4.
“Living Doll” — The Twilight Zone (1963)
6.
Dolls (1987)
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This is an interesting spin on the creepy doll formula because the story isn’t about a seemingly innocent toy that starts acting up. Instead, a couple brings the dolls to life and has them kill adults who become stranded at their home, while children are allowed to live. They also transform some victims into dolls, making for one of the most brutal scenes in the movie.
Scream Factory
8.
Magic (1978)
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Starring Anthony Hopkins, Magic is about a man suffering from a mental illness that, at the time, was referred to as split-personality disorder. In the movie, a homicidal part of the character’s mind is funneled into his ventriloquist dummy. But perhaps the scariest thing of all was how little we knew about dissociative disorders back then.
20th Century Fox
15.
Pin (1988)
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Another movie with an outdated concept of dissociative disorder, Pin is about a boy, Leon, who starts to identify with a medical dummy his father uses to teach his kids about the human body. The dummy, who is called Pin, “tells” Leon to kill anyone who goes against what the boy wants. What’s unique in this movie is that, towards the end, the dummy actually condemns Leon for his actions. He reminds Leon that he did everything out of his own self-interest. I won’t spoil the very end, but it’s an interesting twist on the dissociative trope.
New World Pictures
16.
“The Doll” — Night Gallery (1971)
17.
“Night of the Living Dummy II” — Goosebumps (1996)
Which other doll movies or episodes belong on this list? Let me know in the comments!
And for more movies like M3GAN, check out the best movies about A.I. here!
