Review of Child's Play (1988) by Jace V — 18 Aug 2010

Not without it's flaws and plot holes and lack of realism (the major premise being the obvious exception), but this is still a slick and creative little thriller. The biggest issue is that I seriosuly doubt that in real life the mom and kid would be allowed to continue living in their home, as it is a crime scene, but if you can get over that, and of course accept the actual plot itself, then you should be okay, unless you are scared of dolls, or don't like horror movies.

That the movie is a bout a killer doll attacking a kid is basically why it works. It's not an original concept (not even in 1988), but it's the kind of thing that is basically timeless. The only reason to update the concept is out of the need to keep up with changing sensibilities and the technology needed to pull this type of thing off.

I liked that they used puppets and animatronics. I would ahte to see a CGI Chucky. I know it would make some stuff easier to do, but it's not as rewarding, and doesn't take as much creativity.

The performancs are pretty good, as are the effects. Dourif is awesome, and this is basically his most well known role. It's not his best ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is), but he's great and being both funny and menacing just with his voice. It's a shame that the sequels began to favor humor over scares.

Yeah, it's full of cliches and that kind of thing, but it does a good job at building suspense, and comes to a nicely satisfying conclusion.