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Description

“Hi, I’m Chucky. Wanna play?”

When making my list of favorite horror films for this week, I knew that “Child’s Play” had to be one of them. Out of all the horror franchises, this is the one I’ve followed the most, with nearly every film seen (except for Seed, though I’ll try to fix that when a Fail week rolls by). The reason for this is because this film, along with the later sequal “Bride of Chucky”, were one of the earliest movies to ever scare me when I was a lot younger. Back when I was a kid, I was truly frightened by Chucky and his murderous ways, to the point that every visit to the local Blockbuster had me sprinting past the horror movie aisle just so I could avoid having to look at him. This fear was so bad that I refused to ever go into stores like “Spencer’s Gifts” or “Hot Topic” because they always had a Chucky or Tiffany doll in the back end. Chucky easily terrorized my childhood for the longest time, and it only took some growing up and the viewing of the original trilogy before I began to even shake it away. Nowadays I can see a “Child’s Play” movie and have no issue. In fact, I can even laugh at the scary moments, especially in the later sequels. That doesn’t mean I have no respect for the franchise, as the much newer films of “Curse” and “Cult of Chucky” have become some of my favorites in the series. I’m honestly glad that, after all these years, there hasn’t been a remake or reboot of the films, and that actor Brad Dourif has remained as the voice of the killer doll to this day. He, along with Krueger’s Robert Englund, have made their characters who they are, and so I believe is impossible to truly match their work whenever these characters are revived. It’s through him and other qualities that make me love the series, and is why I wanted to include the very first film for Favorites Week.

After all that though, I ought to get down into the details of how this movie fares today. A killer doll like Chucky may not be as scary as a lot of things that frighten us now, but I hope to show that it still succeeds to entertain.

Serial strangler Charles Lee Ray is shot during his run from the cops. However, before he dies from his wounds, he grabs hold of a Good Guy doll and chants a strange incantation, prompting a lightning bolt to strike him dead. Following this, single mother Karen Barclay is trying to find the perfect gift for her son Andy, but with the holiday season in full swing it’s not only becoming difficult to get something, but it’s practically impossible to get what he really wants: a Good Guy Doll. Thankfully, as luck would have it, her friend brings her to a scalper that’s selling such a doll, and for a very cheap price. She brings the doll for her son, to which he learns the name of the doll is Chucky, who promises to be his friend to the very end. However, his mother sees strange things happening with the doll, and soon things turn dark when people start dying around them. Soon Andy becomes the suspect, all while he claims desperately that the doll is responsible.

“Child’s Play” is two movies right after the other: firstly a subtle thriller where the appeal is the slow build-up and intrigue of whether the doll is really alive or it’s just everyone’s imagination; and second, a slasher horror film with a loud, talking killer. While in a lot of ways these two approaches to the film clash, but in another way it also gives a bit of a change in formula from the pure slasher flicks that a lot of popular horror films and their copy-cats went with at the time. During the first half of the film the intrigue is actually quite effective, with plenty of good scene composition and writing that does a great job in making you question if the Chucky doll is actually alive (assuming you know nothing about Child’s Play to begin with). This section of the movie does a good job, and the slow horrific build-up to that change in tone in one particular scene is amazing. After the tone-shift, it becomes what many people nowadays expects from a “Child’s Play”/Chucky movie: a slasher film where the killer makes quips and tries to kill anyone in his way, with some bits of humor thrown in to space out the scares. The scares themselves are good, but it leans more into entertaining than actual horror, at least until the very end where things get crazy. The latter half of the film is only truly scary if you have a fear of killer dolls, and even then it’s not quite strong to begin with. I think for a lot of people who will view this film, the first half will be really great in a first viewing, but the latter half can vary depending on tastes.

As for the acting, it’s sufficient. It’s your typical 80’s fare that ranges between corny, serious, and sometimes funny. A lot of the cast do a fine job for the most part, but I think I have to commend the likes of Catherine Hicks and child actor Alex Vincent as Karen and Andy Barclay. Catherine does a fantastic job in being a mother who trusts her son, but is troubled by all the terrible circumstances that surround him. Meanwhile Alex Vincent’s role as Andy as adorable and charming. He never once crosses into annoying/bad child actor territory, though at the same time I wouldn’t go as far as to call him a masterful actor. He just naturally fits into the character of a kid who is innocent, and so naive that he would believe that a doll is alive. Aside from them, there’s of course the killer doll himself, Chucky, iconically played by Brad Dourif who lends his voice for the majority of the film over his actual on-screen contribution. When you get to the parts where Brad does voice the doll, it’s easy to see why the character has become an icon of 80’s horror monster legends. He’s crass, very loud, and ranges between being comical to being sadistic. He’s a fun and (again depending on who you are) an often scary slasher, who delivers a great performance for his first ever film in his series. While some of the puppetry and performances done by dwarf actors can be obvious, the illusion of walking, talking, killing doll is still nicely done. Ultimately, I don’t think I could see anyone else doing the character as well as Brad Dourif. As for everyone else, they’re alright. The officers, a couple of characters within Chucky’s social circle, and other characters, can range between pretty decent to being simple characters of little note. There’s no one who does a bad job, though maybe you can find any of the very “New Yorker”-esque characters to be too corny for your tastes.

I think the only other thing I can say before closing this review is that this can be a pretty rad and hilarious film at times. Sure, I’ve stated plenty of times in this review that the idea and imagery of a killer doll can be scary at times, but even then there’s still some parts to laugh at when seeing this movie. Chucky’s actions and phrases can be hilarious, especially with how it’s all done by a doll. Of course this isn’t “Bride of Chucky” levels of hilarity, so there’s a nice blend between it and the horror. It’s balanced, and is in the best place in the series before it really starts to go too far. So if you want the best that Chucky can offer before it goes to full parody (and then back to good again), this is where you want to go.

“Child’s Play” used to be that movie that scared me to my wits end, and has now become one of my absolute favorites, in a series that is also a favorite of mine. I want to recommend this film, but I understand that in the end it is a very corny flick. It might not be scary for a lot of people, but it can still be entertaining in its own little way. Check it out, you might have some fun.
Next: My 100th film review, and it’s a nice call back to where this whole series started.

Description

“Hi, I’m Chucky. Wanna play?”

When making my list of favorite horror films for this week, I knew that “Child’s Play” had to be one of them. Out of all the horror franchises, this is the one I’ve followed the most, with nearly every film seen (except for Seed, though I’ll try to fix that when a Fail week rolls by). The reason for this is because this film, along with the later sequal “Bride of Chucky”, were one of the earliest movies to ever scare me when I was a lot younger. Back when I was a kid, I was truly frightened by Chucky and his murderous ways, to the point that every visit to the local Blockbuster had me sprinting past the horror movie aisle just so I could avoid having to look at him. This fear was so bad that I refused to ever go into stores like “Spencer’s Gifts” or “Hot Topic” because they always had a Chucky or Tiffany doll in the back end. Chucky easily terrorized my childhood for the longest time, and it only took some growing up and the viewing of the original trilogy before I began to even shake it away. Nowadays I can see a “Child’s Play” movie and have no issue. In fact, I can even laugh at the scary moments, especially in the later sequels. That doesn’t mean I have no respect for the franchise, as the much newer films of “Curse” and “Cult of Chucky” have become some of my favorites in the series. I’m honestly glad that, after all these years, there hasn’t been a remake or reboot of the films, and that actor Brad Dourif has remained as the voice of the killer doll to this day. He, along with Krueger’s Robert Englund, have made their characters who they are, and so I believe is impossible to truly match their work whenever these characters are revived. It’s through him and other qualities that make me love the series, and is why I wanted to include the very first film for Favorites Week.

After all that though, I ought to get down into the details of how this movie fares today. A killer doll like Chucky may not be as scary as a lot of things that frighten us now, but I hope to show that it still succeeds to entertain.

Serial strangler Charles Lee Ray is shot during his run from the cops. However, before he dies from his wounds, he grabs hold of a Good Guy doll and chants a strange incantation, prompting a lightning bolt to strike him dead. Following this, single mother Karen Barclay is trying to find the perfect gift for her son Andy, but with the holiday season in full swing it’s not only becoming difficult to get something, but it’s practically impossible to get what he really wants: a Good Guy Doll. Thankfully, as luck would have it, her friend brings her to a scalper that’s selling such a doll, and for a very cheap price. She brings the doll for her son, to which he learns the name of the doll is Chucky, who promises to be his friend to the very end. However, his mother sees strange things happening with the doll, and soon things turn dark when people start dying around them. Soon Andy becomes the suspect, all while he claims desperately that the doll is responsible.

“Child’s Play” is two movies right after the other: firstly a subtle thriller where the appeal is the slow build-up and intrigue of whether the doll is really alive or it’s just everyone’s imagination; and second, a slasher horror film with a loud, talking killer. While in a lot of ways these two approaches to the film clash, but in another way it also gives a bit of a change in formula from the pure slasher flicks that a lot of popular horror films and their copy-cats went with at the time. During the first half of the film the intrigue is actually quite effective, with plenty of good scene composition and writing that does a great job in making you question if the Chucky doll is actually alive (assuming you know nothing about Child’s Play to begin with). This section of the movie does a good job, and the slow horrific build-up to that change in tone in one particular scene is amazing. After the tone-shift, it becomes what many people nowadays expects from a “Child’s Play”/Chucky movie: a slasher film where the killer makes quips and tries to kill anyone in his way, with some bits of humor thrown in to space out the scares. The scares themselves are good, but it leans more into entertaining than actual horror, at least until the very end where things get crazy. The latter half of the film is only truly scary if you have a fear of killer dolls, and even then it’s not quite strong to begin with. I think for a lot of people who will view this film, the first half will be really great in a first viewing, but the latter half can vary depending on tastes.

As for the acting, it’s sufficient. It’s your typical 80’s fare that ranges between corny, serious, and sometimes funny. A lot of the cast do a fine job for the most part, but I think I have to commend the likes of Catherine Hicks and child actor Alex Vincent as Karen and Andy Barclay. Catherine does a fantastic job in being a mother who trusts her son, but is troubled by all the terrible circumstances that surround him. Meanwhile Alex Vincent’s role as Andy as adorable and charming. He never once crosses into annoying/bad child actor territory, though at the same time I wouldn’t go as far as to call him a masterful actor. He just naturally fits into the character of a kid who is innocent, and so naive that he would believe that a doll is alive. Aside from them, there’s of course the killer doll himself, Chucky, iconically played by Brad Dourif who lends his voice for the majority of the film over his actual on-screen contribution. When you get to the parts where Brad does voice the doll, it’s easy to see why the character has become an icon of 80’s horror monster legends. He’s crass, very loud, and ranges between being comical to being sadistic. He’s a fun and (again depending on who you are) an often scary slasher, who delivers a great performance for his first ever film in his series. While some of the puppetry and performances done by dwarf actors can be obvious, the illusion of walking, talking, killing doll is still nicely done. Ultimately, I don’t think I could see anyone else doing the character as well as Brad Dourif. As for everyone else, they’re alright. The officers, a couple of characters within Chucky’s social circle, and other characters, can range between pretty decent to being simple characters of little note. There’s no one who does a bad job, though maybe you can find any of the very “New Yorker”-esque characters to be too corny for your tastes.

I think the only other thing I can say before closing this review is that this can be a pretty rad and hilarious film at times. Sure, I’ve stated plenty of times in this review that the idea and imagery of a killer doll can be scary at times, but even then there’s still some parts to laugh at when seeing this movie. Chucky’s actions and phrases can be hilarious, especially with how it’s all done by a doll. Of course this isn’t “Bride of Chucky” levels of hilarity, so there’s a nice blend between it and the horror. It’s balanced, and is in the best place in the series before it really starts to go too far. So if you want the best that Chucky can offer before it goes to full parody (and then back to good again), this is where you want to go.

“Child’s Play” used to be that movie that scared me to my wits end, and has now become one of my absolute favorites, in a series that is also a favorite of mine. I want to recommend this film, but I understand that in the end it is a very corny flick. It might not be scary for a lot of people, but it can still be entertaining in its own little way. Check it out, you might have some fun.
Next: My 100th film review, and it’s a nice call back to where this whole series started.