One of the best horror tropes is twisting something wholesome and magical into something gruesome.
This can manifest in so many ways; possession of toys or sentimental items, folkloric horror, creepy children—and more. I mean let’s face it: Santa has a naughty side, leprechauns are never as magical as they seem, and quite frankly, the Easter Bunny’s origins are pagan enough that the thing was born to be a creep.
One of the most unsettling iterations of this iconic trope is scary tooth fairy movies. There are many directions one can take with tooth fairy lore, whether the focus is on the Nordic origins of the tooth fairy or its somewhat modern commercialized idea.
A scary tooth fairy movie excavates the innate horrors of coming-of-age experience. Perhaps you could even say it’s like pulling teeth.
These scary tooth fairy movies will make you grind your teeth.
Scary Movies About the Tooth Fairy
Darkness Falls
More than 150 years ago, Matilda Dixon, a beloved, elderly widow, had a tradition of giving children a gold coin when they lost their last baby tooth. But one night a mysterious fire broke out in her home, disfiguring her face and forcing her to wear a mask whenever she left the house thereon after. Eventually, when she was hanged for a crime she didn’t commit, she cursed the entire town of Darkness Falls. Now, if anyone lays eyes upon her during her spiritual visit to children who have just lost their last tooth, they will feel her wrath.
Fast forward to 1990. Kyle Walsh, a shy teenager, loses his last baby tooth. Matilda shows up to his house that night, but he knows the lore and is able to escape her vengeance. But his mother isn’t. Twelve years later, after years of sleep anxiety and psychiatric institution stays, Kyle’s best friend Caitlin calls to ask for help with her brother Michael, who refuses to sleep in the dark. Kyle, still too paranoid to help, walks away, but rushes to their aid when he realizes they’re in danger. Does he have it in him to take down Matilda for good?
The Tooth Fairy
In 1949, the Tooth Fairy was known as an elderly, decrepit witch who lured children to her house on the notion that they would get a prize for their last baby tooth coming loose. She used this opportunity to take their lives.
In the present day, Darcy Wagner and her daughter 10-year-old Pamela head to Northern California to stay with Darcy’s boyfriend Peter at his new bed and breakfast. As they settle in, Pamela befriends Emma, who tells her the story of the first inhabitant of the old bed and breakfast, the Tooth Fairy, and warns her that Pammy might be in danger because she still has her last baby tooth. When Pamela, concerned, tells her mother and Peter the lore, they tell her not to worry. But when Darcy and Peter’s friends are mysteriously slaughtered in their house, they begin to wonder if the goings-on are coincidental, or supernatural…
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
A remake of ABC’s made-for-television film of the same name from 1973, Don’t be Afraid of the Dark’s Tooth Fairy depiction is a little less obvious than the others. The story’s origins date back to the 19th century, when renowned wildlife painter Lord Emerson Blackwood lived at Blackwood Manor in Rhode Island. Within an old fireplace inside the house, supernatural creatures live, demanding children’s teeth. Blackwood desperately wants his son, who the creatures have kidnapped, back, so he kills his housekeeper and takes both her teeth and his own teeth as an offering; but because the creatures only want children's teeth, they reject his offering, and make Blackwood one of them.
Presently, eight-year-old Sally Hurst, her father Alex, and his girlfriend Kim begin restoring Blackwood house to put it on the market for their client. The creatures lure little Sally to the fireplace, where she finds one of the old housekeeper’s teeth. The creatures attack Kim and Alex blames Sally. Peculiarly, he also finds a 19th century coin in her possession, which Sally found under her pillow when the tooth disappeared. Brutal supernatural happenings continue to occur, until the creatures torture the three into trying to flee the house with their lives.
The Haunting of Helena
Sophia, a recently divorced college professor, lives in Italy with her young daughter Helena. The two of them get in a car accident, incidentally on the same day that Helena loses her first tooth, consequently giving Helena strange visions of a threatening apparition haunting her sleep. In order to figure out what may be going on, Sophia investigates the history of where they live, and discovers that a man who lived there in Fascist Italy gruesomely tortured his wife by pulling her teeth and then locking her in a closet to die.
Helena begins speaking to an invisible presence in the closet, and then obsessively begins buying teeth from students at school to give to the Tooth Fairy. The only concerned teacher is killed, and an old man who lives upstairs warns Sophia to leave, but she doesn’t believe him. She and Helena are then attacked by the toothless ghost of the woman who was killed there. Brutal supernatural happenings continue to occur, until finally Sophia discovers the horrifying truth about the ghost’s murder. But by then it may be too late to save Helena…
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The Tooth Fairy Series
Tooth Fairy
The first installment in The Tooth Fairy series follows Carla, who has recently taken on the care of Corey, her nephew, after the death of her sister. When they visit Nana to get Corey’s birth certificate, Nana begins telling the story of the Tooth Fairy, a legendary evil family who rips out teeth. Carla, knowing an unintelligible alcoholic story when she hears one, gets up to leave, but a power outage makes her think something is amiss. What she doesn’t know is just how real Nana’s legend is.
Tooth Fairy: Return of the Tooth Fairy
Set some 20 years after the original movie, Return of the Tooth Fairy follows Corey, all grown up but also mentally scarred from the previous film’s events. He came to town to attend a class reunion, but doesn’t realize that the Tooth Fairy is back.
Tooth Fairy: The Last Extraction
Set some 40 years after the original movie, The Last Extraction follows Corey yet again as he struggles to repress the horrifying memories of his experiences with the Tooth Fairy. He and his teenage daughter, Sally, embark on a summer trip with friends. But little do they know that the Tooth Fairy isn’t done with Corey quite yet; in fact, his past has linked his fate to the monster, and she’s set her sights on his bloodline.
Tooth Fairy: Queen of Pain
Queen of Pain confused some watchers. A movie that rebooted the whole series, Queen of Pain seemed to redesign the Tooth Fairy and changed its lore as well. While some complain that there are questions left unanswered, there’s no denying that the movie is a fantastic gory story.
This movie follows Sammy, a schoolteacher on a school trip. They quickly realize they are in danger, however, as they are clearly being stalked and picked off one by one in the middle of the mountains. The culprit? An escaped murderer from a mental asylum who is known for murdering and collecting teeth.
Tooth Fairy: Drill to Kill
The last movie in the series follows Sammy once again, as she survived the horrors of the school trip and is now back at work. But after hearing mysterious noises around the classroom, she gets the familiar feeling that she’s being stalked once again. And then she hears a familiar knocking at the door, and she knows her nightmare is not over yet.
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Short Films
Toothless
An award-winning short film, Toothless is about a young widow who has not been able to date since the loss of her husband. When she finally decides she’s ready to start dating again, she discovers her son has his last baby tooth, and she doesn’t want to miss out on his milestone. Unfortunately, while off on her date, he loses the tooth…but who comes to get it?
A Fistful of Molars
Another incredible short film, A Fistful of Molars features six-year-old Sarah, who is an entrepreneur in a lucrative industry: she pulls teeth for the Tooth Fairy.
Featured image: Colourblind Keivn / Unsplash