8 Of Our Favorite Scary Dolls In Horror Movies

There's one word that best describes Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) in the horror world: icon. He's also a wisecracking killer doll that has scared audiences since the '80s when the first Child's Play was released. Chucky is primarily responsible for most of the killer dolls post-1988. 

Chucky combines humorous wit, foul-mouthed comebacks, and viciousness as part of his killer doll charisma. Considering the fact that his plastic flesh is inhabited by the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, he has moments of being legitimately scary and creepy. This is especially true in the more serious early entries of the Child's Play franchise and later in the canonical TV series. Chucky remains in our hearts, cackling like a maniac. Wanna play?

The moment we met Tiffany Valentine (voiced and played by Jennifer Tilly) in Bride of Chucky, we knew she'd be an icon. Tiffany and Chucky make for a killer romantic pairing, proving deadly for anyone who crosses them. But let's not forget that Tiffany is formidable on her own, and during her doll days, she added a certain flair to her kills. She's a deranged delight with a goth sensibility and downright scary when she wants to be.

Tiffany's introduction into the Child's Play franchise was a much-needed change of pace. A killer doll possessed by a woman? Tiffany's icon status ranks quite high, and she's one of a kind amongst her killer doll peers. Not to mention, she also happens to be queer! 

There's no arguing that Tales from the Hood is one of the best, if not the best, anthology horror films of all time. It's also a tremendous horror movie in the Black horror canon. One of the vignettes, titled “KKK Comeuppance,” involving the Plantation Dolls is hard to forget. The dolls are possessed by the souls who worked on the plantation where a racist politician is staying. Naturally, the dolls take revenge on the KKK leader, and they psychologically torture him before moving to some good old-fashioned physical methods.

The story behind the dolls is awful, and there's nothing fun about why these souls are possessing the dolls in the first place. But the fact that they enact revenge on a KKK member who is openly racist is delightful to watch. They are relatively underrated and under-discussed as far as scary doll conversations go. But no longer will they stand on the sidelines! 

Billy the Puppet isn't a killer doll per se, but he's still a scary doll often used to usher people to their demise. The Saw franchise isn't about murderous dolls, and Billy doesn't set up the traps, but he's still an iconic creepy doll across horror fandom. A doll that habitually makes its dramatic entrance on a tricycle is bound to make people's skin crawl.

Billy's presence is never a good thing for the characters in the Saw universe. He's a bit of a harbinger of doom. When you see Billy, it means you're in for a terrible time. At the end of the day, Billy deserves to be in the conversation, and it goes to show that you don't need to talk, move inanimate objects across the room, or be possessed to be effectively scary as a doll. 

Dead Silence isn't exactly widely regarded as a great horror movie, but that doesn't mean Billy the Dummy isn't a scary doll. Billy the Dummy is controlled by Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts) and takes revenge on the Ashen family line and other townspeople of Raven's Fair who had a hand in her death. If seeking revenge from beyond the grave wasn't horrific enough, she partially uses Billy the Dummy to carry out her dark deeds.

It's mostly Billy the Dummy's appearance that lands him a spot on this list. Ventriloquist dolls aren't typically considered cutesy or approachable, and their presence in horror films is always deeply unsettling. It's safe to say that Billy the Dummy is what makes Dead Silence memorable.

Annabelle is hands down one of the worst gifts for anyone to receive. Throughout The Conjuring, people aren't always aware of how troublesome and dangerous Annabelle is. But as soon as she (or the entity Malthus) decides to torment people, she goes for the jugular. 

Annabelle is a modern example of a creepy possessed doll designed to chill your blood with just one look. Would a collector of creepy curiosities be as disturbed? Probably. However, the demon possessing Annabelle won't hesitate to ruin someone's life once she comes into their possession. It's best to run in the other direction if Annabelle shows up at your door. And don't try to drop her in a well; she'll show up again. Even angrier.

Check out these first look images from The Conjuring: Last Rites

The highly anticipated Oz Perkins horror comedy, The Monkey dropped earlier this year, formally introducing us to its primary antagonist, which happens to be a toy monkey. It never speaks and, in fact, only has a few facial expressions. But the damage this toy does when people wind it up is catastrophic. The monkey causes some of the most bizarre and nerve-wracking deaths you might see this year in horror. 

The toy monkey literally causes bizarre deaths to occur. It doesn't care who it's killing, and there's no proper explanation as to why the victims are being killed. There's something innately terrifying about death at random! This toy monkey will make you side-eye monkeys (live or stuffed), even if they are sort of cute in that quirky but creepy way. 

Is The Monkey the goriest Stephen King horror movie ever?

The scary reality of AI isn't just about the harmful effects on the environment or the fact that Hollywood is utilizing it to replace actual creators. It's also about how dangerous an AI like M3GAN can become when it goes rogue. M3GAN made her mark in the horror world as a sassy killer doll, but she didn't stop there. Partially due to that killer viral dance and a fun marketing campaign, MEGAN became a pop culture sensation. She even went so far as to start beef with Chucky on Twitter, and was the face of an actual fashion campaign collaboration with Marc Jacobs and Deftones.

M3GAN is a scary doll for the modern technology era, and she's a killer cautionary tale. She's absolutely ruthless once she believes someone deserves to die. Killing people and whipping out some expert dance moves in the process is hard work. Leaving her off this list would qualify as an actual horror crime. 

Want more M3GAN? You're in luck. Watch the trailer for M3GAN 2.0 right here.