La bambola assassina

No need to echo consensus points on this outstanding horror movie production. My only gripe is with the recurring anti-climaxes that cheapen the original infernal effect. As a result, movie buffs are again shown that knowing when to stop can be as important as knowing how to start; at the same time, the horror flick certainly knows how to slam-bang start.

To me, two themes in the script's subtext stand out. First, key to many ace horror flicks, such as The Thing (1951), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), is not just the horror of the menace but the frustration in getting dis-believers to finally come around to confront the para-normal menace. Here, understandably, no one believes stories about an infernal kid's doll that's somehow alive. This, fortunately, adds to audience sense of engagement with Mom and little Andy as they're forced to grapple with the horror of the para-normal that no one else believes can be real.

Second is the poignant portrayal of Mother Love as that natural bond confronting the infernal doll in its death dealings. Ironically, it's the distance between mother and son at the outset that drives young Andy into the arms of what seems a friendly doll that will then be his needed companion. Thus Mom in particular must learn a lesson about family ties that the doll ironically provides. Happily, the growing bond between them is developed in a non-sappy way that's unusual for most any kind of movie. And that is largely thanks to actors Hicks and Vincent, respectively. In fact, I'd be inclined to award them special Oscars for their moving performances, as though the snooty Oscars ever took note of little horror flicks.

Anyway, these are two notable aspects of the screenplay neither of which has directly to do with the scary effects, but do merit mention. All in all, except for the anti-climaxes, the movie's superior of its kind, so catch up with it if you can.

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.

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

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

It was always the films where a child is in peril that stuck with me the most. Child's Play was probably the top of the crop.

The film taps into all those things you remember as a child like those colorful commercials that would promote the cereal you were eating. And those big dolls like 'My Buddy', that even as a kid I knew were creepy.

Script, acting, music, mood, atmosphere, direction, scares, everything works and that's why I give it the high rating it deserves.

Brad Dourif was the perfect choice for the voice of the Chucky doll. It's sinister and angry and darkly sarcastic. He is what I consider to be one of the all time great underrated actors.

The film is bleak. There's nothing happy about it although the good guy doll commercials insist it's playtime.

After this film, the only sequel I highly recommend is Child's Play 2, which I love just about as much as this one. Part 3 wasn't bad. Bride of Chucky was an interesting new direction to go in, but the feeling of the first couple of films is long gone by then, and Seed of Chucky was about the same.