So, while we were busy creating portraits using AI on social media, the release of “M3gan” was just around the corner. Although we need to wait another week to experience the horror that is to be unraveled, the trailer states that “M3gan” is going to be stiff competition for “Chucky.” A whole new creepy doll horror movie is approaching the town. The unique feature is that the doll is neither possessed by spirits nor has any supernatural powers. She is a toddling redheaded advanced robotics and AI murderer.
Those of us who have already watched Netflix’s “Black Mirror” series are well aware of the nightmares that AI might add to our lives. Now from Gerard Johnstone comes a creepy doll murderer fueled by AI. The trailer provides the right amount of punch that a horror film must deliver. Also, we expect nothing less when horror comes from producer James Wan, who has created the “Conjuring” universe and co-created the “Saw” and “Insidious” universes. So, while you wait for the movie to release on January 13, the Friday of this year, here is a list of films you might watch in the meantime to prepare yourself to embrace the horror.
Magic (1978)
Adding this movie to the list might look odd as it is not about a doll horror movie technically. But if you have watched it, you will know why it makes the top of the list. Not a doll, but a dummy with a sinister instinct is what makes Richard Attenborough’s ‘Magic’ a true horror movie. An aspiring magician (Anthony Hopkins) picks up a form of ventriloquism to entertain his audience. Sooner or later, the audience finds out that it is not the magician’s talent but something spookier that makes his acts so convincing. It is a gem of a horror movie that is bound to run chills down your spine.
Dolls (1987)
If you grew up playing with dolls, this movie is bound to make you throw them away for good. Stuart Gordon’s “Dolls” is scary in every possible aspect, and the timely comedy is a wonderful combination. An elderly couple helps (or do they actually) a group of five adults and a kid who got stranded due to a storm. The couple were dollmakers. However, the dolls weren’t really just dolls; they were very much alive and were once evil human beings. If once evil humans now dolls sound scary, you might just imagine how the visuals are when the kid becomes the first one to be introduced to the horror. The movie is cool stop-motion animation but fails to deliver horror as it should. However, you might just like it if you try.
Child’s Play (1988)
This is probably the first film that pops into your mind when we talk about murderous dolls. Well, we can’t have this conversation without Chucky Mind when we talk about murderous dolls. Frankly, the Child’s Play/Chucky franchise is mostly below-average horror comedies. However, “Child’s Play” is the original and probably the best of this franchise. A psychopathic murderer performs voodoo before dying to transfer his soul into the Chucky doll. Soon, the doll terrorizes everyone with its murder spree. Chucky made the murders look like accidents, making it immensely difficult for the cop in charge to convince others that a doll is the murderer. Finally, he is successful, but it is too late.
The Conjuring (2013)
Well, technically, The Conjuring is not about a killer doll, but a sinister one, undoubtedly. The director-writer James Wan leaves no room to present a true story in the ultimate scary way possible. Annabelle, the sinister doll, does nothing; her very existence is bound to creep you out. The story is about the Perron family, who moves to a new house of an evil, believed to be a witch, Bathsheba. Of course, the family was unaware of it and also of the fact that the woman hung herself on the same property. However, when unnatural things begin to happen, they contact Ed and Lorraine to help them. Although the family was believed to be safe, for the audience, Wan opened the doors to a horror universe like never before.
Annabelle: The Creation (2017)
As “The Conjuring” introduced us to Annabelle, the creation of the doll movie makes its way to the list. David F. Sandberg, whose debut film ‘Lights Out’ another widely celebrated horror movie, gave the audience a tale of love and horror. “Annabelle: The Beginning” is a heartwarming tale of a father who loses his beloved daughter, Annabelle, in a fatal car accident. Later, he believed that the spirit of his daughter wanted to be inside one of the dolls. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his daughter, but something way more sinister than he could have ever imagined. The omen follows even after a decade when an orphanage takes over the house. The sinister doll now attacks the weakest among the children and finally finds a way to reach a much wider audience to spread its horror.
If you are enthusiastic about this genre, there are several other films that subtly deal with doll horror. However, these five beat them both in presentation and in the plot. The trailer for “M3gan” has given us similar vibes. So, as the anticipation for “M3gan” gets higher, you might watch these films to boost your much-needed courage to watch the upcoming film.