Child's Play (1988)

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