Child’s Play (1988) is a horror movie which follows the story of a killer doll named Chucky. Chucky tries to take over the soul of six-year-old Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) to become human. This blockbuster has had multiple sequels to continue the franchise.
The movie begins by showing a serial killer, Charles Lee Ray. After being shot by the police, he performs dark magic to transfer his soul into a Good Guy doll. This doll falls into the hands of a young boy, Andy, who then tries to convince his mother and the authorities that his doll is alive. The film follows the same plot that a typical slasher movie would follow, with Chucky killing multiple people throughout the film until he is finally stopped by Andy and his mother. However, the viewers know that Chucky never really dies. In every movie in the franchise, Chucky always manages to come back to life to resume his killing spree.
When Andy realises his doll is real, no one believes him and he is institutionalized. However, his mother Karen (Catherine Hicks) soon discovers the truth and with the help of detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon)—they set out to find the truth about Chucky and how to destroy him.
Having seen this movie many times, I can say that this is an enjoyable horror flick that one can watch repeatedly. The plot is simple, engaging, and the violence does not get too gory. One thing that never gets boring is the doll itself. Chucky is one of the few scary dolls that speaks and reacts. The line “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” is a catchphrase in the franchise and is repeated usually right before Chucky kills someone.
As many other horror films, Child’s Play has several sequels, but none are as good as the original. Child’s Play 2 (1990) and Child’s Play 3 (1991) follow the same story of Chucky being after Andy’s soul, so they remain similar to the original movie. The rest of the sequels branch out to different storylines.
One thing I like about this movie is how it has elements of different genres. It has a serial killer figure, Chucky, a typical feature in slasher flicks. It has a child at the centre of everything and a spooky atmosphere that is common in ghost movies. Though, it also has a crime mystery element to it, with multiple characters who are attempting to solve the mystery about the doll and figure out how to save Andy. I think the movie does a good job of simultaneously creeping you out and entertaining you.
