Why every great horror movie doesn’t open with a shootout in a toy store culminating in a transference of consciousness (via voodoo during a lightning storm) to a doll resembling My Buddy… I’ll never know.
Yes, friends… Halloween film #5 is the ultimate in the killer toy film sub-genre. Yes, today I watched Child’s Play.
A single mom looking to score a last-minute birthday gift for her son ends up buying the murderous doll inhabited by the dead serial killer and it only gets wilder from there.
Brad Dourif is top notch as the iconic porcelain doll of mayhem and terror known as Charles Lee Ray AKA Chucky.
A bit of trivia for the uninitiated; the name of the doll in the universe within the film is Oscar. Which, clearly, this psychological thriller deserved to receive.
Enjoy the nightmares from the in-film commercial still!
Chris Sarandon shines as Detective Norris who is Charles Lee Ray’s nemesis in both life and afterlife as a sentient, homicidal children’s toy.
Small details like the child’s babysitter not believing his story that the doll wanted to watch the evening news and, thus, made himself comfortable to do so (presumably to witness news coverage regarding his own crime spree).
Things take a turn and, you guessed it… the babysitter is not long for this world. A hammer meets a face and a body flies out a window and soon thereafter the child is questioned by police.
Enter Chris Sarandon as Detective Norris who immediately suspects the boy is a suspect in the woman’s death.
Psychological thrills and chills follow.
Some quips. Some trips. Some slips.
And, of course, plenty of extremely well-designed visual effects and gore-gags.
There’s a reason this flick spawned a franchise still going to this day (and soon… a reboot). Personality in horror goes a long way. And the Child’s Play franchise is full of personality. Deservedly in the conversation as one of the best horror villains of all time.
A lot more voodoo than I remembered:
“Now go do that voodoo that you do so well.”
Perhaps exactly the amount of frightening doll action/terror I’d expected.
Shot on location in Chicago.
Sugary cereal, toy commercials, retro news casts, 80s vibes a’plenty.
Bonus trivia:
Keen-eyed viewers will notice Catherine Hicks’ boss Mr. Criswell is played by Alan Wilder who you may recognize as the snooty ticket agent from Home Alone.
Full price. Own it on VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray.
Recommendations for further viewing: Trilogy of Terror (1975, television movie), The Bad Seed (1956), Tourist Trap (1979)