Parodies of humanity? A mockery of childhood innocence? Things that appear human but aren’t? Tiny unnatural monsters that lurk in dark corners of the heart and mind? This is an ongoing list of movies and TV show episodes that feature dolls of various kinds that display unnatural life and (usually) an evil tendency. The list is in alphabetical order (ignoring initial articles).
• Sources
Angel (TV series)
“Smile Time” (US; ep. 5.102; 18 Feb. 2004; dir. Ben Edlund)
Asylum (UK-1972; dir. Roy Ward Baker; sc. Robert Bloch; segment “Manikins of Horror”)
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV series)
“Where the Woodbine Twineth” (US; 11 January 1965; Season 3, Episode 13; dir. Alf Kjellin)
Attack of the Puppet People (US-1958; dir. Bert I. Gordon)
The Black Devil Doll from Hell (US-1997; dir. Chester Turner)
Blood Dolls (US-1999; dir. Charles Band)
Buffy (TV series)
“The Puppet Show” (US; ep. 1.09; 5 May 1997; dir. Ellen S. Pressman)
Child’s Play series
Child’s Play (US-1988; dir. Tom Holland)
Child’s Play 2 (US-1990; dir. John Lafia)
Child’s Play 3 [aka Child's Play 3: Look Who's Stalking] (US-1991; dir. Jack Bender)
Bride of Chucky (US-1998; dir. Ronny Yu)
Seed of Chucky (US-2004; dir. Don Mancini)
Curse, Death and Spirit [aka Honto ni atta kowai hanashi: Jushiryou] (Japan-1992; dir. Hideo Nakata; segment “The Cursed Doll”)
Dangerous Worry Dolls (US-2008; dir. Charles Band)
Das Clown (US-1999; short [8 min]; dir. Tom E. Brown)
Dead of Night (UK-1945; segment “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy” dir. Alberto Cavalcanti)
Dead Silence (US-2007; dir. James Wan)
Death Doll (US-1989; dir. William Mims)
Demonic Toys (US-1992; dir. Peter Manoogian) — review
Demon Island [aka Piñata: Survival Island] (US-2002; dir. David and Scott Hillenbrand)
Der Golem (Germany-1913; dir. Henrik Galeen; co-s. Paul Wegener)
Der Golem: Wie Er in die Welt Kam (Germany-1920; dir. Paul Wegener)
Devil Doll (US-1963; dir. Lindsey Shonteff)
Doctor Who (TV series)
“Terror of the Autons” (Season 8, eps 1-4; UK-2 Jan 1971-23 Jan 1971)
“The Talons of Weng-Chiang” (Season 14, eps 1-6; UK-26 Feb 1977-2 April 1977)
“Rose” (New series, Season 1, ep. 1; UK-26 March 2005)
“The Girl in the Fireplace” (New series, Season 2, ep. 4; UK-6 May 2006)
Dollface (US-2008; short [20 min.]; dir. Jon Springer)
Doll from Hell [aka Ikenie; also Sacrifice] (Japan-1996; dir. Shinobu Murata)
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (US-1993; dir. Charles Band)
The Doll Master [aka Inhyeongsa] (South Korea-2004; dir. Yong-ki jeong)
Dolls (US-1987; dir. Stuart Gordon)
Dolly Dearest (US-1991; dir. Maria Lease)
The Dummy (2000; dir. Keith Singleton)
The Fear (US-1995; dir. Vincent Robert)
The Fear: Resurrection [aka The Fear: Halloween Night] (US-1999; dir. Chris Angel)
Golem (1936; dir. Julien Duvivier)
Goosebumps (TV series):
“Night of the Living Dummy II” (US; ep. 10; 12 Jan 1996)
“Night of the Living Dummy III (1)” (US; ep. 43; 20 July 1997)
“Night of the Living Dummy III (2)” (US; ep. 43; 20 July 1997)
“Bride of the Living Dummy” (US; ep. 60; 14 Feb 1998)
The Great Gabbo (US-1929; dir. James Cruze, Eric Stroheim [uncredited])
Gudia (India-1997; dir. Goutam Ghose)
House of Evil (Mexico/US-1968; dir. Jack Hill and Juan Ibáñez)
The iDol (Japan-2006; dir. Norman England)
Íntimo Terror (Spain-1992; dir. Walter Doehner)
It! (UK/US-1966; dir. Herbert J. Leder) — a Golem movie
Jigsaw (US-2002; dir. Don Adams and Harry James Picardo)
Killer Koala (US-1996; dir. Harry Penderecki)
Lights Out (TV series):
“When Widows Weep” (US/Canada, pilot; 15 Jan 1972; creator Arch Oboler, writer Alvin Boretz, producer Herbert Brodkin)
The Living Doll (France-1908; dir. George Méliès)
Living Dolls (US-1980; short [9:36 min]; dir. Todd Coleman)
The Living Idol (US-1957; dir. René Cardona and Albert Lewin)
Los Muñecos Infernales: Devil Doll Men (Spain-1961; dir. Benito Alazrahi) [aka Curse of the Doll People, US, dir. Paul Nagle]
Love Object (US-2003; dir. Robert Parigi)
Macabre Serenade [aka Dance of Death] (US-Spain, 1968; dir. Juan Ibanez, Jack Hill)
Magic (1978; dir. Richard Attenborough)
Malice@Doll (Japan-2000; dir. Keitarou Motonaga)
Marronnier (Japan-2004; dir. Hideyuki Kobayashi)
May (US-2002; dir. Lucky McKee)
The Melancholy Fantastic (US-2010; dir. A.D. Calvo)
Monsters (TV series):
“Holly’s House” (ep. 2; 29 Oct 1988; dir. Ted Gershundy)
“Manniquins of Horror” (ep. 23; 20 May 1989; dir. Ernest Farino, written by Robert Bloch)
Night Gallery (TV series):
“The Doll” (Season 1, ep. 12; 13 January 1971; dir. Rudi Dorn)
“The Doll of Death” (Season 3, ep. 14; 20 May 1973 ; dir. John Badham)
Pinocchino’s Revenge (US-1996; dir. Kevin Tenney)
Pulgasari (North Korea-1985; dir. Sang-Ok Sim and Chong Go Jo)
Puppet Master series
Puppet Master (1989; dir. David Schmoeller)
Puppet Master II (1991: dir. Dave Allen)
Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge (1991; dir. David DeCoteau)
Puppet Master 4 (1993; dir. Jeff Burr)
Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994; dir. Jeff Burr)
Curse of the Puppet Master (1998; dir. David DeCoteau)
Retro Puppet Master (1999; dir. David DeCoteau and Joseph Tennent)
Puppet Master: The Legacy (2003; dir. Charles Band)
Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (Us-2004; dir. Ted Nicolaou)
Puppets Who Kill (TV series. Canada, 2001-2005; dir. Rob Mills and Shawn Thompson)
Ragdoll (US-1999; dir. Ted Nicolaou)
Reincarnation [aka Rinne] (Japan-2005, dir. Takashi Shimizu)
Samurai Princess Gedohime (Japan-2009; dir. Kengo Kaji)
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework [aka Zona d'ombra: bambole e vudù] (Canada-1997; dir. Stephen Williams)
Shattered Lives (US-2009; dir. Carl Lindbergh)
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (US-1992; dir. Martin Kitrosser)
The Simpsons (TV series)
“Tree House of Horror III: Clown Without Pity” segment (US; ep. 64, 24 Oct. 1992)
Small Soldiers (1998; dir. Joe Dante)
Stitches (US-2000; dir. Neal Marshall Stevens)
Tales From the Hood (US-1995; dir. Rusty Cundieff — “KKK Comeuppance” story)
The Tales of Hoffman (UK-1951; dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger — “The Tale of Olympia” segment)
Tiki (US-2006; dir. Ron Ford)
Totem (US-1999; dir. David DeCoteau)
Tourist Trap (US-1979; dir. David Schmoeller)
Trilogy of Terror (US-1975; dir. Dan Curtis — Part 3 “Amelia”, released separately as a short titled “Terror of the Doll”)
Trilogy of Terror II (US-1996; dir. Dan Curtis)
Twilight Zone (TV series):
“The After Hours” (ep. 34; 10 June 1960; dir. Douglas Heyes)
“The Dummy” (ep. 98; 4 May 1962; dir. Abner Biberman)
“Living Doll” (ep. 126; 1 Nov. 1063; dir. Richard C. Sarafian)
The X-Files (TV Series)
“Chinga” (Season 5, ep. 10; 8 February 1998; dir. Kim Manners; written by Stephen King)
Hardy, Phil (ed.) (1993-), Horror: The Aurum Film Encyclopedia, Aurum Press: London
Internet Movie Database
Miscellaneous correspondents, including Michael Prince, Richard Duran and Dennis Pradere
Hi.
I’m looking for a movie wich I saw as a child – it’s probably from the 70′s or early 80′s. It’s about a woman who, I think house sits a big mansion, and these two dolls (like actual size kids a boy and a girl) haunts the place. The couple who live there had two children who died. And now the dead children have possesed the dolls. This woman keeps hearing child laughter and toys being played with from the childrens room – but when she opens the door, there’s nothings there. Okay….that was a long explanation…
Can anyone help me with the title of this movie??? It’s british by the way.
I like horror movies about dolls. Like Puppet Master and Ragdoll.
I am looking for a movie or possibly just a short film. It is about an evil doll that is returned to a store as defected. The doll talks to the shop keeper and she decides to take it home. The doll turns out to be evil and the woman in the end turns into a doll.
Its a doll with white cabbage looking hair (but not real hair its hard plastic) and a characteristic look with an upturned eye.