Voodoo Dolly
Child's Play (1988) was shot in Chicago in wintertime. This atmospheric background, one of the film's most interesting features, is as much a draw as the debut of Chucky, a redheaded doll possessed by the spirit of a dead voodoo-practicing serial killer (Brad Dourif). Animatronic Chucky is an impressive feat of special effects. As we are used to seeing CGI in so many fantastic films these days, it's enjoyable to watch what is essentially a puppet operated with electronic frequencies, technology going back several decades--one thinks of the Abraham Lincoln simulacrum at Disneyland.
Chucky is even more enjoyable for being so ridiculous and malicious. His sense of humor, based on cruelty and cynicism, sarcasm and hatred, coupled with his overalls, little shoes, red mop of hair, battery hatch in his plastic back, face that can go from tranquil and dopey to vicious in a second or two, all make for a very funny villain. Adding to the Chucky problem is the fact that you have to see him in action to believe he's a danger. He kills Andy's babysitter (Dinah Manoff). Andy is a little boy, son of Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks, familiar from the long-running family-oriented TV show 7th Heaven and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), a single mother working at a jewelry counter in a department store. Andy, like a lot of little boys, loves the Good Guys, a set of identical dolls, each with their own names. There's a Good Guys morning TV show, quite innocuous. Andy wants one of the pricey dolls for his birthday. Karen can ill afford it, but gets a deal on one for fifty bucks from a homeless man who found a Good Guy named Chucky in the vicinity of a blown up toy store, the store where the killer Charles Lee Ray breathed his last, performing a spirit transference spell on the Good Guys doll.
Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) is the detective investigating the babysitter's death. Andy, throughout, tells the truth about Chucky, who's revealed his true identity to him. Ray, inside Chucky, must perform another spell on the first person he revealed himself to in order to transfer to a human, otherwise Chucky, the doll, will become human, but still a doll, albeit one that can bleed, get headaches, suffer misery and pain, presumably feel pleasure, too. Can Chucky ejaculate? Maybe so. The film doesn't go there, but one of the later titles in the series, Bride of Chucky, suggests we might see a Chucky orgasm on display at some point, a funny thing to watch and hear.
Is this a horror film? No. It's a horror comedy, I guess. The backdrop of Chicago in the cold months makes for an unusual depiction of real snow and chilled air in a Hollywood produced film. I enjoyed seeing vapor coming out of Catherine Hicks' mouth as she walked outside at night. One scene, from the amount of vapor, looked like it was about 8 degrees Fahrenheit, another like it was in the 30s. It's very uncommon to see this kind of thing in a movie. I like uncommonality in films.
Also uncommon to see something like Chucky. He's become famous since 1988. Catherine Hicks makes the film work much of the time. It's not an easy thing for a serious actress to wrestle on the floor with a knife-wielding doll, but she does it with conviction. She's also really beautiful. Really beautiful.
Overall, the film is enjoyable to watch throughout, and if I used a star-rating system I'd give it three out of five stars, or somewhat above average.
Vic Neptune
Child's Play (1988) was shot in Chicago in wintertime. This atmospheric background, one of the film's most interesting features, is as much a draw as the debut of Chucky, a redheaded doll possessed by the spirit of a dead voodoo-practicing serial killer (Brad Dourif). Animatronic Chucky is an impressive feat of special effects. As we are used to seeing CGI in so many fantastic films these days, it's enjoyable to watch what is essentially a puppet operated with electronic frequencies, technology going back several decades--one thinks of the Abraham Lincoln simulacrum at Disneyland.
Chucky is even more enjoyable for being so ridiculous and malicious. His sense of humor, based on cruelty and cynicism, sarcasm and hatred, coupled with his overalls, little shoes, red mop of hair, battery hatch in his plastic back, face that can go from tranquil and dopey to vicious in a second or two, all make for a very funny villain. Adding to the Chucky problem is the fact that you have to see him in action to believe he's a danger. He kills Andy's babysitter (Dinah Manoff). Andy is a little boy, son of Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks, familiar from the long-running family-oriented TV show 7th Heaven and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), a single mother working at a jewelry counter in a department store. Andy, like a lot of little boys, loves the Good Guys, a set of identical dolls, each with their own names. There's a Good Guys morning TV show, quite innocuous. Andy wants one of the pricey dolls for his birthday. Karen can ill afford it, but gets a deal on one for fifty bucks from a homeless man who found a Good Guy named Chucky in the vicinity of a blown up toy store, the store where the killer Charles Lee Ray breathed his last, performing a spirit transference spell on the Good Guys doll.
Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) is the detective investigating the babysitter's death. Andy, throughout, tells the truth about Chucky, who's revealed his true identity to him. Ray, inside Chucky, must perform another spell on the first person he revealed himself to in order to transfer to a human, otherwise Chucky, the doll, will become human, but still a doll, albeit one that can bleed, get headaches, suffer misery and pain, presumably feel pleasure, too. Can Chucky ejaculate? Maybe so. The film doesn't go there, but one of the later titles in the series, Bride of Chucky, suggests we might see a Chucky orgasm on display at some point, a funny thing to watch and hear.
Is this a horror film? No. It's a horror comedy, I guess. The backdrop of Chicago in the cold months makes for an unusual depiction of real snow and chilled air in a Hollywood produced film. I enjoyed seeing vapor coming out of Catherine Hicks' mouth as she walked outside at night. One scene, from the amount of vapor, looked like it was about 8 degrees Fahrenheit, another like it was in the 30s. It's very uncommon to see this kind of thing in a movie. I like uncommonality in films.
Also uncommon to see something like Chucky. He's become famous since 1988. Catherine Hicks makes the film work much of the time. It's not an easy thing for a serious actress to wrestle on the floor with a knife-wielding doll, but she does it with conviction. She's also really beautiful. Really beautiful.
Overall, the film is enjoyable to watch throughout, and if I used a star-rating system I'd give it three out of five stars, or somewhat above average.
Vic Neptune
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