Horror producer, director, and screenwriter James Wan is no stranger to incorporating killer dolls in his movies. When you look back at every James Wan movie, his breakthrough movie Saw had a creepy tuxedoed doll deliver messages to Jigsaw's victims, there was a ventriloquist dummy in Dead Silence, and a cursed doll brought to you by The Conjuring movies. With Wan's newest movie being M3GAN with the central figure being a killer doll once again, this Australian filmmaker talks about why he’s so obsessed with killer dolls.
M3GAN follows an artificially intelligent robot made by a roboticist with the intention of protecting her niece left in her care after the loss of her parents. But as robots don’t know anything about limits, this robotic doll will use any means necessary to protect whoever is in her care, including murder. As reported by EW, James Wan spoke about what inspired him to have killer dolls be prominent in his works.
I would just jot it down to watching Poltergeist at a very young age. That was definitely a very influential film for me, and I saw it at a very young impressionable age, and it made a huge impression on me, and that creepy clown doll definitely scarred me for life.
Dolls really do bring out a creepy vibe. Imagine trying to go to sleep only to see a porcelain doll or even one of your stuffed animals staring straight right at you. Anyone half awake would think that doll with its hauntingly permanent grin turned its head just a little bit in your direction. All seven Chucky movies brought out the audience's fear of killer dolls. You may think an innocent doll like Chucky just involves flinging him across the room, only to discover he has a force just as strong as a human’s. While Chucky was pure fiction, the Annabelle movies were based on an allegedly haunted doll housed by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. There was even an incident when a Pennywise doll mysteriously turned up in a woman’s yard, causing her to burn it. If dolls could really be a vessel for dark spirits, you better believe the horror genre greatly benefits from that possibility.
Not only are dolls featured in James Wan’s movies, but in his home as well. The Insidious director continues to speak about a particular hobby of his that further incites his creepy doll fascination.
But I also like to say that I'm a big collector of these kinds of things. I love my collectibles, my action figures, and so naturally, the idea of making movies based on one of these things coming to life is exciting for me. It's thrilling, and, of course, in the horror genre, it means I can have a lot of fun with a story like that.
No wonder in the movie M3GAN, the character of Gemma has a collection of classic toys of her own. One of the best things about the horror-comedy film was that the character of M3GAN was not a figure created in CGI. If you’re wondering if she’s real or animated, you can consider her both. Every medium shot of M3GAN was done with six or seven different puppets. Every shot where she's walking or movements she does for that viral dance scene was real child actor Amie Donald wearing a mask. Moments when her face was moving, her eyes blinking, audio control, and other mechanical functions were animatronic. If M3GAN relied solely on CGI, the doll’s creepy demeanor wouldn’t have been as convincing or helped it achieve a super high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Thank you, James Wan, for showing the movie industry that practical effects can still be very effective for a successful horror film.
James Wan’s creepy doll obsession has given us some memorable hits for the horror franchise. With a sequel of M3GAN in the works, hopefully, we’ll still see the use of killer dolls make a return to the big screen. Watch this killer doll sing, dance, and slay in the 2023 release of M3GAN in theaters now.
