10 horror movies about dolls that will make you feel uncomfortable

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

From the merciless Chucky and the mysterious Annabelle to Brahms' wonder puppet.

1. Children's games

• USA, 1988.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller.
• Duration: 87 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Serial killer Charles Li Rae almost dies from police bullets, but manages to cast a magic spell at the last minute. As a result, his soul is transferred to a popular children's doll, which then goes to the boy Andy. After these events, people begin to die in the city, and all the evidence points to the child. However, he claims that his new toy is to blame for all the crimes.

Director Tom Holland and screenwriter Don Mancini somehow managed to scare the audience with a rubber doll and create a serious suspense on the screen. Of course, in our time, the first film about Chucky causes more laughter than fear (not to mention the naive explanation of what is happening with voodoo magic), but in the late 80s such stories were new.

The commercial success of the painting speaks for itself: the fees exceeded the budget by almost four times. The tape spawned a whole cinematic universe, but the sequels with each part got worse and worse. In fact, Don Mancini, the permanent screenwriter of the franchise, gradually moved further and further from the horror genre to the youth comedy, until the films about Chucky finally transformed into something completely strange.

2. Master of the puppets

• USA, 1989.
• Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller.
• Duration: 89 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 6.

A group of psychics arrives at an old hotel where the mysterious puppeteer Andre Toulon once lived. But there they are already awaited by hostile puppets, ready to shred the intruders.

The tape by David Schmöller spawned an indecent number of sequels, which had even less artistic value than the first part, and were released immediately on video. The explanation is simple: the films were produced by Charles Band, the king of low-budget commercial cinema and an extremely interesting person. He did not let his beloved franchise die until the last, and even shot the eighth episode in the series himself.

3. May

• USA, 2002.
• Horror, thriller, drama, comedy.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

A girl named May is shy about her appearance, which makes it difficult for her to make acquaintances. The only friend she has is a doll donated by her mother. The heroine meets a young man named Adam, but he leaves her, and then May decides to create an ideal friend for herself.

Young screenwriter and director Lucky McKee, with a small budget, managed to shoot an interesting horror film at the junction of different genres. This is a thriller, and a black comedy, and a drama about a lonely girl who could not fit in anywhere.

4. Object of love

• USA, 2003.
• Horror, thriller, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Shy clerk Kenneth is in love with his colleague, but too timid to suggest that a date. He gets an advertisement in which the company offers to make an anatomically accurate silicone doll. Then the hero orders himself a rubber girlfriend - an exact copy of a living beloved.

Debutant director Robert Parigi was clearly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's famous Vertigo, and actor Desmond Harrington brilliantly showed the deformation of personality from a quiet man into an uncontrollable maniac and psychopath.

5. Saw: Survival Game

• USA, 2004.
• Horror.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Two strangers wake up in a closed room chained to pipes. Between them lies a corpse in a pool of blood, a pistol in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. The heroes quickly realize that they have been captured by a maniac who will not rest until he brings one of them to death.

The debut of James Wang and Lee Wannell was so successful that it marked the beginning of an extensive film series. One of the most recognizable characters in the franchise is the ventriloquist doll Billy, which John Kramer used to speak to his captives. Moreover, the puppet from the first picture James Wang created literally from what was at hand: papier-mâché, paper napkins and ping-pong balls.

6. Dead silence

• USA, 2006.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller, detective, crime.
• Duration: 89 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

The newlyweds Jamie and Lisa are thrown into an ugly ventriloquist doll. On the same evening, Lisa mysteriously dies, and her husband, remaining a widower, decides to figure out the reason. The investigation leads him to his hometown, where the ventriloquist Mary Shaw once lived. There is clearly some connection between this woman and Lisa's murder.

The talented James Wang had a hand in writing the script, so in some places the film is very scary and really tickles your nerves. The denouement is so shocking that it will definitely appeal to fans of unexpected endings.

7. The Curse of Annabelle

• USA, 2014.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 99 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 4.

Newlyweds John and Mia Gordons accidentally witness the nightmarish massacre that the cultists staged. One of the killers commits suicide by picking up a rare collectible Annabelle doll owned by Mia. After that, strange and frightening things begin to happen in the Gordon family.

For the first time, the Annabelle doll briefly appeared in The Conjuring by James Wan and looked so impressive in the frame that they decided to shoot a separate spin-off about her. The result was not highly appreciated by critics, and the viewer ratings of the picture left much to be desired. But it is still worth watching the film if you want to delve deeper into the universe of "The Conjuring".

At the moment, there are already three tapes about the possessed doll: after the first "Annabelle" came "The Curse of Annabelle: The Origin of Evil" and "The Curse of Annabelle - 3".

8. Once I have found it, I take it for myself

• USA, 2014.
• Horror, thriller, detective.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 4, 3.

Single mother Alison Simon moves to the suburbs with her daughter Claire to recover from a difficult divorce and start a new life. The girl finds a creepy doll Lilith in the house and does not part with her for a minute. But the more time Claire spends with a new toy, the more she changes under the influence of an unknown dark force.

The picture by Alexander Yellen, the title of which would be more correct to translate "What has fallen is lost", is a typical low-budget horror movie that is trying to leave for Annabelle's fame. More is not required of him, but loyal fans of this genre may well take note of the tape.

9. Doll

• USA, Canada, China, 2015.
• Horror, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 0.

A young American woman, Greta Evans, comes to the remote English countryside to work as a nanny in a wealthy mansion. There she is met by a strange elderly couple, and the boy she was going to look after turns out to be a creepy doll. Greta does not like all this very much, but for the sake of money she agrees to become a part of this strange performance.

The director William Brent Bell, the author of the good horror film "Obsessed", has a surprisingly good horror film that scares you not with screamers, but with a dark atmosphere and suspense. And although the history of cinema has seen plenty of creepy puppets, the puppet boy Brahms entered the audience. The picture even received a sequel - "Doll-2: Brahms".

10. Children's games

• Canada, USA, 2019.
• Horror, fantasy.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 8.

In a factory where interactive dolls are assembled, a fired worker erases security protocols from one of the toys. The evil figurine ends up in the store, and from there to single mother Karen, who gives it to her son Andy.

New director Lars Klevberg was entrusted with relaunching the iconic franchise. At the same time, the concept was greatly changed: if earlier the events were explained by magic, now Chucky has become a toy with artificial intelligence.

But there was no triumphant return. The script turned out to be very weak, moreover, the authors could not correctly place the accents, and the film turned out not to be scary, but rather disgusting due to the abundance of violent scenes in the finale.

The only thing that the creators can be praised for is the advertising campaign of the picture, brilliant in its audacity. The fact is that Children's Games were supposed to be released at about the same time as Toy Story 4. This coincidence was wittily played by the PR people in a series of posters where Chucky brutally cracked down on the Pixar characters. And not only they got it from the bully, but also the notorious Annabelle.