The 10 Best Horror Movies With Dollhouses

After several days or weeks stuck indoors depending on where you are at, things become a little nutty. Everyone starts looking at each other with either complete irritation or WAY too much interest. All of this social distancing is keeping us safe but wearing on nerves. If you are beginning to feel like you’re confined to your own creepy dollhouse I’ve got the perfect solution. Lean into the suck and binge-watch this complete list of the 10 Best Horror Movies With Dollhouses. We are all stuck inside in our own house of horrors so there’s no better time to breakdown the best ones to watch. Some of the dollhouses are lifesize and others are more like the ones you remember as a child.

Amityville Dollhouse

It’s exactly what you think it will be, a child’s plaything from the devil house featured in the original film and each subsequent sequel. This B movie isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible and the house really does deliver on fear. I’m not sure what bright bulb thought it would be a good idea to make a dollhouse likeness of the infamous house or who thought, “Hey, I’ll give this to my kid.” but whatever, stupid is as stupid does I guess. Like I said the film isn’t the best but the dollhouse rocks. Buy it on Amazon as it isn’t available to stream yet.

The Lodge

The movie isn’t nearly as good as the dollhouse but for lovers of a good psychological riptide, The Lodge is perfect for you. The film is absolutely, 100% dependent on the reveal which requires careful attention to be paid to the dollhouse in question. If you are patient and into weird stuff that makes you feel a little dumb at the end or makes you fist bump “I told you so” to no one because you are social distancing this one is perfect. The only thing that sucks is there is no way to stream it right now. It will be available VOD on May 5th unless it gets released early.

Hereditary

Ari Aster’s classic is full of dollhouses. That is what Toni Collette’s character does for a living so we see her displaying them and making all parts of them throughout. At one point she even makes a vignette of her daughter’s death with one. That one is four-alarm fire messed up! Demons, witchcraft, and naked old people aren’t the only terrible things you will see in Hereditary. If you are obsessed with King Paimon, Zazas, color symbology, and all the other nonsense we got you covered. Watch it on Vudu or Amazon Prime.

Annabelle: Creation

I like all the Annabelle movies. Creation is hands down the more superior one though. You can’t go wrong with disturbing dolls. The young cast is very good with standout performances by Lulu Wilson, Miranda Otto, and Talitha Eliana Bateman. There are more than a few cringe-worthy moments and you should not be swayed by the whole sequel issue. It is one of the scariest films on the list and quality addition to the Conjuring Universe. Watch it on Amazon Prime or Vudu.

Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

There is no guiltier pleasure than NOES 3. Dream Warriors is the bomb. It is everything great about the ’80s franchise. It is campy, snarky, scary, and slyly supervision in its messaging. There is actually a fair bit of smart commentary about addiction, mental illness, and women empowerment. Easily this is one of the best sequels ever, from any franchise the dollhouse here is more a prop than anything else. If you have kids making popsicle art at home you might want to steer them clear of houses though. Get it on Vudu, Amazon Prime, or iTunes.

Incident In A Ghostland

The dollhouse in question here is life-sized and forced on the girls. Without giving anything away prepare to see some twisted shit go down when a band of loonies hold two sisters hostage. It’s disturbing and confusing and you will never want to play with a Madame Alexander doll ever again. Taylor Hickson who’s currently starring in Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem is phenomenal. Director Pascal Laugier is adept at bringing a certain beautiful brutality to his films and Ghostland is no different. After watching if you need some perspective read A Simple Theory Of Torture: Incident In A Ghostland Explained. You can watch it on Shudder, Vudu, or Amazon Prime.

Braid

You are either the kind of person that loves or hate Braid. I happen to fall in the love category. It is ambiguous and bizarre. Beautifully written and directed by Mitzi Peirone this is one twisty film. There is both a dollhouse and a house that might just be a giant dollhouse. There is so much to unpack in this puzzler you can’t help but run to Reddit. Don’t worry, click here for a full explanation of the madness. Watch it on Amazon Prime and Vudu.

Daniel Isn’t Real

This one is a personal favorite from last year. The dollhouse here may be hell, a prison, maybe purgatory. There are lots of theories about what the dollhouse really is but one thing is for sure it is seriously messed up. Standout performances by Miles Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger along with killer cinematography by Lyle Vincent make the most of the imagery. You can watch it on Shudder for free or Amazon Prime and Vudu for a price.

The Awakening

This underappreciated movie is much scarier than you expect it to be. A ghost story with a slow burn The Awakening isn’t gory and doesn’t rely on cheap thrills. It patiently bathes in the tension director Nick Murphy develops so well. The dollhouse is a massive cold structure but the real attraction is the faceless dolls inside. There is absolutely no reason to ever create dolls for your house like these. Rebecca Hall is convincing and bonus points for creepy kids. You can stream it on Shudder, Kanopy, and Vudu.

Dream House

More a creepy kid and doll than dollhouse it still counts. I figure the best rule of thumb is never move into a house without making sure it is 100% empty first. Burn that shit to the ground if you have too. For God’s sake if you do find stuff don’t play with it. Curiosity killed the cat and all that. The acting is good and it is full of jump scares so if that’s your thing this is right up your alley. It has a terrible Rotten Tomatoes score but ignore that it’s worth at least one watch if not more than one. As we become more and more couped up our standards will become lower. Watch this then on Tubi or Amazon Prime.

Honorable mention goes to Joss Whedon’s television series that showed just how horrific hi-tech rape could be and introduced us to a life-sized version of Barbie’s spa and wellness retreat with a little light electroshock therapy thrown in. Dollhouse really was a show ahead of its time and definitely worth revisiting. Another great series to feature a creepy dollhouse was Supernatural Episode 11 of Season Two “Playthings” which features a dollhouse with a mind of its own. The X-Files Season 9 Episode 11 “Audrey Pauley” presented a hospital model. Shudder’s Creepshow Episode 1 “House Of The Head” segment is unsettling because of a head that just won’t stay put. Lastly who could forget Dr. Who’s 6 Season Episode 9 “Night Terrors” is downright terrifying. Leave it to the time-traveling hero to scare the pants off us with a child’s toy.

Rather than act like a nutter peering out of your windows with your face pressed against the glass, load up any one, or all ten of these gems sure to help put things into perspective. We are all in this together so enjoy the 10 Best Horror Movies With Dollhouses.