I am pretty pumped to talk about Child’s Play, actually, we are going to be looking at all of the movies from this franchise so be sure to check them all out. Released in 1988, I saw this probably in 1990 or 1991 when Child’s Play 2 was being promoted at my local video store. Times were different back then and many parents let their kids watch what they want! I was into horror from a young age so it was never anything that “scared” me as a kid.
How to Download Child’s Play (1988)
Child’s Play was released on November 9, 1988. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like slashers, check out the Scream series.
The Movie Review
The first Child’s Play movie is a bit more serious in its tone than what the series would become. Chucky still has some funny moments “how about a broken leg” still gets a chuckle out of me to this day. However, he does not have quite as many foul-mouthed quips as he would in the sequels that would follow.
While most people know the gist of the Child’s Play story is that there is a killer doll called Chucky trying to get a kid called Andy. The story is actually far more complex than people give it credit for and it mixes horror, slasher, mystery, and even some comedy tropes as well.
The Plot Twist and Character Dynamics
The story centers around a serial killer called Charles Lee Ray who is also a practitioner of voodoo. Charles Lee Ray is being hunted by a cop called, Mike and he shoots him in a toy store, but instead of dying, Charles transfers his soul into the body of a Good Guy Doll. The Good Guy Doll is the number one toy that all kids want, including one of our protagonists, Andy Barclay.
Andy lives with his mom Karen and Karen thinks that her luck has come in as he manages to buy a Good Guy Doll from a street peddler for a very low price. Of course, this turns out to be Charles Lee Ray who tells Andy that his name is Chucky! Chucky has Andy take him around Chicago so he can get revenge on people!
The twist is that the voodoo spell Chucky used is turning the doll’s body human and the only way to get out of it is to transfer it into the first human he told about his secret, Andy! As people keep dying around Andy, Detective Mike and others think Andy is disturbed and no one believes him that Chucky is real. Soon enough, people come to realize that Andy was telling the truth!
Standout Performances in Child’s Play
Child’s Play has some great acting performances. Alex Vincent is great as young Andy, he plays the role in a very believable way. Catherine Hicks is awesome as Karen and Jack Skellington himself, Chris Sarandon does a great job as Detective Mike. Of course, Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray and the voice of Chucky is the icing on the cake.
The Enduring Legacy of the Original Child’s Play
I still think that the first Child’s Play movie holds up. Out of the original trilogy of Child’s Play movies, I would put this one in third, but I still really like it. The animatronic work here is great in some places and kind of laughable in others, but that kind of adds to the charm of the movie.
