"Effective little horror movie, retardedness aside"
So how to write a sincere 'critique' of a movie about a killer toy? Well, if you're willing to accept the sheer ridiculousness of the premise, and you're a horror fan, it's worth a rental, as long as there are no NUMBERS next to the title. The sequels to this one are especially noxious, even for horror movies.A killer dies in a toy store, so his spirit is naturally sucked into a doll. (Hope I die in a Victoria's Secret.) A cute kid gets the doll, then people begin dying horrible deaths. One especially caveman-like police takes the case, leading up to a crazy car-chase and Chucky's temporary destruction. It's all pretty cut and dry, but will it please the horror crowd?
For the most part, yes. There is the normal amount of "theatrical release" blood. This is an important distinction in horror movies. Generally, horror movies intended for theatrical release imply more gore than is actually shown, while an unrated or director's cut will give you considerably more visceral thrills. There are the obligatory gag lines that Chucky offers after killing another wide-eyed moron, and some of the scenes actually come off rather well.
What prevents Child's Play from entering the modern classics of horror area is quite simply the sheer stupidity of trying to get scares from a ugly vulgar doll. I WISH Chucky had tried his shit on me. I mean, tiny weapons aside, how strong could he really be?
B-Actors Chris Sarandon, Catherine Hicks and Brad Dourif show up and manage not to giggle too much, which obviously wasn't enough for the Academy, but they pull it off.Not bad for preteen fans of the genre, as a sort of training for more powerful horrors to come. Pretty fun, pretty stupid. Will be gone from your mind quicker than this review, but hey--It's a HORROR movie about a HAUNTED DOLL--You rented it, you deal with it.
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