Better known for directing feel-good crowd pleasers like The Waterboys and Swing Girls, Japanese director Shinobu Yaguchi proves he is equally adept at delivering genuine scares with the riotously entertaining Dollhouse.

Masami Nagasawa plays a grieving mother who unwittingly brings a possessed toy into her home, only for the inanimate plaything to turn tormentor when its services are no longer required.

From Annabelle to Chucky, haunted dolls have been a horror staple for decades. In Japanese folklore, the story of Okiku – a doll believed to contain the spirit of a dead girl, and whose hair was rumoured to keep growing – has been tapped frequently by ghostly storytellers, and looms heavily as inspiration here.

Read my South China Morning Post review