The killer toy most commonly appears in film, where it dates back to Dead of Night (1945) ⚾️ and expands on earlier films such as The Great Gabbo (1929) and The Devil-Doll (1936). These early examples primarily featured ⚾️ ventriloquist dummies, with works featuring killer dolls developing in the 1960s through the 1980s.

Dolls is a 1987 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, ⚾️ written by Ed Naha, and starring Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Ian Patrick Williams, and Bunty Bailey.