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SYFY WIRE Chucky

7 Scary Doll Movies to Watch ahead of Chucky Season 3

To mark the Season 3 release date of Chucky, check out our killer list of the best spooky doll movies. 

By Matthew Jackson & SYFY WIRE Staff

Did you catch Chucky's hilarious news conference last week announcing the return of his appropriately titled hit show, Chucky? Well, if you didn't, definitely check out the video above and behold how a true professional handles the press, particularly his response to that nasty question about there being too many killer doll movies recently.

How to Watch

Watch Chucky on SYFY. Stream from the beginning on Peacock.

For those who haven't found a free moment to enjoy Chucky's latest demonstration of his killer comedy chops, here's the big takeaway: Don Mancini's hit show returns to SYFY and USA starting with new Season 3 episodes on October 4. And while Chucky's response to the killer doll movie question was particularly stabbing, we here at SYFY WIRE would also like to respond in the best way we know how: with a killer list! 

RELATED: Chucky Announces Season 3 Premiere Date with DC Press Conference: Watch

To help pass the arduous hours between now and October 4, here are seven creepy doll films to get you fired up for Chucky!

The Best Scary Dolls Movies to Watch Ahead of Chucky Season 3


1. Child's Play (1988)

Child's Play (1988)

Child's Play is one of those films that fans of killer dolls absolutely never get tired of, particularly this time of year. It's been a long time, and Chucky's gone through many different incarnations since, but there's something that's still undeniably magical about his very first outing, even if you've seen it dozens of times. It might even be one of your favorite comfort movies!

2. M3GAN (2022)

A still image from M3GAN (2023)

The biggest new killer doll around may have kicked butt at the box office, but she's still got a ways to go before she can even polish Chucky's throne. That said, M3GAN, could very well become the next big creepy doll franchise, what with a sequel already in the works. Produced by horror legends James Wan and Jason Blum, and directed by Gerard Johnstone, the film stars Allison Williams as a roboticist who thinks her latest AI creation is just the right babysitter for her recently orphaned niece. Spoiler alert: M3GAN may be a great dancer, but she's sure as heck not a great babysitter. 

3. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

ANNABELLE COMES HOME (2019)

If there's any creepy doll on the block who can compete with Chucky for pure name recognition at this point, it's Annabelle, the terrifying, braid-wearing antique who's proven popular enough to get her own sub-franchise within the world of The Conjuring. Annabelle's such a big deal for 21st-century horror fans that she's carried three movies all by herself at this point, but if you're looking to watch just one, Gary Dauberman's Comes Home is the winner, because it's the one that turns focus on Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, and tells the story of exactly how the legendary doll ended up in their little in-house horror museum.

RELATED: James Wan, Jason Blum, and Allison Williams agree: M3GAN would ruin Chucky in a fight

4. The Boy (2016)

The Boy (2016)

William Brent Bell's tale of a creepy doll named Brahms hasn't been on the horror scene long, but The Boy has already developed a devoted fandom thanks to its creepy atmosphere and undeniably effective design for the title character. The story of a nanny (Lauren Cohan) who discovers she's caught in a ghost story driven by the grief of a family who've used a doll as a stand-in for their dead son, it's both scary and loads of Gothic fun. Plus, Brahms might not be in the same supernatural league as Chucky, but we're betting they'd get along in a crossover situation.

5. Dolls (1987)

DOLLS (1987)

The late, great Stuart Gordon could balance horror and comedy like no other, and he proved it once again with this creepy film packed with, you guessed it, creepy dolls of all sorts. The story begins as a riff on old, dark house tropes, as various stranded strangers make their way to a mysterious mansion to seek shelter from a storm. What they find when they get inside, of course, is more than just room after room of strange antiques. If you want maximum per capita killer toy mayhem, this is the movie for you.

6. Magic (1978)

Anthony Hopkins in Magic (1978)

Technically Magic isn't a creepy doll movie. It's a creepy ventriloquist dummy movie, and depending on who you ask, that's even scarier. Written by the great William Goldman and directed by the great Richard Attenborough, the film follows an aspiring magician (a young Anthony Hopkins) who picks up ventriloquism as part of his act. The act turns out to be very convincing, but as the people surrounding the magician soon discover, it's not just because he's talented, it's because the dummy just might have a murderous mind of its own.

7. Puppet Master (1989)

Puppet Master

When Child's Play proved to be a hit in 1988, it was only natural that more killer toy movies would follow, and exploitation legend Charles Band was not about to be left out of the fun. Puppet Master, produced by Band under his Full Moon Pictures banner, is the result, and it's a very wild, very strange ride. It's the story of a puppeteer who just happened to unlock an ancient secret to imbuing inanimate objects with life. What begins as a story of psychics trying to solve a strange mystery soon descends into puppet murder mayhem. Plus, if it's exactly your kind of weird, you've got quite a few sequels waiting for you.

While we patiently await Chucky Season 3 coming on October 4, catch up on Seasons 1 and 2 on Peacock or the SYFY app now.