“My Favorite Evil Doll Films”
In the podcast
“Conversations in Horror” hosts Ron McLellen and I look at different aspects of
the horror genre in order to entertain and educate fans. This article is a companion to the show as a
means to touch upon things that the show doesn’t have time to. Enjoy.
I decided that it was time to take a look at some of my
favorite films that feature evil dolls.
Some of these films you may be very familiar with while others you may
not be (which means you probably need to go out there and look them up). If you listen to Episode #1002 then you will
know that we touched upon some of these films but I will enlighten you even
more.
The film that got me most interested in evil dolls was Child’s Play (1988). It had a profound effect on me as a child, so
much that the franchise was and still remains one of my all-time favorites
about Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Texas
Chainsaw Massacre. The idea of using
voodoo to become one with a doll and to continue killing people and
manipulating a child terrified and fascinated me as a child. It lead to my searching out other evil dolls
especially Charles Band’s Puppetmaster
(1989), which had some of the coolest dolls ever committed to film. Chucky may have been the most terrifying doll
there was but Band’s group of misfit and misunderstood dolls were among the
most entertaining. I still love all the
films in the franchise and eagerly await a new film whenever they are released.
I think Charles Band and Full Moon Entertainment (and his
various other companies) had the greatest effect on me growing up as a child
because of the Puppet Master
franchise and Demonic Toys (1992) and
its various sequels. Whereas the puppets
of the Puppet Master franchise could be seen as good those in Demonic Toys were all bad which made
them even more fun. If there is one
thing that Full Moon Entertainment does well, it is doll movies - others
include Doll Graveyard (1995) and Dangerous Worry Dolls (2008), among many
more. One of the highlights of the Band
produced films is Stuart Gordon’s Dolls
(1987). This is a superb film that’s
over shadowed by Gordon’s other major works but no less a classic on its
own. I love this film.
Another one of my all-time favorites from this same time
period is Dolly Dearest (1991), a
largely ignored and forgotten film that doesn’t really have anything new to say
but have always been an entertaining film.
It has not aged as well as some of the others but its slightly darker
tone doesn’t come off nearly as campy as the Band produced films. Another film in this same camp is the
psychological thriller Pinocchio’s Revenge
(1996), another largely forgotten film yet one that I really loved when it came
out. I’ve always had a fascination with
doll films since the original Child’s Play and therefore any film featuring a
doll was always high on my list.
Of a more adult vein is the Anthony Hopkins starring Magic (1978). This is a classic psychological thriller that’s
more of a character breakdown through the eyes of a ventriloquist who lets his
fractured mind take over. This is
successful due to Hopkins’ powerful performance and descent into madness. A mind not to be missed or forgotten.
Dolls continue to have a profound effect of children in the
Tobe Hooper classic Poltergeist (1982)
which is not a doll movie per say but it is most infamously remembered because
of the clown doll that seems to have a will of its own. This is not just a terrifying clown but a
horrifying doll as well. Makes you never
want to have another doll around the house ever again.
Even more terrifying is the Zuni doll from Trilogy of Terror (1975) and its sequel
of which most audiences remember the vengeful Zuni doll more than anything else
in the film. It overwhelms the narrative
and ends the anthology film on a high note.
More recent is the film Dead
Silence (2007) which I thought was an amazing film overlooked by the fact
that it is indeed a killer doll movie. I
love the atmosphere and the story and the look of this film. It is written by Leigh Whannell and James Wan
who had already created the creepy Billy doll in the Saw films but went one step further for this film. They would go even one step further with
their film The Conjuring (2013) which
introduced the terrifying Annabelle doll (which would be the subject of her own
film in 2014).
Dolls can be for good but more often than not they are the
harbingers of evil (or that is there main function in horror films). I’m not particularly afraid or scared of
dolls and doll films simply interest and entertain me. Love them or hate them evil dolls are here to
stay. I’m sure we’ll see more of them in
the near future (especially in the Poltergeist remake to be released this year)
but until then I suggest you seek out these films when you need something to
take the edge off one night.
To watch the episode
of “Conversations in Horror” go here –
Melissa (Merle Kennedy) is bullied at school and called
Mouse by her fellow students. She’s had
a hard life especially considering that everyone knows she’s related to Angela
but think that everything associated with Hull House is just a myth. Things for Melissa are even more complicated
as Father Bob (Rod McCary) disbelieves the legends and the only one that seems
to understand her is Sister Gloria (Jennifer Rhodes). When a group of her classmates trick her into
leaving the school grounds to go to Hull House, Melissa finds herself having to
confront her past and her older sister who has nefarious plans in store for
her. When Angela finds a way to leave
her prison at Hull House she brings her brood on demons to St. Rita’s where
there will be no stopping her from spreading her demonic influence.
