The Weekend Geekout channel avatar The Weekend GeekoutRachael & Dan

Blog · 1 Nov 2026

From Chucky to Pinocchio, who's your favourite?

Five horror films featuring killer dolls and deadly puppets, named in the upload description. Dan’s thoughts stay in the video; the sheets below are researched background.

Thumbnail: From Chucky to Pinocchio, who's your favourite?
Watch on YouTube Films hub
  • Dolls
  • Child’s Play
  • Puppet Master
  • M3GAN
  • Pinocchio: Unstrung

Fact sheets

Geeky fact sheet

Child's Play (1988)

Year
1988
Director
Tom Holland
Principal cast
Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Budget (reported)
About $9–13 million (range reported)
Box office (reported)
About $44.2 million (reported)

Geeky trivia

  • Brad Dourif’s voice makes Chucky immortal.
  • Don Mancini’s killer-doll idea launched a whole franchise.
  • Practical puppet mayhem before CGI took over the toy box.

Mistakes & goofs

  • Couldn’t find well-known, clearly documented goofs for this title in the usual public goof round-ups — shout if you’ve spotted a classic one.

Figures from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child%27s_Play_(1988_film)

Geeky fact sheet

Dolls (1987)

Year
1987
Director
Stuart Gordon
Principal cast
Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunty Bailey
Budget (reported)
About $1.2 million (reported)
Box office (reported)
Theatrical worldwide gross not clearly published (Wikipedia flags the need for a reliable source)

Geeky trivia

  • Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) does killer-toy gothic.
  • Empire Pictures-era cult favourite for practical doll attacks.
  • Named on Dan’s shelf list alongside Chucky and Puppet Master.

Mistakes & goofs

  • Couldn’t find well-known, clearly documented goofs for this title in the usual public goof round-ups — shout if you’ve spotted a classic one.

Budget from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolls_(1987_film)

Geeky fact sheet

Puppet Master (1989)

Year
1989
Director
David Schmoeller
Principal cast
Paul Le Mat, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Barbara Crampton, William Hickey
Budget (reported)
About $400,000 (reported)
Box office (reported)
Not clearly published on the Wikipedia film page

Geeky trivia

  • Full Moon Features’ pint-sized killers — Blade, Jester, Torch et al.
  • Barbara Crampton connects it to the wider 80s horror family tree.
  • Franchise fuel for decades of sequels and Blu-ray boxsets.

Mistakes & goofs

  • Couldn’t find well-known, clearly documented goofs for this title in the usual public goof round-ups — shout if you’ve spotted a classic one.

Budget from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet_Master_(film)

Geeky fact sheet

M3GAN (2022)

Year
2022
Director
Gerard Johnstone
Principal cast
Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Ronny Chieng
Budget (reported)
About $12 million (reported)
Box office (reported)
About $181.8 million worldwide (reported)

Geeky trivia

  • Viral dance + uncanny AI doll = modern box-office toy horror.
  • Amie Donald performed the physical movement; Jenna Davis provided the speaking voice.
  • Proof the killer-doll subgenre still prints money.

Mistakes & goofs

  • Couldn’t find well-known, clearly documented goofs for this title in the usual public goof round-ups — shout if you’ve spotted a classic one.

Figures from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3GAN

Geeky fact sheet

Pinocchio Unstrung (2026)

Year
2026
Director
Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Principal cast
Richard Brake, Robert Englund (among others listed on Wikipedia)
Budget (reported)
Not clearly published on the Wikipedia film page
Box office (reported)
About $818,974 reported so far on Wikipedia (early/limited tally — treat as incomplete)

Geeky trivia

  • Twisted Pinocchio horror from the Frake-Waterfield corner of modern indie horror.
  • Robert Englund in the mix is catnip for Nightmare fans.
  • Dan groups it with killer dolls/puppets on the shelf — watch for his take.

Mistakes & goofs

  • Couldn’t find well-known, clearly documented goofs for this title in the usual public goof round-ups — shout if you’ve spotted a classic one.

Director/gross from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio_Unstrung

← Back to blog