10 Horror Movie Tropes That Prove "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"

2. Creepy China Dolls

Halloween Jamie Lee Curtis 2018
Warner Bros.

Creepy China Dolls are usually seen as part of the set dressing; their resemblance to vacant corpses gives them a somewhat unnerving quality, especially when the audience remembers the innocence of their childhood, a direct juxtaposition to the horror that they know is about to happen thanks to other things going on onscreen (lighting, camera angles, sound etc.). This is especially true if the doll is missing an eye or a limb.

Occasionally, the Creepy China Doll will be more than part of the set dressing, and instead will actually be the film's antagonist, or in some cases will be used by the antagonist.

Another way for the trope to be invoked is having some sort of clockwork toy, that hasn't been touched for decades, suddenly start ticking and/or moving.

Trope Examples: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Annabelle (2014), The Woman in Black (2012), Child's Play (1988), Poltergeist (1982)

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