Child's Play is a 1988 American horror/thriller film directed by Tom Holland and written by Don Mancini, John Lafia and Holland.
The movie was a moderate box office success. Having been made on an estimated budget of $9,000,000, it earned over $33,000,000 in the United States. Child's Play was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. It was banned in Finland in 1988 and was banned in Norway between 1989 and 2003.
So far, the film has spawned six sequels. The first of those, Child's Play 2, was released in 1990. It was later followed by Child's Play 3 in 1991, Bride of Chucky in 1998, Seed of Chucky in 2004, Curse of Chucky in 2013, and most recently Cult of Chucky in 2017. The film also spawned the TV series Chucky, which first aired in 2021.
Plot[]
While being chased by homicide detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon), serial killer Charles Lee Ray, also known as "Chucky" and "The Lakeshore Strangler", is shot and mortally wounded. Knowing he cannot escape, Charles takes cover inside a seemingly old toy store. He looms around until he falls on a stack of "Good Guy" themed dolls. He uses a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into one of the dolls. The store is then struck by lightning and catches on fire. The detective is not injured, and walks over to Charles, who lies deceased next to the doll.
Later that morning, Andy Barclay, who is celebrating his sixth birthday, tells his mother Karen Barclay that all he wants is a Good Guy Doll that year. Unable to afford the doll at full price, Karen buys a doll from a street peddler. She is unaware that the doll she bought is really Chucky. Andy is given the doll, and he loves it right away.
That night, Karen has to go out, but leaves Andy with her friend Maggie to babysit. While Andy is sleeping, a small figure is seen toying with Maggie, ultimately causing her to go into the kitchen. Maggie is violently struck with a hammer and falls out of the kitchen window, falling several stories to her death. Andy, when questioned by Mike Norris, who had killed Charles Lee Ray, insists that Chucky has revealed himself to be alive and that he killed Maggie. Karen is very upset at Mike for questioning Andy. The next day, Andy skips school with Chucky and takes a subway train to the house of Eddie Caputo, Charles Lee Ray's getaway driver, who had left him to die after he was pursued by Jack Santos, also known as Mario, Mike Norris's partner. Chucky sneaks into Eddie's house and blows out the pilot light on the stove and turns up the gas. Eddie discovers that Charles is in the house, and, in panicked self-defense, fires his gun in the kitchen and the house explodes, killing him.
Authorities place Andy in a psychiatric ward after he is found near the crime scene. Karen discovers Andy was telling the truth after discovering that the included batteries in the Good Guy doll box were never put inside the "working" doll. Although he initially doubts her story, the homeless man who sold Karen the doll confirms to Mike that he retrieved it from the burnt down toy store where Charles Lee Ray was killed, but not without asking for something in return first, because Karen does not have much to offer, the homeless man attempts to rape her as an alternative but she is saved by Mike. The detective becomes a believer after he is attacked by Chucky in his car and survives only by shooting the doll.
Chucky meets John Simonsen, his voodoo instructor when he was younger, showing off his new body. Chucky then asks why his gunshot wound bled, since he should not bleed. John informs him that his body is slowly transforming to that of a human's and will soon become entirely flesh and blood, trapping him within it. Chucky demands to know how to avoid such a fate, but John, feeling Chucky has abused his voodoo knowledge, refuses to help. Having anticipated this, Chucky tortures him via a pre-prepared voodoo doll, and John admits Chucky can escape the doll's body if he transfers his soul into the body of the first person he revealed his true nature to, which is Andy.
Knowing that Chucky is chasing him, Andy escapes from the psychiatric unit. Chucky brutally kills one of the unit's doctors, Dr. Ardmore, with an electroshock machine, leaving the authorities to believe Andy killed Dr. Ardmore while escaping. Mike and Karen rush back to the apartment hoping that Andy is there. Chucky reaches the apartment before them and knocks Andy unconscious with a baseball bat, then tries to begin the voodoo ritual to transfer his soul to Andy. After a prolonged struggle, Chucky is thrown into the fireplace by Karen and, despite Chucky trying to persuade him not to, Andy manages to light a match and ignite the fireplace, ultimately burning Chucky alive.
Andy and Karen, thinking that Chucky is dead, go to help an injured Mike, Karen telling Andy to get the first aid kit under the sink. After Andy gets the first aid kit from under the sink, he discovers Chucky is gone. Very burnt, but alive, Chucky chases after Andy and Karen, who barricade themselves in the bedroom. Karen shoots him several times, missing his heart, but scattering his head, an arm, and a leg in the hallway. This does not kill him yet, and his head orders the scattered body parts to kill everyone around. Suddenly, Jack arrives, and shoots Chucky's heart, killing him.
The film ends with Andy, Karen, and Mike being sent to the hospital.
External links[]
- Child's Play on the Internet Movie Database.
- Child's Play on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Child's Play on AllMovie.