Chucky - Die Mörderpuppe

Director Tom Holland does quite a good job scaring us with this cliche-ridden, unoriginal story of a serial killer transferring his soul to a toy store doll. The doll is incredibly eerie with its red hair and deep eyes, and goes by the name of Chucky saying things like, "My name's Chucky...wanna play?" Although much of the plot is very predictable(especially the ending), the execution of the plot is first-rate. Add to this some earnest acting from CatherineHicks, Chris Sarandon, and especially Alex Vincent playing a six-year old, and you have a pretty entertaining feature. The special effects are also first-rate, and the doll seems to actually be alive. Brad Douriff adds his voice to the demented Chucky, and his voice is evil personified. Dinah Manoff has a small role, but it is an important role which she plays very well. The atmosphere is definitely set on suspense and it is a rollercoaster of a ride as we see the doll slowly become human and seek out his only murderous hope for salvation. Good scares!

This movie starts out pretty slow with a killer named Charles Lee Ray doing voodoo magic to put his soul into a kid's doll. After that it starts to get slow and generic even with the killer doll with things not making much sense (and I am not talking about the Chucky doll thing either). But when Chucky starts his sinister cacklying and cursing that he is known for the movie does pick up. The build up to that point isn't that bad though and I can understand why they had to go in that direction at first. It does add a sense of mystery even if the audiences does know what is going on from the start. The trademark Chucky voice really does add flavor to this slasher. As a matter of fact I wouldn't be shocked if Heath Ledger was inspired by Chucky for his role in "The Dark Knight" now that I think about it. It's cool to see Chucky not going on that unstoppable killer slasher direction, he uses stealth and pulls tricks to kill someone. Plus whenever found, he could just act like a regular doll. Which actually does adds to making him quite a dangerous and sinister killer. This does not have a lot of blood and gore, nor does it have a lot of body count but it does have entertainment value for a horror slasher movie. Overall this is a slasher movie that had a lot of cool and new elements to work with when it came to the direction at the time. And it's understandable how Chucky became one of the most memorable killer villain from the 80's. Thanks to Brad Dourif signature voice as Chucky.

8/10

Serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) gets shot by detective Norris (Chris Sarandon). As he struggles with his last breath, he transfers his soul into a Good Guys doll. Meanwhile Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) is a cash strapped single mom. Her kid is desperate for the doll, and she could only afford one from a shady homeless guy. It turns out that the doll has Charles Lee Ray's soul in it, and he wants to transfer to the kid.

This is a well made horror. The general idea of a killer doll may be an old one. But this is done with some fun freshness. Director Tom Holland is definitely a good study of horror. He's able to inject a lot of good old fashion scares into this film. He hides Chucky in the act of killing until late in the movie. This allows the tension to build. And the reveal is great. The whole thing works. The only thing holding it back is a little bit of unintentionally camp. The F/X needs improvements. These are all forgivable. Catherine Hicks and Chris Sarandon are both good character actors. At its core, this is a good film.

When people nowadays think of Chucky, the living doll, they think of the foul mouthed psycho doll complete with body modifications and a punky bride in a movie filled with funny one liners and black humor. However, when Chucky came to life almost 20 years ago, he was a real thrill that redefined the horror genre of the late 80s and spawned a series of imitators (some better than others).

Director Tom Holland crafts this very original tale written by Don Mancini, where a dying sociopath (Brad Douriff) uses voodoo to transplant his soul to an inanimate toy. Catherine Hicks plays Karen Barclay, a single mother who gets the possessed toy for her little son Andy (Alex Vincent), not knowing what is hidden deep inside the doll.

Despite its apparent cheesiness, Holland truly creates a haunting atmosphere filled with suspense by following the trick Steven Spielberg used in "Jaws". While we know from the very beginning that the toy is haunted, we never get a glimpse of what he can do and neither does the characters; only the young Andy knows the truth, but nobody believes him.

Unlike its current MTV-inspired incarnations, "Child's Play" starts a bit slow, but suddenly it turns into a suspense-filled roller-coaster with enough thrills to keep you at the edge of the seat. Holland directions truly makes the difference between a cheap B-movie and the classy film this one has become.

Brad Dourif makes a superb job and this movie started his now-legendary career in the genre. Catherine Hicks is a very good lead character, surprisingly realistic, thanks in part to the very well-written dialog. Chris Sarandon completes the cast as the detective investigating the mysterious murders surrounding Chucky and Andy.

The movie moves at a very good pace, despite its slow start; it has that 80s feeling and it is surprisingly violent for its time (it was released when rules were turning a bit stricter). It has great special effects and a very creepy atmosphere inside it's urban landscape.

While many reviewers consider a flaw the fact that Chucky's possession is not a mystery, I believe that a lot of the suspense is in the fact that we know that, but the characters don't. It is a very well constructed film in the end, and definitely better than its current sequels. 8/10

Well made thriller about a dying serial killer (Brad Doriff) transplanting his soul into a child's play doll. Fast forward now and a mother buys the doll for his son's birthday. Doriff then goes on a killing spree, but after a cop wounds him he finds out that if he stays in the doll's body for too long, he and the doll will become one forever. So he goes after his owner so that he can transfer souls. Highly original premise highlighted by terrific special effects and lots of good one liners and humor.

Rated R; Extreme Violence & Profanity.