Tags
1980's, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks, Child's Play, Chris Sarandon, Horror, Tom Holland
Film Title
Child’s Play
Director
Tom Holland
Starring
- Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray/Chucky
- Catherine Hicks as Karen Barclay
- Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay
- Chris Sarandon as Detective Mike Norris
Dolls have always been a source of terror in the horror genre and the addition of Chucky who features in Child’s Play ranks as one of the freakiest. A creepy slasher film, Child’s Play moves at a thrilling pace and delivers the scares with some well-executed(pardon the pun) scenes of gruesome havoc and murder.
Child’s Play opens with Detective Mike Norris in pursuit of renowned serial killer Charles Lee Ray, who has an obsession with voodoo . Charles manages to hide in a nearby toy shop after his getaway driver Eddie drove away upon seeing police. Mortally wounded by Mike and swearing revenge on both him and Eddie, Charles through use of dark magic transfers his soul into a ‘Good Guy’ doll. The next day is the sixth birthday of Andy Barclay who is excited to get presents from his widowed mother Karen. Seeing that her young son desperately wants a Good Guy Doll, she buys one from a peddler, little realising that it is the one that Charles is inhabiting. Young Andy is over the moon with the doll who has the name Chucky and is barely seen without the toy. Yet after the horrifying death of Andy’s babysitter who was pushed out of a high window, the malevolence becomes known. Andy knows that Chucky is the culprit, but everyone just thinks that Andy is lying and that his talk of the doll coming to life are completely ridiculous. Mike Norris is put on the case and is baffled by the mysterious death, initially believing Andy could be a suspect as he was the only one home when the babysitter was murdered. Yet as the blood continues to spill thanks to the doll, it’s up to Karen( who comes to realise the truth in Andy’s claims) to protect her son from the horror as he becomes the next target of the murderous spirit in doll form. Part of the reason is because Chucky must transfer the evil soul of Charles to the first person he revealed himself too as he is becoming more human by the minute. This means that young Andy is in very real danger. It’s getting people, most of all a skeptical Mike, to believe in the evil doll’s intention that is going to be Andy and Karen’s problem as his life is put in jeopardy repeatedly, he is placed in a mental hospital and Karen must finally see the evil that poses a threat to her son’s life.
Tom Holland’s direction is to the point and filled with imaginative touches that relish the tension and terror of the presence of Chucky. While it is no surprise to the audience that Chucky is the instigator of the horror that is blamed on Andy, this device actually works in the movie’s favour and still contains chilling suspense. We are put in the position of frightened Andy who in the beginning adores the new toy but slowly sees that the games he plays are horrifying and out of control. By using the technique of having us in Andy’s shoes, we want the grown ups to take notice and finally see the engulfing terror brought by the evil doll and this is where Holland’s strong suit lies. I will admit that as the film went on, some of the fact that the grown ups don’t realise what’s going on got a bit frustrating and a few instances have some tin-eared dialogue, but this thankfully was made up for when the real horror is unleashed and such things take a back seat to effectively staged scenes of creepiness. Chief among these is the murder of Andy’s babysitter and the big showdown between Chucky, Karen, Andy and Mike. It surprised me too how well some of the effects hold, particularly in the creation of evil Chucky. Granted it’s a film from the 80’s the effects have something of a dated quality that is to be expected, but many of them are still largely impressive and not overused. And with the creation of Chucky, a new creature of dread was born to terrorise viewers. An electronic pulse sets the unnerving tones of Child’s Play from the beginning with a synth heavy and echoing score backing up the strange supernatural parts of the film.
A competent cast inhabits their roles very well, in particular Brad Dourif. Voicing the malevolent Chucky to sneering perfection, his inflections are decidedly creepy and frightening. Dourif briefly portrays the human serial killer in the thrilling opening sequence and does that well, but his excellence begins with his voicing of the now iconic killer doll. Catherine Hicks is emotionally effective as the terrified mother desperate to get to the bottom of what is going on and protect her son, despite her confusion of what is truly going on at first. The little Alex Vincent stands out as the traumatised child Andy who comes under attack and suspicion due to Chucky. For a child so young, Vincent displays a naturalness that generates audience sympathy without getting overly cute. Rounding out proceedings in Child’s Play is Chris Sarandon starring as the detective involved in both linking cases and someone who is unwilling to believe in any hocus pocus. Sarandon does a credible job in the part as his views are turned upside down.
Some me parts of it show the film’s age, but Child’s Play largely holds up well as an eerie horror film that introduced the world to the malevolent Chucky and no doubt creeped everyone out in the process. I have a feeling that the sales of dolls may have taken a nosedive when Child’s Play was released in cinemas.
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I have to admit, I have a bit of a nostalgic weakness for Chucky!
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Nostalgic weakness? Very interesting. That doll is one nasty piece of work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I kind of have this thing for Chucky, Freddy, and Jason!😏
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
I do like those movies too, though with each series they have made way too many movies!
LikeLike
HusbandAndHusband said:
dito, Kim!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Paul Bowler said:
Chucky still creeps me out, even now, that doll and it voice is so chilling! Great horror film.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
That voice is creepy as hell and I’ve always found dolls slightly creepy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Paul Bowler said:
Even by todays standards, the effects in this film stand up well. The Chucky doll is horrible and so effective in every scene, really creepy! Yeah, I’ve always thought doll were spooky as well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
It completely took me by surprise how well the effects still looked. Chucky is one nasty nightmare inducing source of evil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amanda Lyle said:
Such a freaky film *shudder*
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’m shuddering too, freaky is the word.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amanda Lyle said:
That, and Steven King’s – IT … Scares the life out of me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
It is just plain scary from every angle! Gives me the creeps.
LikeLike
beetleypete said:
Spooky dolls are always guaranteed to frighten people. Same with ventriloquist’s dummies. Chucky is a bit of a horror icon, and I thought ‘Child’s Play’ was OK. However, milking five more films from the franchise was unforgivable.
Cheers mate, Pete.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Dolls because of the horror genre are decidedly creepy. This film was good, not seen any of the numerous sequels.
LikeLike
allendemir said:
Yeah, the character just descended into wise-cracking serial killer territory, and those characters types of characters always pale in comparison to Freddy, who still managed to be creepy even when delivering snarky one-liners.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’m thinking of maybe just checking the sequel and then leaving it at that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
fragglerocking said:
Heard a lot about this when it came out and have missed seeing it cos I’m a scaredy cat.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
It’s a real chiller Fraggle, best watch it with the lights on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
fragglerocking said:
No no no! 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
You’re not the biggest horror fan, are you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
fragglerocking said:
haha no, neither horror or rom coms do it for me V-man 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’m a big horror hound, though I can understand why the genre isn’t for everyone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eric Binford said:
It’s a little gem. Chucky, like Freddy and Jason, has become a movie icon, but the first film is such a lean, simple, unpretentious, and very scary chiller.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’ve never really seen any of the sequels to Child’s Play, though it sounds like they go completely off the rails.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Steve said:
Loved them all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
If I’m honest, this is the only film of the series that I’ve seen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ninvoid99 said:
This is still the best of the series while I do have a fondness for the 2nd one. Everything else was just awful including this infamous moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1DHgdVKeE
And this is the company that made David Arquette their world champion.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Thanks for that link. You have me intrigued to maybe check the second one out now.
LikeLike
ninvoid99 said:
The 2nd film is decent as it has Chucky killing people as Andy and his new older sister try to evade him. It’s kind of comical. The third one is awful as it’s set in a military school and the guy who played Andy is horrible.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I just may give the second outing a viewing, but ignore the third instalment.
LikeLike
Damien Riley said:
Great review. How could a possessed doll privately speak to a kid that dumb? LOL. I know that sonds mean but when I saw it in the theater with my brother (aging myself) we both wanted to smack that kid. LOL. If the sequels would have stayed as simple as Good Guy dolls, it would be a better franchise. I don’t think I’d bother seeing it again, unless my kids wanted to see it. I asked them and they don’t lol.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Well everyone is entitled to their own own opinion Damien. From what I’ve read, there’s quite a lot of sequels to this.
LikeLike
Jordan Dodd said:
As always mate, you make a film I have never seen sound really really good. This is another to add to the list!
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I try my hardest to bring my reviews to life and get across my feelings.
LikeLike
Jordan Dodd said:
And you do it well my friend 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’m ever grateful for your support.
LikeLike
Magpie said:
I was pretty much desensitised to horror by the time I watched Chucky, but it makes a great comedy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I think that with the presence of horror, it can be easy to become desensitized to violence and horror. Saying that I do like getting surprised by a horror film. And thanks for following my blog.
LikeLike
Magpie said:
I love getting surprised by a horror, but at this point it is a rare occurrence, but even if I can’t enjoy a film exactly in the way it was intended I can still appreciate it in other ways, which is really the mark of a great film.
And you’re welcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
You make some valid points there. Horror though is still one of my favourite genres out there.
LikeLike
Magpie said:
Horror is a great genre.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
It is indeed.
LikeLike
Keith said:
I actually liked this movie mainly due to the nostalgia. It was such a fun and absurd idea. The sequels though…ugh.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Hi Keith, yeah I suppose nostalgia gives this film another point of excellence. I don’t think I’ll give the sequels a watch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Keith said:
Don’t waste your time. They get REALLY bad!
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I’ll heed that warning Keith.
LikeLike
Liam said:
Great Review. I watched this film for the first time fairly recently actually. No doubt is Chuckie really creepy, but I couldn’t help thinking about how dated the film is. I think it would have been much more enjoyable to watch at the time it came out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Sure it’s dated in some stretches, but I found the overall impact was still creepy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
filmsCine said:
Fab review. I think older horror films sometimes actually have an eerier, more sinister edge to them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
I too get that feeling with older horror films. And they also usually have more interesting stories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
filmsCine said:
The original Tex Chainsaw Massacre scares the hell out of me. The remake – psh.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Chainsaw Massacre is one of the best horror films out there because it relies on suggestion for scares rather than gore. It’s a mightily effective film that many other horror films could learn a thing or two from.
LikeLiked by 1 person
filmsCine said:
Great, you’re very right. The best kind of movie making is suggestion. That’s what I liked about the first Alien film. It also works well in the British horror movie ‘The Descent’ .. well, for the first two thirds of the movie I’d say.
And Tex Chainsaw Massacre is just … well, brilliant. Very scary. Oh man, that moment. *eek!*
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Alien is a masterpiece of tension and build up and I love the hell out of The Descent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
emmakwall said:
Nice review 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Thanks Emma. That Chucky is one nasty source of evil.
LikeLiked by 1 person
emmakwall said:
Has definitely haunted many nightmares!
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
Me too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rincewind said:
I absolutely love this movie. It’s still stands it’s ground.
LikeLiked by 2 people
vinnieh said:
Oh it holds up remarkably well as it is still so creepy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thelittlelai: Beyond limits said:
Wow, great review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
I had a lot of fun with this film.
LikeLike
HusbandAndHusband said:
I love the classic horror films.They just don’t make them how they used to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
The horror genre is my favourite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
HusbandAndHusband said:
Mine as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
Horror rocks like no other.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rebecca Dawn said:
When I watched this as a kid, I threw all my dolls in the closet and refused to play with them!
I loved this movie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
It’s not hard to see why you did that. I have a feeling that the doll companies around the world took a hit after this film.
LikeLike
Rebecca Dawn said:
Ha ha the Cabbage Patch kid dolls and My Buddy dolls did
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
They should have glen the dolls a makeover to get in more customers. I can’t imagine Chucky dolls were on everyone’s list.
LikeLike