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Child's Play


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CHILD'S PLAY
(Tom Holland, 1988)

a single mother gives her son a beloved doll for his birthday,
only to discover that it is possessed


voodoo, Chris Sarandon, Catherine Hicks, & a Chucky doll. equal parts comical, ridiculous, and creepy. it begins when criminal Charles Lee Ray, a maniac serial killer, is chased by cop Mike Norris (Sarandon) into a toy store. needing an escape, Charles chants mystical incantations, 1980's lightning clouds form in the sky, and Charles passes his soul into a 'good guy doll.' this is real life

flash to the apartment home of single mom Karen Barclay and her son, Andy. it's his birthday, and he gets a good guy doll as a gift... only after his mother has to purchase one from a bum peddler in a dark alleyway. the freakiest parts happen early on, when the only person who knows Chucky is alive is 6-year-old Andy. this probably could have been even darker than it was... had they chosen to make the doll be unresponsive when it knew a murder case was under way and 6-year-old Andy was the only suspect

Conclusion
: the scariest part may be how invested everyone is in the story... actors, director,
special-effects technicians... everyone mindbogglingly plays it straight. picture being in the same room as these people act out the scenes and interact this real with a little toy doll. not sure if that would be really funny or just really creepy. the legend of Chucky is born

Favorite Kill: could go with Maggie's death, the lady who babysits Andy and his toy. she gets hit in the head with a toy hammer and crashes through a high apartment window to her doom. but not sure that's as momentous as none other than Chucky's getting burned in the fireplace... then having his arms, legs, & head blown off ... and still coming back to life. or maybe it's the voodoo guy having his arms and legs broken and chest knifed by way of voodoo doll courtesy of Chucky.

Rating:
+ 6.5 / 10