Chad

Chad

Additional Posters Part 2:

Undeadcow

I've never been an especially big fan of 'Chucky' but it's a brilliant premise of our toys and even commercialism itself being the true evil. Bringing the ghouls out of the shadows and into the city might be one of the best trends in 80s horror but at the risk of more generic characters.

The toy store at the beginning complete with real brands is nostalgic and a cool hook. The long stretch of un-necessary dramatic irony in the first third is a bit slow but ultimately simmers well with the chilling fireplace reveal scene. The doll point of view scenes are clever avoiding disclosing the real evil here then seeding larger glimpses in a comedic way; for the most part Childs Play is well shot. The first murder is unintentionally funny where a hammer is unbloodied and sends the sitter reeling across the kitchen and out the window with a single doll strength blow; but what a glourious fall. Then later Chucky struggles and fails to overpower the mom. The second explosive death is no less epic but the kid being duped to do the doll's bidding 'jumps the shark' a bit even for a murder doll film.

I think its a cop out that she goes to the homeless camp to blame the peddler for the doll being evil rather than the toy company - the haves blaming the have nots rather than the have mores - but it moves the plot along.

This was from a time when cops would still be seen as heroic or at least helpful; Im not sure theres as much of that spin on police in current media. The car scene is my favorite part of the movie if not burnt Chucky.

The kid can spot Chucky from across the street through a hospital window but no one else can? My daughter pointed out that interesting that the kid takes on a good role to contrast the evil doll role; a contrast.

Everyone forgetting to go for the heart at the end is a bit silly with some of the most obvious fake endings ever.

WillieMLF

There’s a ‘guy’ selling dolls in the back alley. I love these movies

jholmes

The first time I watched this was in 2017. I'd heard of it when it first came out, but thought it sounded silly. It was much better than I expected. I wrote: "Great production values and acting and an actual STORY. Lots of retro fun. Want to see the sequels." I did. in fact, watch nearly all the sequels and enjoy them. I especially love Meg Tilly in this series.

I rewatched it today and still really love it. One thing I noticed was that I often don't remember that much about horror movies I've seen, with few exceptions. But this one, I remembered everything. It really stuck with me. I think at this point in the challenge, it was just nice to have something humorous and predictable to watch. 4/5 stars. Maybe 4.5

ETA: I just realized I never watched the remake in 2019. I gotta watch that now.

Toddarino

As I’m rewatching this for the countless time, I realize and appreciate how good this first one is. The sequels, especially the later ones really turn the franchise into a gag. Yeah I get the whole concept is a joke, but the first two actually play it pretty straight.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Bride, Seed, etc… but man the first two are great.

WillieMLF

Yes, this really is a great movie! I watched it with the 'Chucky commentary' which was Dourif playing it straight, and it was pretty funny. I haven't seen this in a while, and I always forget how much I like this movie. My heart always goes out to that poor kid and how earnestly he is at delivering his lines. He's playing it straight, and no one believes him! 'Chucky wants to watch the 9 o'clock news'. I get pretty crazy with modern CGI, and I've always felt the effects in this movie are top notch, from the editing to using the camera trick stand in. Dourif is just unhinged in some parts, and it's really delightful.

Always thought it was amusing that the shoe imprint has a gun!

I always felt that those My Buddy dolls had to be the inspiration for Chucky.

wishbone

"We're friends till the end, remember?"
"This is the end, friend."

Great combination of practical SFX -- still convincing and effective many years later -- and Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. The discovery of the unopened batteries is a fun reveal. It was nice revisiting Child's Play again.

brainee

This came out at a bad time for mainstream horror. Especially slashers which were really running on fumes by the late 80s: combination of running out of ideas and MPAA ludicrous crackdown on violence (things that are shown on commercial television now would have to be cut for an R rating then). But this had a great but simple basic idea and a sense of fun (that wasn't reliant on "body count" violence). The puppetry still looks great, unlike mid 90s CGI of lower budgeted shows. And I appreciate the lean sub 90 minute running time.

I rewatched all first 3 movies in the series. While I rate the first one the highest, 2 was very enjoyable as well. True it was "more of the same" and you could already see it going in more the comedy direction. But the big showdown in the toy factory made it feel like a great way to end the story. I didn't care much for 3. I guess its good they tried a different setting, but the story just didn't seem to work with an older Andy at military school (instead of the young Andy at an age where he would have a "Good Guy" doll). Just didn't seem like a story worth telling. Although the finale at the carnival was cool.

Trevor

Could have sworn I bought the box set of all the films, but I can’t find it anywhere. Found this original film though, and it was fun re-visiting it.