31 Days of Halloween – Day 13

Child’s Play (directed by Tom Holland, 1988) Do you remember when you were a kid, and you wanted that special toy more than anything in the world? I bet that when you received the toy, it wasn’t possessed by the soul of a serial killer. After being cornered by the police in a toy store, psychopathic murderer Charles Lee Ray, the Lakeshore Strangler, transfers his soul, using black magic, into a ‘Good Guy’ doll before he dies of gunshot wounds. After purchasing this doll from a street person, Karen surprises her son Andy with it as a gift. It is not long after until Andy discovers that his doll “Chucky” has bad intentions. First off, I will say that if it was not for the acting/voice talents of Brad Dourif, Child’s Play would not be half the film that it is. Dourif (Lord of the Rings trilogy, Exorcist III) brings Chucky to like, and makes him the little menace he is. Chris Sarandon (Fright Night, Princess Bride) plays the detective who first track Charles Lee Haley, then tries to protect Andy and his mom (Catherine Hicks) from Haley after he becomes Chucky. Usually child actors annoy me, but Alex Vincent is really good as the boy Andy, who is the target of Chucky’s homicidal intents. I remember wanting to see Child’s Play in the movie theatre, but I was not old enough. I had to wait until it was released on home video, which seemed like it took forever. This was the first VHS movie that I “pirated” (did the old VHS-to-VHS copy), and watched the crap out of it for a year until I taped over it with some Stampede Wrestling. I understand why the movie was rated R at the time. There is some very strong (and humorous) language that flies from Chucky’s mouth. The movie is pretty short for a full length feature, clocking in at around eighty minutes, but perhaps more would have seemed like too much. Director Tom Holland (writer of Fright Night) has done some off-beat horror films, and Child’s Play is well done considering it is based on a possessed doll on a kill spree. The effects are good, and the animations for the Chucky doll are pretty believable, but like a mentioned before, Brad Dourif makes Chucky entertaining. Child’s Play will always have a special place in my heart (even though the sequels never live up to the original). Maybe you could find it in your heart to give Child’s Play a viewing this Halloween.