Child's Play

Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Directed by: Tom Holland
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
1988

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young boy (Alex Vincent) receives the doll he's wanted for his birthday. What he doesn't know is that the doll was possessed by the spirit of a serial killer- and his murdering ways are not over yet.

Review:

Tim: Child's Play is surprisingly effective because of it's basic premise- what if our toys could kill us? This is simple, but chilling, because we've all had similar thoughts, especially with the more lifelike toys that are being created every day. Taking a familiar, comforting object and turning it into something sinister is a very effective horror movie tool (see The Birds), and it works here. Now, this is not to say that this is a great movie- it is a film about a killer doll, after all. However, there is much more to like here than we might expect.

This film is very suspenseful, with a number of very thrilling, nailbiting scenes. The movie wisely builds the suspense up very slowly, almost to the point where you want to scream for something to happen. Every scene of the creepy Chucky doll keeps you on your toes- is something going to happen? This creates a very thrilling atmosphere. When Chucky is finally revealed- it is done extremely effectively. That moment is one of the highlights of the film, and one of its most memorable scenes.

This film is helped by a few impressive performances. I loved Catherine Hicks as the boy's mother. Hicks is a very motherly, enjoyable actress, and she does a good job here. She also has some strength to her, which made her believable throughout the film. Horror movies need strong actors to convince us to by the fantastic events of the movie, and Hicks does that for us here. I also enjoyed Chris Sarandon as the police officer. I like Sarandon and I wish he had a higher profile career. He is convincing here, and he's easy to root for. I thought he did a good job of appearing caring yet unconvinced at the crazy stories people told about a doll coming to life. I also enjoyed Alex Vincent as young Andy. Vincent isn't the greatest child actor, and I did wish for more visual facial expressions, but he is enjoyable enough, and I liked his performance for what it was.

Chucky himself is quite impressive. The special effects were pretty astounding, as Chucky does look pretty realistic. He is a creepy, odd doll, and it is scary to watch him come to life and kill people. I enjoyed those scenes even though they were uncomfortable to watch. The film did a good job of portraying Chucky in a scary, not silly way.

I have to mention a few of the flaws. Besides the whole premise of the film, which is incredibly ridiculous (a killer is taught to transfer his soul into someone else? It appears like it's pretty simple), there are other flaws as well. The biggest has to be how a small doll can cause so much damage to people. You'd think since everyone is significantly bigger, they could easily kick the crap out of the doll. However, I guess Chucky received super strength when he transfered his soul? It just feels very silly to watch adults so scared over a small doll. I also didn't like how during the climactic battle, Sarandon's character was basically taken out by a knife wound to the leg and a hit on the head with a child's baseball bat. Those two things (and I suppose a wound to the chest) totally knocked him out, while everyone else was fighting through the pain. It just seemed so silly to have him laying there on the floor.

Yes, this is a flawed movie; but it is also so much better than any killer doll movie should ever be. That is an achievement, and that is why that despite the film's inherent silliness, I actually enjoyed it. There was a good amount of suspense and scares, and I was entertained. If you can make me feel afraid of a doll, I'm going to give you some credit for that achievement. This film accomplishes that, and is one of the more unique and solid entries into the horror genre.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Child's Play 2, Child's Play 3