In the new film The Boy, The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan plays a woman hired to babysit a young boy named Brahms in a remote British estate. Sounds pretty straightforward, but this is a horror movie, and the boy she's hired to look after is actually a super creepy doll, as it turns out the real Brahms is long dead and was a weirdo murderer when he was alive. OK, getting scarier, but I haven't even gotten to the worst part: The doll actually seems to house Brahms' spirit. All right, having the two horror movie mainstays of a spooky kid and a creepy doll in the same movie is almost too much to handle. But at least there's no way The Boy is based on a true story... right?
Thankfully, this movie is not based on any actual occurrence (phew). According to Dread Central, the film sprang from the mind of screenwriter Stacey Menear, in what is his first feature film to head to production. The movie is also directed by William Brent Bell, who has plenty of experience in the horror genre having previously directed Devil Inside, Wer, and Stay Alive. The two men have combined to create something especially terrifying in The Boy, which hopes to feature the scariest doll ever put to screen. And that's saying something. Just take a look at these other horrific dolls that have been featured in movies and television.
Annabelle (The Conjuring, Annabelle)
The creepiest doll around today, or at least until The Boy premieres, this doll is said to be haunted by the spirit of a woman who was a member of a demonic cult. And unlike Brahms, this doll was based on a true story *shivers*.
Jigsaw's Puppet (Saw)
Even though there's nothing supernatural about this doll, it's used to convey the sick orders of Jigsaw, so just the mere sight of it is enough to inspire fear.
Clown Doll (Poltergeist)
Another doll possessed by an evil spirit, the clown attack is remembered as one of the most frightening scenes in one of the scariest movies of all time.
Puppets (Puppet Master)
Why have just one evil doll when you can have a whole army? Rather than being possessed by a ghost or demon, the puppets in Puppet Master are actually brought to life by an Ancient Egyptian curse for a refreshing change of pace.
Talky Tina (The Twilight Zone)
The Twilight Zone was way ahead of its time when it came to its level of creepiness, especially in the episode "Living Doll" where an indestructible doll commits murder. It was later memorably parodied in The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror segment, "Clown Without Pity".
Slappy (Goosebumps)
Slappy is probably the most-frightening monster R.L. Stine ever created, appearing in the Goosebumps TV show, as the main antagonist in the Goosebumps movie, and in the Night of the Living Dummy books. Every kid who grew up in the nineties is scared of ventriloquist dummies because of Slappy.
Chucky (Child's Play)
Easily the most famous scary doll in the world, Chucky inspired a huge horror movie franchise, and it's not hard to see why. He would be a terrifying doll even if he weren't possessed by the spirit of a Voodoo practicing serial killer, but since he is, it just makes him that much worse.
Will the Brahms doll from The Boy join these other playthings as a horror icon? That remains to be seen, but just judging from the trailer, I'd say that Brahms is well on his way.
Images: STX Entertainment; giphy.com
