Child's Play Movie Review

Child's Play (1988)

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Written by: Don Mancini (story), Don Mancini and John Lafia and Tom Holland (screenplay)
Directed by: Tom Holland
Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Rated: R
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Plot
A single mother gives her son a popular doll for his birthday, only to discover that it is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.

Verdict
I have never seen Child's Play until now. I've seen one of the sequels, and I was afraid this movie would be full of cheap scares, but it's a solid movie. Tapping into dolls that are scary because they don't look real but are given human attributes, this doll is live and a killer. It's a cultural touchstone you need to see, and you won't be disappointed.
Watch it.

Review
This is a horror classic. The Chucky doll became a phenomenon. "Want to play?" While this movie has many hallmarks from the '80s, it's effective.

This creepy doll is actually a killer. That's a great concept. Dolls are inherently unsettling. A toy is given human characteristics but there is still a disconnect because it's a pile of plastic.

While the voodoo that serves to set the plot in motion feels a bit hokey the movie carries it through so that it doesn't feel too cheap. A mom wants to get her kid a popular doll. The kid talks to it as all kids do, but there's something sinister going on. We know the doll is up to no good, but we don't see it. The reveal of the doll to the kid's mom is great. It's the first time we see the doll in action as opposed to point of view shots.

No one believes the kid when he claims the doll is alive, but he's right. When the doll reveals itself to the mom, the cop thinks she is crazy. When the cop discovers the doll is real, his partner doesn't believe him.

This has more than a couple jump scares, but they work. It feels like The Terminator as the doll just doesn't stop. While Chucky is over the top, this taps into universal fears of dolls, being confined, what lurks under the bed, and more. It's this primal fear that propels the movie.