Most of us can remember a time when we feared our dolls and figurines might take on a life of their own—a sinister one. The film industry has exploited this fear for years, turning innocent toys into instruments of evil for our viewing pleasure. Documentary producer (Twenty-Four by Thirty-Six) and Cinema Studies PhD candidate Andrea Butler returns to The Black Museum with her lecture Playtime Is Over: Killer Dolls, Marionettes, and Automatons in Horror Cinema. Using films like Dead of Night (1945), Child’s Play (1988), and Dead Silence (2007), she’ll explore the origins of this trend, and why it gets under our skin.
Film
The Black Museum: Dolls in Horror
A child's toy or sadistic killer? You decide. Image courtesy of United Artists.
- The Royal Cinema (608 College Street)
- Wednesday, October 8
- 9 p.m.
- $12 in advance, $15 at the door