Child's Play (1988)

Want to see it?

Seen it?

0
1
2
3
4
5
Rate this movie.

Want to buy it?

Write a review

Discuss it

Add to lists

Recommend it

Get recommendations

Watch trailer

Directed by Tom Holland.

Starring Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks, Dinah Manoff, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent.

Watch trailer

Child's Play seems to have been concocted by a parent who went berserk after standing in line for hours on end to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980s. The film opens with serial killer Brad Dourif taking refuge in a doll factory. Dourif is killed by the cops, but not before he has invoked a voodoo curse which transfers his soul into one of the dolls. That particular doll, nicknamed Chuckie, is unwittingly purchased by Catherine Hicks for her son Alex Vincent. Several murders occur shortly thereafter; all evidence points to Alex, who insists that his cherub-faced doll is responsible. Detective Chris Sarandon, the man responsible for Dourif's death, doesn't swallow Alex's story, but he agrees to investigate because he's sweet on Alex's mom. The slasher-flick ending of Child's Play would seem to have settled Chuckie's hash for good and all, but guess again--the film spawned numerous sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

[more]

Reviews and discussions

Re:top five movies that scared ...
by asnakeofjuly in Top 5

hasn't rated it.

"All the ones that I remember have already been mentioned. Willy Wonka, Gremlins, Alien, Child's Play, but I also remember one night I stayed up and caught Akira on television. The scene with Tetsuo's ' hallucinations' of the giant toys spewing milk gave me nightmares for years to come before I finally saw it again when I was older. " [More]

Mothra and analyzing B-Movies
by GradysGhost in GradysGhost Blog

is neutral about it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I came in early to work today only to find that the boss wouldn't let me clock in. So I went to the breakroom and turned on the TV and clickered through the "Movie and Event" channels. Everything was ending. Why watch the last twenty minutes of a movie if you've never seen the first and second acts?But one movie was just beginning. Mothra. Get this. An American visits an island near Japan where nuclear bomb testing took place years ago. Somehow or another, it left these twin girls fully matured but only a few inches tall. So the American steals them and puts them in a show for people to pay and see. They sing well, you understand, and they're freaks. But their songs have an underlying telepathic effect that calls upon the god those crazy miniature islanders worshipped - a giant moth called (you guessed it) Mothra (or Mosura in Japanese). The giant moth wreaks havoc on a cardboard Tokyo for awhile Godzilla-style (no, seriously) until the girls are finally retu ... " [More]

top five movies that scared the ...
by Moose in Top 5

hasn't rated it.

"1. Dumbo (the pink elephants on parade made me run out of the room in fright. It is my earliest childhood memory)2. Return to Oz (That crap'll give you nightmares)3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (It's all disturbing plus my sister taught me to fear little people)4. E.T. (His freaky glowing heart, that awful noise he makes, I hate E.T.)5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (The bad guy at the end with the high voice and eyeballs that turn into knives) " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

The concept of a killer doll is a risky endeavor for any filmmaker. The image of Raggedy Ann wielding a butcher knife is easy to laugh at. What works best about Child's Play is that director Tom Holland accepts that the audience is going to laugh, provides over-the-top scenes that encourage the audience to giggle, and then offers some genuine chills. Like he did with vampire films in his first movie, the underrated Fright Night, Holland smartly utilizes his knowledge of the audience's understanding of the genre in order to tweak the material without sacrificing the basic structure of a slasher movie in Child's Play. Couple this smarter-than-necessary approach with a deliciously hammy performance from Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky, toss in a wide-eyed terrified youngster, and you have a surprise hit that spawned sequels, none of which come close to the quality of the original (although Bride of Chucky has its fair share of twisted laughs). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Tags: chucky , film , Best , ever , boy
View all