Are dolls creepy? Yes. Yes they are. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the scariest dolls in movie history.
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00:00 "Hello. I want to play a game."
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the scariest dolls in movie history.
00:09 "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I don't believe it. I just don't believe it."
00:14 Number 30, The Blood Dolls. Blood Dolls.
00:17 [Dolls cheering]
00:20 "Everybody ready? Let's play!"
00:24 A direct-to-video film from writer-director Charles Band,
00:27 Blood Dolls is really, really weird. A bizarre combination of comedy and horror,
00:33 it follows an evil recluse named Virgil Travis who builds a trio of living dolls to kill his enemies.
00:39 Named Pimp, Sideshow, and Ms. Fortune, they certainly form an eclectic group.
00:44 Pimp is, well, a clown pimp, Sideshow is a muscular monster that looks like the Thing,
00:49 and Ms. Fortune is a four-armed samurai catwoman who wields numerous swords.
00:54 This movie is undeniably bizarre but fascinating,
00:58 and these dolls are both scary and a ton of fun to watch.
01:01 "This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Anybody make it not so happy, then I'm not gonna be happy."
01:08 Number 29, Baby Oopsy Daisy, Demonic Toys.
01:11 With a title like Demonic Toys, you know exactly what you're getting into.
01:16 Going straight to video in 1992, the movie received a negative reception,
01:20 but was popular enough to start a franchise, including a number of spin-offs centered around
01:25 Baby Oopsy Daisy. "I'm Baby Oopsy Daisy. You lord-ass, will you be my special friend?"
01:31 "What the hell?"
01:32 A creepy doll with a mean and violent streak, Oopsy Daisy looks like a baby but has the mouth
01:37 of a sailor, often spouting insanely vulgar and perverse statements. He also seems to be in league
01:43 with some higher powers, as we see when he draws a pentagram around the corpse of Charneski.
01:48 Yeah, he was pretty much just a rip-off of Chucky, but who cares when he's this much fun?
01:53 "I like you. Will you be my special friend? Playtime!"
01:59 Number 28, The Devil Doll, Black Devil Doll from Hell.
02:03 Head to Yale University and you'll find a copy of Black Devil Doll from Hell in its library.
02:09 No, we are not joking. A little-known film from 1984, it was written and directed by
02:14 Chester Neville Turner and concerns a thrift store doll modeled after Rick James. Again, not joking.
02:21 This doll is haunted, and it causes the celibate Helen Black to become
02:34 quite amorous. While the movie is clearly made on the cheap, it still contains a number of
02:39 startling sequences, including a shower kill that's highly reminiscent of Psycho. This doll
02:45 does not mess around, and that determination turns the movie into a masterpiece of schlock.
02:50 Number 27, The Mannequins of Horror, Asylum.
03:03 And speaking of Psycho, this British anthology was written by Robert Block,
03:07 who published the famous novel back in 1959. The anthology follows Dr. Martin,
03:12 who explores a mental health hospital filled with numerous horrors and eccentric characters.
03:17 He eventually reaches one Dr. Byron, who is experimenting with the titular mannequins of
03:23 horror. These are creepy dolls with functioning human organs, and Byron claims that they can be
03:35 inhabited by the soul of an individual, essentially turning them into human doll hybrids.
03:41 Naturally, Martin gets freaked out and books it. If we were in his shoes, we'd do the same.
03:54 Number 26, The Hoodoo Dolls, Tales from the Hood.
03:58 A unique anthology, Tales from the Hood uses horror to explore sociopolitical themes and
04:03 the black experience in America. Each story serves as a metaphor for some type of issue,
04:08 and its third tale tackles themes of generational racism.
04:11 It follows Duke Metcalf, a racist senator and former Klansman who sets up shop in his
04:29 ancestor's plantation. Knowing that the plantation's servants would be killed following
04:34 the Civil War, a hoodoo witch transferred their souls into a number of homemade dolls.
04:39 These dolls then come alive and eat Metcalf alive, finally getting justice for his family's
04:48 history of prejudice and mistreatment. Number 25, The Mechanized Doll, Deep Red.
04:54 Widely considered a masterpiece of Italian Jello, Deep Red is arguably the best film from
04:59 Dario Argento, and it contains one of cinema's freakiest dolls. Parapsychologist Professor
05:05 Giordani is exploring a house when he's set upon by a mechanical doll. Everything about this thing
05:11 is terrifying. The creepy smile, the laugh, the way it throws open the door, the absolutely
05:17 terrifying way it glides towards Giordani, it's all too much, and it's enough to send a major
05:22 chill down your spine. Director James Wan was greatly influenced by Deep Red, and modeled
05:41 Saw's Billy the Puppet after this Mechanized Doll. Number 24, Amanda's Doll, Curtains.
05:52 Following the success of Prom Night, producer Peter R. Simpson made another slasher called
05:57 Curtains, which follows a group of aspiring actresses being picked off by a masked killer.
06:07 In one particularly eerie nightmare sequence, the sleeping Amanda drives down a dark road
06:12 and encounters a small doll. The doll is eerily positioned in the middle of the road,
06:17 and when Amanda goes to examine it, it comes alive and grabs her hand.
06:22 It's a well-directed sequence, mining great tension out of a surreal visual.
06:36 We don't know about you, but if we see a doll standing in the middle of the road,
06:39 we're three-point turning the heck out of there.
06:41 Number 23, Suzy, May. A cult classic of the early 2000s, May follows a veterinary assistant who
06:52 experienced a difficult childhood. May was mistreated owing to her lazy eye and had
06:57 trouble making friends, so her mom made her a doll named Suzy. We know she meant well,
07:11 but did she have to make the scariest-looking doll on the planet? This thing is absolutely
07:15 terrifying with its lanky frame, dark dress, and petrifying white face. Those bulging eyes will
07:21 haunt our nightmares forever. Even worse, May begins experiencing severe mental health issues
07:27 and starts imagining that Suzy is talking to her. It is pure nightmare fuel, as all talking dolls are.
07:34 Number 22, Der Clun, Krampus. If you're looking for a subversive Christmas film,
07:48 may we suggest Krampus? A delightful horror-comedy, it features the titular monster wreaking havoc on
07:54 Christmas. Krampus brings along a horde of minions, including the terrifying Der Clun,
08:00 a sort of doll/jack-in-the-box that is both human-sized and very hungry. Just how hungry
08:06 is demonstrated when he eats one of the characters, a nightmarish sight that her
08:10 family witnesses in the darkened attic. The clown's face looks normal, but it's hiding a
08:21 gigantic fleshy mouth that opens from the chin and contains a series of pointed teeth. It's a
08:26 great bit of practical effects work, and it makes for one of the scariest visuals from this modern
08:31 Christmas classic. Number 21, Megan, Megan. The haunted doll genre entered the 21st century with
08:42 Megan, a surprise Blumhouse hit co-produced by James Wan. The titular doll is a life-sized
08:48 android powered by artificial intelligence, which is paired with a lonely child named Katie.
09:01 Naturally, things start to go awry. The doll begins acting independently when Katie's safety
09:06 and happiness are threatened. Megan grows increasingly malicious, and viewers grow
09:11 increasingly absorbed into the story. With a great physical design and a pessimistic view
09:16 of artificial intelligence, Megan is an absolute winner. And with
09:31 a future sequel in the works, you can rest assured that we will be seeing more of the
09:35 modern horror icon. Number 20, Lily, Finders Keepers. Some scary dolls play it subtle,
09:42 looking outwardly innocent if maybe a little creepy. But this tiny terror goes all in,
09:48 looking like pure nightmare fuel right from the start. Found by a young girl in the vents of her
09:53 new home, Lily is one scary-looking doll, featuring deadly pale skin, numerous scars and marks,
10:00 and lifeless black eyes. She almost looks like the world's scariest Funko Pop. What child in
10:14 their right mind would look at this and not immediately run for the hills? It's also
10:18 possessed by a murdered young victim, so we'd advise leaving this one be if you find her.
10:24 Number 19, Wooden Doll, Suddenly in the Dark, also known as Suddenly at Midnight.
10:29 This little-known Korean horror film begins when a family hires a new housemaid, Miyoke.
10:34 Things seem fine until Miyoke is seen holding a spectacularly creepy doll,
10:38 one that housewife Sun-Hee had been seeing in her nightmares. Sun-Hee begins to suspect Miyoke
10:43 of trying to take her place, and her visions of the doll become more and more violent and
10:47 nightmarish. But is it all just in her head, or are Miyoke and the doll really up to no good?
10:52 Honestly, we'd want that doll out of our house either way.
11:05 This flick is definitely recommended for fans of evil doll movies and Asian horror.
11:09 Number 18, Vampire Clay, Vampire Clay.
11:20 Another creepy doll that puts its creep factor front and center, the lump of killer clay at
11:24 the center of this Japanese horror comedy is not something you want to see your kid bringing home
11:28 from art class. A shape-shifting entity formed out of old clay found in the woods after an
11:33 earthquake, the clay monster looks terrifying even before it begins feasting on human flesh.
11:37 Much like our last few entries, it's the dead, lifeless eyes that really bring the look home,
11:49 and make the doll scary enough to make our list. As well as, you know,
11:53 all the murder and mayhem it spreads around.
11:55 Number 17, Pinocchio, Pinocchio's Revenge.
11:58 The eponymous wooden puppet has been delighting children for over a hundred years,
12:08 having first appeared all the way back in 1883. From the classic Disney film to more modern
12:13 adaptations, he's almost a cultural icon. But this ain't your great-great-great-grandfather's
12:18 Pinocchio. The doll is brought home by an attorney, whose daughter bonds with it upon
12:23 finding it. The doll was formerly owned by a supposed killer, but it soon becomes clear who
12:28 the real culprit was all along when the doll comes alive and goes on a murderous rampage.
12:33 We're guessing Jiminy Cricket didn't last very long as this guy's conscience.
12:46 Number 16, Billy, Dead Silence.
12:49 With a few exceptions, ventriloquists and the dummies they speak through aren't nearly as
12:53 popular as they used to be. Part of this just comes down to shifting cultural trends and tastes,
12:58 but it's also because ventriloquist dummies are just plain creepy.
13:01 This unsettling doll was once used by a ventriloquist named Mary Shaw,
13:06 who was killed by the townsfolk of Ravens Fair after kidnapping a young victim.
13:10 - There are things you remember, and there are things you can't forget.
13:15 Like the look on that woman's face when she died.
13:19 Her vengeful spirit remained, however, with her once-beloved dummy seemingly housing her
13:24 tormented soul. Let this be a lesson, kids. Don't ever make fun of ventriloquists,
13:29 especially ones whose dummies already look like they're straight out of a horror movie.
13:32 - I think we should show this boy just how real I am. I'm just as real as him.
13:37 - No, I'm afraid we must go on with the show.
13:41 - No! I'm as real as you are, and I'll show you.
13:43 - Leave him alone, Billy. - I'll show him what it's like, brother.
13:45 - Listen to me, that's enough! - I'm as real as you!
13:48 - No more! - Bring him up here!
13:49 Number 15. Blade, the Puppet Master franchise.
13:54 - I'm going to hide you in the darkness. Stay there.
14:01 Charles Band's Puppet Master series is all about creepy dolls, and it amassed quite the cast of
14:06 creepy and murderous playthings over the years. But without a doubt, the franchise's most iconic
14:12 character is the blatant hook-handed doll who serves as the poster boy for the series. With a
14:16 ghostly white face and a serious knack for spilling blood, this puppet quickly rose to become a fan
14:22 favorite, and even got his own spin-off movie, a first for the franchise. Like all the puppets from
14:27 the series, this one is animated by a human soul, in this case, a surgeon who worked with the Nazis
14:33 during World War II. Number 14. The Dolls, Dolls.
14:47 You know what's scarier than one creepy killer doll? Well, that's easy, a whole horde of the
14:52 darn things. After being stranded by a thunderstorm, a family takes shelter in a
15:02 creepy secluded house, only to find that it's occupied by a seemingly kindly couple and their
15:07 massive collection of handmade dolls. Honestly, we would have run screaming in the other direction
15:12 right away, but the family sticks around long enough to see the dolls come alive and try to
15:16 punish them for their selfish attitudes. For the sheer volume and variety of tiny terrors this
15:28 movie has to offer, it easily earns a spot on our list and in our nightmares. Number 13. Hugo,
15:35 Dead of Night. The dummy from this entry is definitely the oldest on our list,
15:47 having appeared way back in the 1940s. But that doesn't diminish the creep factor even a bit.
15:53 Appearing in one segment of an anthology horror flick, this is probably the archetypal evil
15:57 ventriloquist's dummy, bullying and demeaning his hapless partner with a cruelty that's sometimes
16:02 hard to watch.
16:03 Despite only occupying a relatively small chunk of the film, the dummy's sequence is by far its
16:28 most memorable, thanks in no small part to the stellar performance by screen legend Michael
16:32 Redgrave, who manages to be both sympathetic and terrifying. Number 12. Mannequins,
16:43 Tourist Trap. We've all probably been creeped out by a department store mannequin at one point or
16:47 another, but if you haven't, this movie will change that. After getting a flat tire, a group
16:58 of friends finds an old tourist spot filled with creepy store mannequins and managed by the shotgun
17:03 wielding Mr. Slauson. Jeez, why are so many people running into killer dolls after car trouble?
17:13 Obviously, the tourist trap turns out to be just as sinister as it looks,
17:16 and the hapless friends are soon menaced by a masked man and his army of plastic foot soldiers,
17:21 who are looking to add to their numbers. Number 11. Zuni Doll, Trilogy of Terror.
17:39 Another anthology movie with a segment dedicated to a killer doll, this entry should serve as a
17:44 warning against impulse shopping. After going shopping, Amelia, played by the great Karen Black,
17:49 returns home with, among other things, a doll carved in the likeness of a Zuni hunter.
17:53 But rather than just a piece of harmless decoration, the doll is revealed to be a
18:08 malevolent entity possessed by a spirit called He Who Kills. The spirit lives up to its name,
18:13 and viciously attacks its new owner, who by now is definitely feeling a hint of buyer's remorse.
18:19 Next time, leave it on the shelf, lady.
18:21 Number 10. Pin, Pin.
18:31 Anatomical dummies can be a great way to teach anatomy and medicine. But you're not alone if
18:41 the sight of a life-sized, skinless human gives you the heebie-jeebies. The mentally unbalanced
18:46 Leon, on the other hand, develops a strange fixation on the anatomical dummy created by his
18:50 doctor, and even starts hearing it talk to him. Soon, Leon is being ordered by his new friend to
19:02 kill, an order he carries out. Other movies take the concept of a killer doll or dummy literally,
19:07 but this one instead deals with plain old human insanity that heavily features an unnerving doll.
19:13 Either way, this lesser and Canadian horror film is one we definitely encourage you to seek out.
19:18 Number 9. Dolly, Dolly Dearest.
19:33 You know how it goes sometimes. You buy an old doll factory in Mexico, and wouldn't you know it,
19:38 a nearby archaeological expedition accidentally releases an ancient Mayan spirit that possesses
19:43 a nearby doll. Next thing you know, your daughter has picked the doll up, and your household is
19:48 thrown into turmoil. We've all been there, really. While it may have a pretty bonkers premise,
20:02 this early 90s killer doll movie generates a lot of scares by playing to the inherent creepiness
20:06 of porcelain dolls, and throwing in some good old-fashioned demonic possession for good measure.
20:11 Number 8. ROMS, The Boy Franchise. Babysitting isn't the easiest gig,
20:28 but this probably sounded like a cushy, if unusual job. After traveling to England,
20:33 Greta is offered a job as a nanny in a big spooky mansion. The catch?
20:37 She's serving as a nanny to a doll named Brahms, which is doted on by a kindly couple.
20:53 We'd be a little skeptical, but in this economy, you take a job where you can get it.
20:57 Naturally, being alone in a gothic mansion with a creepy doll boy,
21:00 Greta gets spooked out and begins to suspect that Brahms is more than just a doll.
21:04 Unfortunately for Greta, her suspicions just may be correct.
21:08 Number 7. SLAPPY, The Goosebumps Franchise.
21:15 "I think it's time I started pulling the strings in this relationship.
21:20 Tonight is gonna be the best story you've ever written.
21:24 All of your children are coming out to play."
21:26 Undoubtedly one of, if not the most iconic face of the Goosebumps franchise,
21:35 R.L. Stine's entry into the canon of horrific dolls is one 90s kids should know well.
21:40 "Hey Sarah, wanna play?"
21:42 First appearing in the 1993 Goosebumps book, Night of the Living Dummy,
21:49 he started out as a normal ventriloquist's dummy before coming alive and wreaking his own
21:53 very special kind of pint-sized havoc, talking some serious smack the whole time.
21:57 Naturally, his place as one of the breakout characters earned him appearances on the
22:01 Goosebumps TV show and movies, allowing him to terrify whole new generations of children
22:06 even after all these years.
22:08 "Follow the scent, lead me to Stine."
22:11 Number 6. Fats, Magic.
22:16 Before he was terrifying the world as Hannibal Lecter,
22:19 the legendary Anthony Hopkins starred as Corky, a mentally ill ventriloquist,
22:24 whose foul-mouthed dummy seemingly served as a mouth for Corky's inner turmoil and anger.
22:28 This is another dummy who's terrifying not because of some magic spell or demonic possession,
22:33 but because he's a manifestation of a far more human kind of darkness,
22:36 one that can lurk just under the surface waiting to be given a voice.
22:40 He's also creepy as all get-out to look at, so much so that Hopkins refused to have it in his
22:50 house, and the trailer was removed from TV broadcasts after scaring too many children.
22:55 "There's one thing about me, I'm big. But then earlier today when I begged you,
22:59 pleaded not to be left behind and you pissed ice water all over me, well, that tore it.
23:06 If I'm boring you, please walk around. I don't care."
23:10 Number 5. Tiffany, The Child's Play Franchise.
23:13 Psychos whose souls have become trapped inside a doll need love too, you know.
23:17 After three cinematic outings, serial killer turned possessed doll Chucky was given a love
23:21 interest when an old flame found herself similarly trapped in a doll's body.
23:25 And she's been a staple of the franchise ever since.
23:28 The Bonnie to Chucky's Clyde, she's followed him through good times and bad,
23:36 spilling blood and serving one-liners the whole time.
23:39 "I think we make a cute couple. And if you ask me,
23:42 it'd be a shame to break 'em up, if you know what I mean."
23:46 The two even eventually had a kid together, making them the premier killer doll family
23:50 in all of horror. Not the most hard-fought distinction, but a distinction all the same.
23:55 "You didn't, we didn't."
23:56 "Sweet face, come to mommy."
24:03 "Oh."
24:03 Number 4. Clown Doll, Poltergeist.
24:14 Between ghosts, portals to the afterlife, and corpses exploding from the ground,
24:18 Tobey Hooper's 1982 horror classic has no shortage of stuff to be terrified by.
24:23 But when we think back to the film or revisit it on Halloween, nothing gets the hairs on our neck
24:28 raised quite like this clown doll that comes alive in the final act to menace young Robbie Freeling.
24:33 Maybe it's the slow build-up, the stretching arms and demonic face,
24:36 or the fact that clown dolls are always scary anyway, but this scene has us pulling the covers
24:41 over our heads every single time without fail, even after nearly four decades of repeat viewing.
24:47 Number 3. Billy, The Saw Franchise.
24:57 Imagine you wake up in a dingy bathroom, chained to a pipe, totally unaware of how you got there.
25:03 By this point, you're probably already scared out of your wits, but then in trundles a creepy
25:08 doll on a tricycle who tells you he wants to play a game. "Most people are so ungrateful to be alive."
25:15 Yep, we'd probably have a complete breakdown around now too.
25:18 The avatar for the mysterious Jigsaw Killer and poster boy of the Saw franchise,
25:22 this iconic and often misnamed puppet is one of the most recognizable faces in horror these days.
25:28 Just pray that the next time you see him is on a t-shirt or a movie poster,
25:31 and not when you wake up in a strange bathroom.
25:33 Number 2. Annabelle, The Conjuring Universe.
25:42 "Then one day it was in a completely different room, it was moving around by itself."
25:47 Over the course of their years as paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren claim
25:51 to have encountered numerous terrifying entities, but few have become as indelibly linked with their
25:56 legacy as this demonically possessed doll. In real life, the doll in question is a normal enough
26:02 looking Raggedy Ann doll, but when the Warrens went to the big screen in The Conjuring movies,
26:06 the doll was reimagined as a petrifying plaything with a face that screams "I am
26:11 absolutely evil and should be run from" at high speeds.
26:21 Hey, at least the movie version of the doll is one you can immediately tell should be avoided.
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26:48 Number 1. Chucky - The Child's Play Franchise
26:51 "Hello John. Over here. Hi, it's me, Chucky. What do you think? The gree-gree work?"
27:04 He may not be the first killer doll, but this notorious toy is undisputedly the most iconic.
27:11 First appearing in 1988's Child's Play, the serial killer turned evil toy has become
27:15 horror royalty, with numerous sequels, the aforementioned family, and a devoted fan base.
27:21 Once a human occultist named Charles Lee Ray, he transferred his soul into a good guy doll
27:31 after being fatally wounded, a move that probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
27:35 All these years later, he's still around and kicking, and still in doll form despite his
27:40 efforts to find a new body. After all, you can't keep a good guy down. Which of these
27:55 dolls freaked you out the most? Let us know in the comments. Did you enjoy this video? Check
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