Horror lovers have a lot of options when looking for an evil doll to run from because the evil doll craze has been prevalent for decades. Evil dolls are some of the terrifying antagonists in horror movies, whether they are possessed, haunted, or somehow brought to some horrible parody of life. They are both challenging to find and challenging to stop due to their tiny size, which allows them to skitter around in cabinets, drawers, and underneath beds. Here are some of the scariest dolls from horror movies, regardless of whether they are being controlled by a person, a supernatural power, or are acting on their own will.
Dolls’ lifeless eyes will always be unsettling because they suggest a life that doesn’t exist. As long as there is a film industry, there will undoubtedly always be scary movies involving creepy things like dolls, ventriloquist dummies, and puppets. It is more and more difficult to select the very best as more of these expertly produced creeps are added to film every day. These dolls, however, are, without a doubt, among the most ominous ever created.
Here are 25 Scariest Dolls In Horror Movies Ranked:
25. Lilly (Finders Keepers)
Some creepy dolls are subtly frightening while maintaining an innocent appearance on the outside. However, this little terror attacks head-on and immediately appears to be genuine nightmare material. The first doll on our list was one of the most terrifying when it was discovered by a young girl in the ducts of her new home.
It had lifeless black eyes, countless wounds and marks, and deadly pale skin. She almost resembles the spookiest Funko Pop in existence. Who among kids in their right minds wouldn’t see this and escape for the hills? If you happen to find her, we advise leaving her alone because she is also possessed by a dead child.
24. Vampire Clay (Vampire Clay)
Another spooky doll that puts its creep factor front and center, the deadly lump of clay at the heart of this Japanese horror is not something you would want to see your child bring home after art class. The clay monster is a shape-shifting creature made of ancient clay discovered in the forests after an earthquake, and it already has a horrible appearance before it starts munching on human flesh.
Like our previous selection, this doll is sufficiently spooky to make our list because of its lifeless, dead eyes, which really drive home the appearance. And, you know, all the murder and chaos it causes.
23. Pinocchio (Pinocchio’s Revenge)
Since its introduction in 1883, the titular wooden puppet has charmed children for more than a century. He has appeared in a number of current adaptations as well as the classic Disney movie. But this isn’t the Pinocchio of your great-great-grandfather.
An attorney brings the doll home, where his daughter falls in love with it right away. So when the doll comes to life and begins committing murders, it is quickly revealed who the real murderer was all along. The doll was previously owned by the alleged murderer. We think that Jiminy Cricket didn’t serve as this man’s conscience for very long.
22. Mannequins (Tourist Trap)
At some point or another, most of us have undoubtedly felt uneasy around a mannequin at a department shop, but if you haven’t, this film will change that. After having a flat tire, a group of guys discovers an abandoned tourist attraction run by Mr. Slausen that is populated with unsettling retail mannequins.
Dude, why do so many folks encounter murderous dolls after experiencing car trouble? Naturally, the tourist trap reveals out to be just as evil as it seems, and the unfortunate friends are soon in danger from a hooded figure and his army of plastic stormtroopers who are trying to increase their numbers.
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21. Willie The Dummy (The Twilight Zone)
It was a well-known trait of The Twilight Zone to transform diverse inanimate items into omens of doom and terror. The fact that Jerry, a ventriloquist, is the one who brings Willie to life is what makes “The Dummy” the most terrifying. Jerry’s wish to utilize a different dummy for subsequent acts is the main plot point, but Willie is not about to give up and retire just yet.
Jerry finds the dummy to be a nasty and irritating presence because of his constant whispers and outright manipulation. The surprising revelation of Willie as just the ventriloquist and Jerry as a dummy remains one of my top Twilight Zone events of all time. That is until the roles are switched, and we learn who has been manipulating whom all along.
20. M3GAN (M3GAN)
The 2023 movie M3GAN will feature M3GAN, the newest doll to be added to the list of frightening dolls in movies. M3GAN is less supernatural than the other dolls on this list and more technological. But even so, she is just as terrifying as all the other dolls we have here, and the introduction of M3GAN in the film is sure to frighten viewers.
In the film, M3GAN is a doll with artificial intelligence that has been trained to be a child’s best friend and a parent’s assistant. Because M3GAN is intended to be a child’s friend, she is therefore built with the ability to learn from all the things that she observes and hears.
The film tells the tale of how M3GAN, the prototype doll, begins to act in ways that she isn’t supposed to after being presented to an eight-year-old child and how things turn spooky as a result.
19. Estelle (Seinfeld)
Yes, I realize that this isn’t a movie, but bear with us. In this episode of Season 7, George is upset that his father wants to convert his old room into a “billiard parlor.” The terror is increased when he gets home and discovers that his fiancee Susan has been unloading her doll collection. Sadly, the main attraction is a ginger-wigged monster that resembles his harpy mother, Estelle, in every way.
Even worse, when George discovers the doll in their bed that night, their romantic plans are ruined; Susan adds that she always enjoyed sleeping with her dolls while she was a little kid. There is no sleep.
18. Talky Tina (The Twilight Zone)
Telly Savalas appeared as a special guest on “Living Doll” as Christie’s obnoxious new stepfather. Christie’s mother presents her with a Talky Tina doll that is genuinely unsettling before it turns out to be evil in order to ease the stress that the recent marriage has brought about in the family. The doll says, “My name is Talky Tina, & I love you so much” whenever you wind a key on its back.
Instead of saying, “my name is Talky Tina,” after Savalas spins the key, she instead screams, “you’ll be sorry!” when he tosses her against the wall. By the end, she’s warning Christie’s mother that if she doesn’t treat Tina nicely, she too might end up falling down the steps and dying.
17. Wooden Doll (Suddenly In The Dark)
The majority of the films on this list are westerns, but there are also several terrifying movie dolls that gained popularity outside. The psychological horror film Suddenly in the Dark from South Korea doesn’t use any supernatural elements to frighten viewers. Instead, because of how unsettling its premise is, it goes for the viewers psychologically.
The plot of Suddenly in the Dark centers on a woman whose life was drastically altered when her husband returned home carrying a doll-carrying new housemaid. She starts to wonder about this young woman’s intentions, which makes her more suspicious going forward.
She also gets unsettling images involving the housekeeper. The frightening doll which the housemaid got with her when she arrived at the home is unquestionably an integral part of many of the scary sequences in this movie.
16. The Doll (Deep Red)
Deep Red is a horror film by renowned horror director Dario Argento. One of the things that makes this film so interesting to fans of the horror genre is how expertly it uses imagery. People are aware that this movie is both beautiful and frightening, which is undoubtedly one of its many qualities. The doll that was featured in this movie is one of the many unsettling aspects of it.
Although the doll’s identity is unknown, it is a remarkably life-like doll with attributes you wouldn’t expect from such a doll from a movie. As a result, you will assume that he is intelligent because of his healthy teeth and eyes.
Of course, The Doll also contains a ton of other fantastic moments that will stick in the minds of horror film fans, particularly since Argento was able to utilize the right music throughout some of the most spooky scenes the film has to offer.
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15. Billy (Dead Silence)
No one can deny that ventriloquist dolls are horrifying. Those twisted jaws, unmoving eyes, and painted-on hair. Even if you haven’t read Goosebumps, there’s something unsettling about those dead blocks of wood that makes you want to keep thinking of them holding kitchen knives. Thank you, RL Stine, for providing us with thirty years worth of nightmarish material.
James Wan’s film on this list, Dead Silence, preys on every irrational fear you’ve ever had about evil creations. It’s no accident that Jamie Ashen, played by Ryan Kwanten, finds his wife’s body in their apartment the following day with her tongue ripped out after Billy arrives inert in a box on his doorstep.
Dead Silence contains several dolls besides just Billy. In order to unravel the mystery, Jamie goes to Raven’s Fair, and things only grow scarier from there.
14. Blade (Puppet Master)
The Blade is the leader of the group of cruel puppets in the 1980s movie Puppet Master, which is centered around deadly animated dolls, or puppets. The Blade is not only the most important puppet in this movie, but he also has the creepiest appearance thanks to his white skull-like face, dark eyes, and hook-and-blade arms.
To avoid being caught by Nazi spies in 1939, the designer of Blade and his puppet partners killed themselves in the opening scenes of the film. Actually, the person who created the puppets was an alchemist who learned the secret of bringing inanimate items, like these puppets, to life. The puppets are still looking to get rid of anyone who might learn that secret 50 years later.
13. The Dolls (Dolls)
The movie that most closely fits the description of this list is the 1980s horror flick Dolls. In the movie, a violent rainstorm forces an old couple to allow a family with a youngster and a couple of hitchhikers into their country home.
The house is filled with the old husband Gabriel’s creations because he makes toys. There are prominent displays of dolls and toys everywhere. But the pair is hiding something awful. With a little sorcery, they’ve given the toys life so that they will eventually attack the adults who have grown to be pessimistic.
In all honesty, those who seek shelter from the storm are nasty people who humorously surrender to the homeowners’ sinister secret when the dolls attack those among the group who have obviously wicked hearts and have completely rejected childhood innocence.
12. Hugo (Dead of Night)
Hugo, yet another ventriloquist doll, was featured in horror Dead of Night. Hugo was from a far older project. The movie features a variety of noteworthy actors, such as Sally Ann Howes, Mervyn Johns, and Googie Withers, but its closing plot starring Hugo and Michael Redgrave is what audiences will remember it for.
Hugo and Redgrave’s characters share a prison cell, and the grainy audio and dark visuals only serve to heighten the severity of the events that transpire there. Although there are many excellent examples of horrifying dolls in contemporary horror, Hugo in Dead of Night, in a few short but terrifying moments, set the bar for everything that was to come.
11. Zuni Doll (Trilogy Of Terror)
An anthology film named the Trilogy of Terror, which was released in 1975, was given to horror film enthusiasts as a treat. Amelia, the third volume in the anthology trilogy, tells the tale of a lady who is haunted by a Zuni fetish doll. In that way, the entire story centers on a single actor as she seeks to escape this doll’s fury.
In reality, this doll embodies the spirit of the Zuni hunter. In that way, he is a skilled hunter who understands what he is doing because he pursues Amelia all throughout the entire plot. Amelia gave a strong and compelling performance throughout the entire film as she escaped from this homicidal doll at several points.
10. Pin (Pin)
Pin still holds a particular place in the hearts of moviegoers who adore the doll horror-thriller films, despite not being as well known as the other dolls on our list. The Pin is on our list for a purpose, of course, since he is a particularly scary type of doll who can serve as the focal point of a truly horrific film.
The name Pin is taken from the Canadian movie Pin, in which a doctor uses a medical dummy to teach young people about biology. There are many horrible incidents in this movie. Thus Pin is obviously the medical dummy. For the weak of heart, Pin can be rather horrific, but for those who just adore this genre, it could be incredibly entertaining.
9. Dolly (Dolly Dearest)
After the Zuni, we now move on to the Mayans and the Mexican facility that produces the Dolly Dearest range. Unfortunately, the factory is next to a Mayan cult tomb’s entry, and when a nosy archaeologist opens things up, an evil spirit imprisoned for centuries believes that plastic is the coziest place to hide. Sam Bottoms, the factory owner, permits his daughter Jessie to take a doll home, and the rest is obvious.
When no one except Jessie is there, the doll can speak; Jessie begins to sketch horrific images and scream about murdering innocents; the housekeeper is stabbed, tossed downstairs, and electrocuted. Just another regular week with a roaming Sanzia devil child monster in the house.
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8. Brahms (The Boy)
What better way to start a fresh life after leaving a toxic relationship than by hiring a nanny and moving across the Atlantic to care for an orphanage? All is well thus far, right? Ah, wrong. Greta, played by Lauren Cohan, joins a family with a boy named Brahms as she relocates from the United States to England.
It turns out here that Brahms isn’t actually a real boy and that no reasonable person on this side of the 19th century calls their child that. He is a porcelain doll dressed in a suit and tie, and when his “parents” are away, he comes with such a set of rules.
Unfortunately, the real Brahms was killed in a fire at the age of just 8 years old, but at least Greta won’t have to prepare meals for him. Naturally, things don’t go as planned, and the doll with the liquid eyes ends up surfacing and then disappearing throughout the house whenever no one else is home.
7. Slappy (Goosebumps)
L. Stine’s contribution to the library of terrifying dolls is one that 90s youngsters should be familiar with. It is unquestionably one of, if not the, most recognizable faces of the “Goosebumps” series.
He first made an appearance in the 1993 “Goosebumps” book, where he first appeared as a standard ventriloquist’s dummy before springing to life and causing his own unique brand of miniature mayhem while talking some serious trash.
Naturally, his position as one of the standout characters landed him roles in the Goosebumps TV series and movies, enabling him to frighten fresh generations of kids even after so many years.
6. Fats (Magic)
Anthony Hopkins portrays Fats in the feature film Magic. Hopkins is shown in this movie as a failing magician who ultimately revives his career once he starts to use a ventriloquist dummy named Fats, in contrast to the Hannibal movies where we typically see Hopkins as the awful man. The movie then enters a frightening phase.
Dolls that are haunted or have the ability to move on their own frequently appear in horror films. As a result of his lack of any unique skills or supernatural talents, Fat is a unique kind of doll.
Hopkins’ character, who is obviously someone whose mental state has worsened as a result of the challenges of his career, instead reflects his split identity onto the doll. Although Fats lacks the same sort of supernatural abilities as the other dolls on this list, he is nonetheless immensely disturbing since he is more psychological than terror.
5. Tiffany (Bride of Chucky)
Chucky is obviously included in this list, but we’ll meet him soon. This spot is therefore reserved for his wife Tiffany, who co-stars in the Child’s Play follow-up Bride of Chucky with the aforementioned Chucky doll. Ten years after the original film’s debut, this one was able to relaunch the franchise in that way. And it is equally absurd as its predecessor.
Tiffany is a doll that has been taken over by Chucky’s lover’s soul. They are searching for an amulet because it is thought to have the capacity to enable them to transform their souls into physical bodies. Of course, they always have time along the road to indulge in their favorite activity, which is murdering innocent people for their sick, distorted sense of romance and fun.
4. The Clown (Poltergeist)
I think of Poltergeist as a kind of entry-level horror film. Without being overtly graphic or immature, it is both entertaining and spooky. The most graphic scene is Craig T. Nelson ripping off a piece of his face in front of the mirror.
Not bad, considering that Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper directed this movie. Even though this family’s home is constructed over an ancient Indian burial ground, which is what is causing all the paranormal antics to take place, there is one aspect of this movie that has always frightened me.
The clown doll inside the kids’ bedroom is actually the terrifying scene in this film. Again, whether or not you are normally terrified of clowns, the look on this clown’s face, as well as the bells on his cap, are inherently scary, even before unexpectedly emerging behind the kid, choking him, and pulling him under the bed.
3. Billy (Saw)
Of course, there is another Billy on our list, but the difference with this one is that he isn’t a doll with supernatural powers who appears in a supernatural horror film. Billy is essentially a lifeless doll that does nothing on its own in the Saw movies, not as people might think. He is an actual doll that carries out his owner’s wishes because that is what a doll is supposed to do.
The issue about Billy, though, is that the person standing next to him is a serial killer by the name of John Kramer, also known as Jigsaw. Jigsaw’s abilities and his favorite activities as a serial killer are well known to those who have seen the Saw movies. Although Jigsaw has a face of his very own, Billy is what people frequently think of when they think of Jigsaw since the murderer utilizes this doll as the picture that appears on the screen every time he frightens his victims.
2. Annabelle (The Conjuring/Annabelle)
The only doll on our 25 Scariest Dolls In Horror Movies list that is allegedly haunted in real life is Anabelle. However, the doll featured in the Annabelle movies is really a far scarier replica of the real-life doll that is allegedly home to a demonic spirit.
In this aspect, the Anabelle doll and films are based on what are allegedly true stories, which only heightens the creepiness of the entire film trilogy that explores the background of this doll and the humans who have actually encountered how terrifying it is.
The doll is being guarded by the Warrens, occult experts, and according to their website, this doll has supposedly messed with them and brought them bad luck. There is also a report of a person who had a deadly accident after entering the Warren family museum and breaking into the secured box containing the Anabelle doll. It goes without saying that the stories surrounding this doll only serve to heighten its horror factor.
1. Chucky (Child’s Play)
Chucky is, in some strange way, one of the old villains who has weirdly fallen into humor in the same throbbing horror style as Freddy Krueger. In spite of the possibility that this is still the issue in 2016, the classic Child’s Play from 1988 is still a really scary movie. Charles Lee Ray, a serial murderer who is hooked on voodoo and disguises himself as a Good Guy doll to avoid capture, is a nasty person, much like Freddy Krueger. When single mother Karen Barclay buys the doll on sale for her son, she unintentionally brings a living toy into her house that truly doesn’t only want to join your tea parties.
In Child’s Play, the little scenes are the scariest ones. The little flour stain on the kitchen worktop where someone died after a fatal fall.
The sound of teeny feet tapping across the floor and a camera moving quickly. The scene in which Karen, who is at her brain’s end with her “obviously just creative” son, learns that Chucky didn’t actually come with batteries, despite chattering merrily away and winking his eyes, is the peak of pure horror.
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