Child's Play (1988)

Director: Tom Holland

Starring: Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Dinah Manoff, Tommy Swerdlow

More info: IMDb

Tagline: This doll is killer.

Plot: When serial killer Charles Lee Ray is mortally wounded in a police shoot-out, he uses a voodoo spell to transfer his soul into Chucky, a "Good Guys" doll. Andy receives the doll as a birthday gift, and Chucky soon resumes his killing spree. However, Charles doesn't want to be trapped in the body of a doll forever. His only escape would be to transfer into the first human he revealed his true identity to... which places Andy in mortal danger.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I'm really making up for lost time with horror movies in the past four years. This series has been on my to-watch list for more than twenty years and I'm FINALLY getting around to watching it. I really dig this one. I kind of figured I would since it did well enough to warrant a bunch of sequels and I'm a huge fan of killer toy movies like PUPPET MASTER (1989). The story is good (albeit standard but then what do you expect?), the acting works (the kid is GREAT), the effects are great and the kills are fun. Whoever designed the doll was working overtime. It's creepy and fun. I want one. The ending was fun, too, although it didn't leave room for a sequel (unless I'm an idiot and missed it). I'm now keen to watch the rest of the series and work on the rest of the PUPPET MASTER series (I'm told it's not pretty) as well as others like DOLLS (1987) and DEMONIC TOYS (1992).