Not Suitable For Children

Child’s Play
(Tom Holland, 1988)

3.5 Stars

There’s a whole bunch of “classic” horror films that we’ve all seen through osmosis; whether just catching a couple of scenes during a late night Channel Five viewing, or through simple over-parody from any number of daft and often unfunny comedies.

When it comes to the iconic Chucky films, however, I’ve never quite been sure which ones I’ve actually seen. I remember certain scenes, and I seem to recall an increasingly drunken Bride of Chucky/Seed of Chucky marathon a couple of years back, if only for the ridiculously daft female and baby Chuckies. Looking at the original Child’s Play last night in the video store, however, I really couldn’t remember ever having seen it.

Turned out I had, but y’know… Whatever.

It’s easy to disregard Child’s Play as a piece of pulp horror trash, what with the ever-more “horror-comedy” sequels (see previous piece on the Nightmare on Elm Street films), but indeed watching it now (with dim recollections of the ol’ James Bulger controversy popping scarily into mind) it’s actually a pretty darn creepy, and impressively made film.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, or indeed those who don’t care, Child’s Play sees serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) brought back from the dead in the form of Good Guys doll Chucky, thereafter taking vengeance on those who brought about his death. It’s typical eighties schlock, but what really makes it stand out is the fantastic animatronics in Chucky’s already eerie doll, coupled with a fantastic child performance from Alex Vincent as Andy, Chucky’s unfortunate new owner. With Holland’s tongue-in-cheek direction, an ingenious partnership is created.

In the few decades since its release, Child’s Play, like its compatriots Halloween, Elm Street, Friday the 13th et al, has lost some of its edge simply through over-reference and over-parody. What with the remake slated for later this year, that magic will be diluted even moreso in years to come. But, nine times out of ten, what inspires a franchise, a remake, a reboot, etc, etc, is something great to begin with. Sure, it’s no Citizen Kane, but I sure know which one’s more fun to watch…