Ten dolls that will keep you up at night
The one thing in the horror genre that might weird folks out more than creepy kids is a creepy doll, an innocent plaything turned evil like the devilish star in the prequel Annabelle: Creation (in theaters Friday). Annabelle is plenty freaky, but USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt sees how she ranks against nine other high-profile inhabitants of Hollywood’s horror dollhouse:
10 SUZIE MAY, 2002
The only confidante of the lonely title character doesn’t have any supernatural abilities, but Suzie is still eerie as heck. Crafted by May’s mom to be her daughter’s only true friend, the doll causes May to gruesomely devise another playmate, Frankenstein-style.
9 BRAHMS THE BOY, 2016
What’s weirder than an old couple hiring a woman to babysit a lifelike doll of a little boy? That it looks way too much like their dead son. When PB&J sandwiches start disappearing and kid cries are heard around the house, you know there’s trouble.
8 FATS MAGIC, 1978
Anthony Hopkins stars as Corky, a struggling magician with some serious mental issues who achieves fame as a ventriloquist with dummy Fats. Corky tries to find love but the jealous, murderous Fats pretty much puts the kibosh on that.
7 SLAPPY GOOSEBUMPS, 2015
Given vocal life by Jack Black, the villain from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books unleashes fellow monsters on an unsuspecting town. He also throws down with his maker: Slappy injures Stine (also Black) by crushing his fingers in a typewriter. Not cool, dummy.
6 THE CLOWN POLTERGEIST, 1982
There’s a litany of nutty goingson in the classic about a ghost that haunts a suburban family. What’s not up for debate is the scariest bit: An oversized clown doll that’s already horrifying goes next-level when its arms stretch out and start choking kids.
5 BILLY DEAD SILENCE, 2007
When this guy gets regifted, people die and get their tongues ripped out. Billy is the property of a murdered ventriloquist who’s out for vengeance with one caveat: She kills only those who scream, so keep your trap shut! Slappy (voiced by Jack Black) is the head villain who unleashes monsters on an unsuspecting town in 'Goosebumps.'
4 BLADE PUPPET MASTER, 1989
It’s a sinister Sophie’s choice to choose one pint-sized villain among the many devious toys, including Leech Woman, Jester and Pinhead. But give the nod to Blade, the 2-foot-tall dude with the hook for a left hand, knife for the right and a dastardly, chalky visage.
3 BILLY THE PUPPET SAW, 2004
While the notorious Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) was the true villain of the Saw movies, his little buddy was the cinematic doomsayer, a well-dressed weirdo riding a bicycle who delivers the rules for survival to Jigsaw’s victims.
2 ANNABELLE THE CONJURING, 2013
The “true” history of the doll adds an air of kookiness, but even if she didn’t house an evil spirit, Annabelle would still terrify with her garish makeup, dead eyes and old-fashioned wardrobe that even Barbie wouldn’t touch.
1 CHUCKY CHILD’S PLAY, 1988
Annabelle’s cool and all, but she’s no Chucky. The redheaded psychotic star of six flicks (with the seventh, Cult of Chucky, out Oct. 3 on digital HD and Blu-ray) has the soul of a serial killer and one impressively long list of dead babysitters.