The Mannequin
January 9th, 2026
MOVIE: THE MANNEQUIN
STARRING: ISABELLA GOMEZ, LINDSAY LAVANCHY, SHIREEN LAI, GABRIELLA RIVERA
DIRECTED BY: JOHN BERARDO
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 85 MINUTES
It’s impossible to deny that horror movies built around possession often form the bedrock of what truly scares us. Annabelle may be the modern standard for the possessed doll, but there’s also Chucky, The Black Phone, and more recently, Whistle. When an object is marked by the soul of a killer or demons from the past, a horror movie can truly send chills down your spine. The Mannequin is an independent film I recently discovered that follows a group of women opening their own fashion design studio, only to discover that a mannequin left behind is possessed by an evil spirit. Director John Berardo places us directly in the room with the creeping dread, sharp jump scares, and imagery that will have you looking differently at those display figures in clothing store windows.
The story begins with a flashback: photographer Jack Bernard (Jack Sochet) is shooting a pinup model, urging her to relax and “be free.” The atmosphere is calm and intimate- until Bernard suddenly unleashes his rage, murdering his subject with an axe. Time passes. The building changes hands. Renovations come and go. In the present day, Sophia (Gabriella Rivera) and her sister Liana (Isabella Gomez) move in, fresh out of design school and eager to transform the space into their creative studio. The only item left behind by the previous tenant is an old mannequin. When Sophia is mysteriously found dead in the studio, Liana is left reeling, desperate to understand what happened- and where that mannequin came from.
What’s impressive about The Mannequin is its singular vision. Written and directed by Berardo, the film uses its contained setting effectively to build tension. The second act raises the stakes as Liana invites friends Hazel (Lindsay LaVanchy) and Nadine (Shireen Lai) over for wine and cathartic conversation. Liana has retreated deep into her grief, but things spiral further when the mannequin’s curse begins targeting her friends. It’s here that Berardo leans into the fun of horror, crafting unsettling kills and making effective use of practical blood effects on a limited budget.
With a single, lifeless figure standing silently in the corner of the room, The Mannequin stitches together grief and gore into a chilling showcase of indie horror ambition. At its core, the film works because of its focus on grief-fueled paranoia, echoing films like Smile and Talk to Me, where a central character’s trauma distorts their sense of reality.
That sense of dread is largely due to Gomez’s strong lead performance. She doesn’t play Liana as someone striving to be likable, but as someone unraveling- lost in the shifting reality around her. Her grounded portrayal, combined with Berardo’s committed craftsmanship, helps elevate The Mannequin from a standard slasher into a promising showcase of emerging voices in horror cinema.
The mannequin itself is an effectively eerie creation, suspended somewhere between lifeless and animate. While the narrative eventually settles into familiar territory- survival, confronting past demons- it still delivers what horror fans crave: inventive kills, claustrophobic settings, and enough tension to keep you on edge. The Mannequin proves that horror, much like fashion, is always evolving- yet never out of style.
3 STARS
THE MANNEQUIN IS CURRENTLY STREAMING ON PRIME VIDEO AND TUBI.
Written by: Leo Brady
