the franchise to check out.
A rebooted Chucky movie came out in 2019, starring Aubrey Plaza, but there’s nothing quite like the first one.
Stream Child’s Play on Max.
Rent/Buy Child’s Play on Amazon.
Puppet Master (1989)
Another classic scary doll movie is Puppet Master, also leading to tons of sequels not that long after. The film, starring Paul Le Mat, is all about a group of psychics who must try to come together when a former colleague of theirs plots revenge – and he intends to use dolls, brought to life by an ancient magic, to do it.
I think what I enjoy the most about Puppet Master is that it does feel inherently a lot more original than many other scary doll movies. It’s not just about some kid receiving a doll and it being haunted. There’s plenty to love and plenty of gore as well, so give it a shot if you have the time.
Stream Puppet Master on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Puppet Master on Redbox.
The Boy (2016)
Starring Lauren Cohan, The Boy is a 2016 horror film directed by William Brent Bell that tells the story of a young woman from the United States who is hired as a nanny in the United Kingdom, but when she arrives, she finds that the child isn’t actually living, but is a life-size porcelain doll.
If we’re being truthful, when I first saw this trailer, I thought this movie was going to be so bad, just because the premise felt like the easiest thing in the world. The only reason I ended up watching it was because of Cohan’s starring role, someone I love as Maggie from The Walking Dead. But then I actually ended up really enjoying it.
The story offers plenty of fun, refreshing moments in the scary doll genre, and even in porcelain form, haunted dolls are still freaking terrifying. A sequel came out in 2020, but I’d rather stick to the original.
Dolls (1987)
In this fun horror film, Dolls is the worst fear of every toy lover – where every single doll you own comes to life. The film follows a group of travelers that take shelter in the home of a puppet maker, but as the night goes on, they start to notice that the dolls there aren’t like any others – and are not going to play nice.
I like to think of Dolls as the horror movie version of the Toy Story movies, because at first, they really do just look like normal dolls, and then out of nowhere – boom, they are literally the scariest things in existence. The cast is also a lot of fun too, with performances from Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, and more.
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
Coming from The Conjuring universe, Annabelle: Creation is the best film out of the three Annabelle movies that have been released. It follows the origins of the famous doll that is owned by Ed and Lorraine Warren, which murdered plenty of people.
This franchise really did the impossible and made the sequels even better, really expanding on the story of Annabelle in many different ways, and the third film is where it’s taken to new heights. I truly loved watching the origin story and how it connected to the first movie, and what makes it even scarier is that this is literally based on a real-life doll, so I guess I’m not sleeping tonight.
Stream Annabelle: Creation on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Annabelle: Creation on Amazon.
Magic (1978)
In this psychological horror film, Magic follows the story of a magician who decides to incorporate a dummy into his act using ventriloquism, but as time goes on, he starts to imagine that his dummy is talking to him – and possibly guiding him toward murder.
There are so many reasons to love Magic. Not only is the plot really fun and an interesting take on the scary doll genre, but Anthony Hopkins is the lead and he really brings it in one of his best horror movie performances. It’s so underrated and he deserves to get more praise for it, even now.
M3GAN (2023)
I can’t talk about scary dolls and not talk about M3GAN. The 2023 hit tells the story of Gemma, who has to suddenly take care of her niece when her sister is killed in an accident. In order for Cady to not be alone, she gives her a doll named M3GAN, powered by A.I. technology – but the wiring soon turns faulty and she starts to hurt anyone that might harm Cady.
I feel like M3GAN is one of those movie franchises that is going to go on forever just because of how iconic the movie was. Not only did it perform well at the box office, but it got great reviews, and a sequel is already on the way. Just wait until we all get actual M3GAN dolls in the mail – then it will have really come full circle.
Stream M3GAN on Peacock.
Rent/Buy M3GAN on Amazon.
There are so many scary doll movies that you could watch, but these are some of the ones that I truly love the heck out of, so enjoy them with ease – and then lock up literally all your toys in a closet and look the other way afterwards.
