Cinemuse | 'Child's Play' (1988)
A reflection for Macabre Monday.
This one falls very nicely into the “yell/talk back at the screen” category of horror movies.
I decided to rewatch it, it’s been 20 years since my last viewing!
It’s an oldie but an unsettling goodie.
Overview
Briefly, Child’s Play follows the family dynamics between a precious child, his widowed mother, and a highly disruptive and troubled anthropomorphic doll who insists on being called “Chucky.” We can all guess what happens when the mother merely wants to gift her only child the toy doll of his dreams for his birthday. I believe the proverb, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” feels more than apt for this simple yet highly effective plot. You guessed it — horror ensues. When Chucky, who is actually the trapped soul of a murderous serial killer via voodoo, needs a new body and fast… well, let’s just say no one in Chicago is safe.
Child’s Play boasts a great cast including a post-Fright Night Chris Sarandon, a pre-7th Heaven Catherine Wicks, and a highly precocious Alex Vincent who plays the terrorized boy child, Andy. Veteran stage and screen actor, Brad Dourif, plays both the human form of Chucky and provides the iconic voice for the doll.
Film Appreciation
This film is yes, incredibly dated. But I argue, still dark thematically. Placing a very young child at the center of a horror flick should already raise giant red flags for us as the audience. It’s almost as if the younger the protagonist, the more horrific the plot.
But goodness, they don’t make tiny actors the way they used to! Vincent was incredible. The movie would still be compelling if we only watched Chucky and Vincent for 87 minutes! I mean, this small wonder is good.
And boy oh boy, did the filmmakers really make Vincent work. “Andy” is quite a taxing, physical role. You see him constantly in motion - running, falling, tripping, scurrying, crawling, crouching, hiding, crawling backwards, crashing into objects, etc. All the while, arresting our disbelief and generating enough empathy to root for him through a seemingly ridiculous film premise. Seriously, this kid and Linda Blair are probably the most extraordinary child actors in horror films I have ever seen.
I think one of the smartest decisions the filmmakers made was to put Andy in intense “non-child-like” situations. It’s almost as if they disregarded how young he was when writing the script. There are long stretches of Andy fighting with or trying to escape from Chucky, and they’re suspenseful! These scenes work — no doubt aided by incredible cinematography. Angles and shots are visually smart. Edgy but subtle. You gotta wonder how they got the camera that low to really enhance both Andy’s and Chucky’s perspectives. A truly thoughtful visual experience.
Lastly, I’ll just say one more thing about the tone of the film — it’s gritty. I never visited working class parts of Chicago in the mid to late 80’s but if you told me this movie was a documentary, I would believe you one hundred percent!
Like an 80’s film noir, it’s mostly filmed at night coupled with bleak shots of alleyways, condemned buildings, and homeless encampments. The filmmakers clearly took the making of this film seriously to deliver so consistently on such a dark tone. Not unlike The Exorcist, fleeting moments of dark humor provide the needed respite from all the grime in both the story and visual composition.
You practically look forward to Chucky opening his small dirty mouth or cracking some horrible joke at his victims’ expense.
“Wanna play?” — okay!
Tl;DR
After Brad Dourif got nominated for an Academy Award in 1976 but before he played Gríma Wormtongue in the LOTR, he turned himself into a frightening doll that would haunt every young Gen Xer’s/Millennial’s nightmares for years to come.
My favorite things about this movie:
Chris Sarandon. Of course.
Alex Vincent’s utterly underrated performance as “Andy.”
The overall dark and serious tone of the film.
The last shot in the film. Bravo.
You can watch Child’s Play for free on YouTube right now.
Here’s to another deliciously dark Macabre Monday! Have you seen Child’s Play lately? What do you think — is it as creepy and dark as you remember it? Or do you find the movie and premise too silly? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
A hidey-ho to the rest of The Macabre Monday Team:
andBe sure to check out the rest of the haunted dolls:
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This was a great movie! The sequels not so much, but the first one was a masterpiece! They don't make horror like this anymore.
It's been a long while since I've seen any of the Child's Play movies. I remember enjoying them pretty well, mainly the first two. (Though none of the sequels were really necessary.) Chucky makes for a plenty creepy antagonist and the fact he's chiefly going after a very believable child character makes that all the more effective.
On a slightly related note, if you want to catch another horror movie that puts the grit of the Chicago projects on display, I highly recommend giving a watch to the original Candyman. That movie plays on the idea of urban legends and how they can play into daily living in rougher neighborhoods quite well. Plus it's just a damn good ghost story, much enhanced by Tony Todd's performance in the titular role.