Haunted houses and masked killers are scary, but you know what’s scarier? Killer dolls! Maybe it’s because they’re so ordinary, something you find in every house, tucked away on the shelves, sitting in prams, always watching. Toy Story may have sparked the joy of watching your favourite toys come to life, but the truth is, something about their glassy eyes, painted smiles, and stiff limbs has always felt off… and when they come to life, all bets are off.
The first film to use a doll killing machine was The Devil Doll, a 1936 horror film where a prisoner uses a portion to shrink humans to a miniature frame, and creates his own army of doll-sized assassins to exact revenge. Since then, there have been several other attempts, with Child’s Play being the most cosplayed one over the years. Over the decades, these pint-sized terrors have kept up with the times, replacing their old kitchen knives and voodoo curses, with cutting edge AI and self-awareness. Enter M3GAN, the sleek, next-gen killer doll with her own consciousness and dangerous protectiveness, marking a pivotal turning point for the subgenre.
So, in honour of every creepy toy that’s blinked when it wasn’t supposed to, here are the top 10 nightmare-inducing killer toy movies, ranked on a scale from “I can still sleep with the bathroom light on” to “caffeinated and surviving on three days of no sleep as I rehome every doll in my house.”
10. Heidi (Heidi -2014)
Creepiness Scale: 3 out of 5
Unlike highly stylised dolls like M3GAN, Heidi, the titular star of Heidi, is a tattered, hollow-eyed figure made for horror movies, not homes. This 2014 found-footage horror film follows two teenage boys trying to escape the boredom of suburban life by filming a documentary-style project, using Heidi as their main subject. But things take a sinister turn when the doll begins to show signs of life and uses her supernatural abilities to influence the boys’ behaviour.
9. Lilith (Finders Keepers - 2014)
Creepiness Scale: 3 out 5
Before M3GAN, we had Lilith, a possessive, glass-eyed porcelain doll tied to a haunted house by her tortured past. In the 2014 horror film Finders Keepers, Lilith preys on the young and impressionable member of the Simon family, Claire. Still reeling from her parents’ messy divorce, Claire becomes increasingly attached to the house’s ancient doll, Lilith. As their bond deepens, strange things begin to unravel in the house, and Claire’s mother, Alyson, begins to suspect that Lilith may have something to do with it. The closer Alyson gets to learning about the house’s dark truth, the more dangerous and disturbing Lilith becomes in her attempts to stop her.
8. Slappy (Goosebumps - 2015)
Creepiness Scale: 2 out of 5
With his slicked back hair, wooden sneer, and a bow tie that says polite, Slappy, is a ventriloquist dummy possessed by a dark spirit with a serious god complex. First introduced in R. L. Stine’s Night of the Living Dead, and later brought to life in the Goosebumps film, he doesn’t just cause chaos, he commands it. In the 2015 film, Slappy, voiced by Jack Black, is the main villain literally pulling all the strings to unleash every monster from R. L. Stine’s manuscripts onto the real world to exact revenge on Stine for keeping him trapped in fiction all these years. Given the film’s PG-rating, Slappy is more spooky than terrifying. Low on the scares, high on the laughs.
7. Pin (Pin - 1988)
Creepiness Scale: 5 out of 5
Pin is not your average killer doll movie. There’s no gore, no demonic possession, and no knife-wielding maniacs. What you get instead is a smart, haunting exploration of a deeply disturbed man and his unhealthy obsession with a life-sized anatomical doll he begins to treat as his father. Based on Andrew Neiderman’s bestselling novel of the same name, this horror flick follows a doctor who uses a life-sized, anatomically correct medical mannequin to teach his kids about the human body. He uses ventriloquism to make the dummy speak, especially when discussing uncomfortable topics like sex, illness, and anatomy. His daughter quickly grows sick of these creepy lessons, but his son, Leon, develops an unhealthy fondness for them. After a traumatic accident claims both parents, Leon becomes increasingly unstable and begins to believe Pin is truly alive. There are no supernatural horrors here, but Pin is deeply unsettling as it plays with your perception, blurring the line between reality and Leon’s dissociative delusions.
6. Brahms (The Boy - 2016)
Creepiness Scale: 3 out of 5
Without giving away too many spoilers, The Boy is another addition to the list of not your typical killer doll movies. The story follows Greta, a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English house where an elderly couple gives her the strange task of babysitting a life-sized porcelain doll named Brahms. Greta, assuming the doll is a replacement and coping mechanism for the child they lost, abides by the strict but specific rules laid out for her to care for him. But things begin to go wrong when the couple leaves her alone with the doll, and it starts exhibiting signs of life making Greta believe it may be possessed. While the film has a shocking twist that somewhat lessens the scare factor of the doll itself, Brahms' glassy stare and the film’s slow, chilling pace still keep you on edge, easily earning him a place on the list.
5. Animatronic Mascots (Five Nights At Freddy’s - 2023)
Creepiness Scale: 4 out of 5
Based on the hit indie game series created by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy’s follows Mike Schmidt, a night security guard working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a long abandoned family entertainment center, think a haunted version of Chuck E. Cheese, through a very eventful night shift. What starts out as a boring night shift quickly transforms into a night of terror as Mike realises the restaurant's animatronic mascots, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, come to life, and they’re not friendly. Designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, these fuzzy death machines are impressively lifelike, and terrifying when they move. Murderous robots, child possessions, the eerie setting of an abandoned restaurant, and the presence of a masked killer, Five Nights At Freddy’s brings just enough dread to make you think twice about visiting an arcade.
4. Baby Oopsy Daisy (Demonic Toys - 1992)
Creepiness Scale: 5 out of 5
You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can judge this movie by its title. Demonic Toys gives you exactly what it promises, a group of campy, demon-possessed toys out to get humans. Set mostly inside a toy warehouse, the film follows Judith Gray, a tough cop who ends up trapped inside with a group of strangers, unaware of the army of possessed toys waiting to attack. The standout toy, of course, is Baby Oopsy Daisy, a foul-mouthed, maniacal, rotund baby doll with sharp teeth, wild eyes, and ragged baby clothes. Baby Oopsy Daisy is over-the-top and grotesquely comedic, but she still ranks high on the creep meter, scary enough to make you swear off baby dolls and deep-clean your house of forgotten toys.
3. Annabelle (Annabelle - 2014)
Creepiness Scale: 5 out of 5
Counting down to the top three we have Annabelle, the iconic haunted doll from the Conjuring universe. She never blinks, never speaks, never moves, and is yet able to slam doors, make lights flicker, and terrify the living crap out of everyone. With her wide glassy eyes, permanent sneer, and rigid porcelain form, she oozes creepiness and fear. Set in 1970, Annabelle is a prequel to The Conjuring, the film follows a couple who move into a new house, only to realise that it’s haunted by Annabelle, a conduit that has the ability to summon evil spirits and torment her owners.
2. M3GAN (M3GAN - 2022)
Creepiness Scale: 4 out of 5
Forget ghosts and curses, Gen-Z want their killer dolls, coded, conscious, and ready to trend on TikTok. Model 3 Generative Android or M3GAN is an AI-powered killer doll upgrade for the current gen. Initially created by Gemma, a roboticist, as the ultimate companion for her grieving niece, M3GAN, is designed to learn, adapt, and protect. But as her programming evolves, so does her sense of control, and soon, she takes her prime directive, ‘protect Cady at all costs’ too literally, eliminating anyone who stands as a threat between Cady and her. Her viral success and high kill count have earned her a sequel, M3GAN 2.0, where she’ll get a sleek new upgrade and face off against another AI killer doll in a battle of horror icons.
1. Chucky (Child’s Play - 1988)
Creepiness Scale: 4 out of 5
Chucky is the original pint-sized psychopath who started the trend of turning toy shelves into nightmares. It all started in 1988 with the first movie, Child’s Play, where a dying serial killer used a voodoo ritual to transfer himself into Chucky’s body to continue haunting humans. This red-haired Good Guy doll sparked a slasher franchise that blended camp, gore, and dark humour to iconic effect, spawning seven films, a reboot, a hit TV series, and a whole family of deranged serial-killer dolls. From electrocution to being blown to pieces, Chucky has been through hell and back, and he’s survived it all with his sinister smile intact. From Halloween cosplay to horror convention royalty, he’s more than just a doll: He’s pop-culture royalty, and a foul-mouthed, knife-wielding blueprint for every killer doll that came after him.
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