So here we have it, the first film that spawned a long-running and controversial film franchise about a possessed killer doll. Back in the late '80s and early '90s, a whole shed load of 'killer toy' movies hit the video shelves – I'm thinking the likes of PUPPET MASTER, DOLLY DEAREST, et al – and this is the one that spawned that briefly popular surfeit of miniature killers. However, CHILD'S PLAY is nothing new and indeed what it most recalled to me was the Karen Black segment of the '70s TV horror movie TRILOGY OF TERROR, in which a woman is menaced in her apartment by a voodoo fetish doll. The last twenty minutes of this movie are particularly reminiscent of that one.
Anyway, CHILD'S PLAY isn't a bad film, pretty much par for the course for an '80s horror. It's not as cheesy as you might imagine and it showcases an excellent turn from Brad Dourif as both a killer and a killer doll. He's really having a ball here and his enthusiasm is infectious. The rest of the cast don't match him – heroine Catherine Hicks is adequate but sometimes bland, FRIGHT NIGHT's Chris Sarandon is wooden and child actor Alex Vincent is far too cute – but it could be worse.
My biggest complaint is that the first half of this flick is far too slow. It's a kind of guessing game, leaving us in suspense as to the identity of the killer, wondering whether the kid is responsible after all. The problem is that EVERYBODY – even people who haven't seen any of these films – knows that the Chucky doll is indeed the bad guy; it's on the advertising after all! The whole of this mystery guessing-game could have been done away with in favour of more scares. Still, once the film gets going it's not bad, and the string of murders are fairly inventive (the electrocution death is particularly gruesome). I did really enjoy the climax, which reduces things to the classic situation of 'characters trapped and hunted by killer' and manages to be pretty exciting. Props too for the great special effects work, Chucky is indeed a demonic looking toy and quite frightening if you're of a nervous disposition.
Anyway, CHILD'S PLAY isn't a bad film, pretty much par for the course for an '80s horror. It's not as cheesy as you might imagine and it showcases an excellent turn from Brad Dourif as both a killer and a killer doll. He's really having a ball here and his enthusiasm is infectious. The rest of the cast don't match him – heroine Catherine Hicks is adequate but sometimes bland, FRIGHT NIGHT's Chris Sarandon is wooden and child actor Alex Vincent is far too cute – but it could be worse.
My biggest complaint is that the first half of this flick is far too slow. It's a kind of guessing game, leaving us in suspense as to the identity of the killer, wondering whether the kid is responsible after all. The problem is that EVERYBODY – even people who haven't seen any of these films – knows that the Chucky doll is indeed the bad guy; it's on the advertising after all! The whole of this mystery guessing-game could have been done away with in favour of more scares. Still, once the film gets going it's not bad, and the string of murders are fairly inventive (the electrocution death is particularly gruesome). I did really enjoy the climax, which reduces things to the classic situation of 'characters trapped and hunted by killer' and manages to be pretty exciting. Props too for the great special effects work, Chucky is indeed a demonic looking toy and quite frightening if you're of a nervous disposition.