After a long pursuit and gunfight, serial killer Charles Lee Ray lays dying on a toy store floor. As the cops close in he performs a voodoo chant, transferring his soul into a Good Guy-brand talking doll toy and blowing up the store in the process.
Cut forward, it’s Andy Barclay’s 6th birthday and all he wants is a Good Guy doll, like the character he sees on TV. His mom Karen can’t afford one but gets a suspiciously good deal on one from a peddler. When Andy’s babysitter gets tossed out their high rise apartment window and only tiny footprints can be found, the police begin to suspect Andy himself. Andy tells his mom and the authorities that his doll is to blame, but no one believes him. But the Good Guy doll—named Chucky—eventually reveals himself to his victims. Karen and Detective Mike Norris come to believe Andy and the three fight for their lives against the demonic, red-headed slasher doll.
I really liked “Child’s Play” way more than I expected to. The film straddles the horror/dark-comedy genres in a way that generally works, but sometimes makes for a inconsistent tone. In fact, when the film first started dabbling in its cartoonish, over the top violence, it felt like a bit of a miss and not entirely a choice. By as the film started to open up and breathe, I got that’s what they were going for. The actual effects were also generally good, with the clever use of many tools to make Chucky effective. Sometimes it looked silly but by the final incarnation of the doll, he looked downright terrifying. Effects and hokey tropes aside, “Child’s Play” is ultimately a story about believing victims, the impressionability (yet wisdom) of youth, and about feeling helpless. In this way, the film is still resonant and is worth a watch.