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Child's Play (1988)

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 245,445

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Movie Info

Child's Play seems to have been concocted by a parent who went berserk after standing in line for hours on end to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980s. The film opens with serial killer Brad Dourif taking refuge in a doll factory. Dourif is killed by the cops, but not before he has invoked a voodoo curse which transfers his soul into one of the dolls. That particular doll, nicknamed Chuckie, is unwittingly purchased by Catherine Hicks for her son Alex Vincent. Several murders occur

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Horror

Aug 14, 2001

United Artists

Cast

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (23) | Rotten (10) | DVD (17)

Fun withers in stretching the thin material to feature length.

October 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment (1)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[A] clever, playful thriller.

August 30, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Director Tom Holland keeps things moving without rushing them. Unfortunately, Child's Play gets a little ugly at the end.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Child's Play is a cheerfully energetic horror film of the slam-bang school, but slicker and more clever than most.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment (1)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The things that redeem the film, at least slightly, are Dourif's nasty, insinuating vocal performance and Kevin Yagher's design of the Chucky doll itself.

July 5, 2011 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | Comment
Antagony & Ecstasy

Dumb-scary horror character plays well for teens.

December 8, 2009 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

It's nothing wildly original, but it is pacey and entertaining when it gets going.

October 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

It does, however, have some decent scares, a lot of good lines and a memorable villain.

October 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Is anyone ever going to make a really good movie about toys coming to life to kill people?

October 21, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comments (3)
TV Guide's Movie Guide

With humor taking a backseat to good, old-fashioned suspense, Child's Play is an impressive horror highlight of the late-'80s film scene.

October 15, 2008 Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | Comment
DustinPutman.com

'Child's Play' is one of the scariest movies ever.

September 27, 2008 Full Review Source: ESplatter | Comment
ESplatter

Insidiously effective.

September 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

The 20th Anniversary edition DVD is the one to get - it's a toybox full of brand new extras!

September 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Horror.com | Comment

While the sequels may have gotten progressively more campy, I'm pleased to note that the original Child's Play holds up just as well as I'd hoped. (And the new DVD rocks.)

September 10, 2008 Full Review Source: FEARnet | Comment
FEARnet

really two movies in one: an effective, genuinely creepy build-up to what turns out to be a schlocky and intentionally comedic horrorshow

September 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | Comment
Q Network Film Desk

I'm sure Child's Play was far from the only film of its era sold as one of the great scareshows of all time.

September 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

It took Don Mancini 10 years to bring the Chucky franchise to its current **** glory, but the original Child's Play is pretty ***.

September 8, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Even after twenty years, Child's Play shows no ring rust. The little flick plays just as well now as it did in its heyday.

September 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Dread Central | Comment

An inadvertently silly but effective shocker. Director Tom Holland definitely knows how to spin a scary yarn.

March 4, 2006 Comment
FulvueDrive-in.com

Holland's sure handling of the suspense and shock moments lends the film a sharp and scary edge.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

classic horror

April 16, 2005 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Child's Play

For what it is, it's damn good. It doesn't do anything new, but what it does do, it does well.

March 26, 2007
kenstachnik

Super Reviewer

Chucky: Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play? "You'll wish it was only make-believe."Child's Play is a silly "horror" film. There is nothing scary about it, as the premise pretty much indicates. Every standard slasher scene the movie has is different in the fact that it isn't trying to shock or scare, but is trying to make you

January 18, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

    1. Chucky: Andy remember, friends stick together till the end. [acting innocently]
    2. Andy Barclay: This is the end, friend! [with a match in hand]
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (29 days ago)
    1. Chucky: The only person that I let in on the fact that I was still alive was a six-year-old kid. I'm gonna be six years old again. Well, John, it's been fun, but I gotta go. I have a date with six-year-old boy... and you have a date with death.
    – Submitted by Nick S (42 days ago)
    1. Chucky: Hi I'm Chucky, wanna play?
    – Submitted by Nathan J (2 months ago)
    1. Chucky: You stupid bitch! You filthy slut! I'll teach you to fuck with me!
    – Submitted by Jamie M (2 months ago)
    1. Det. Mike Norris: Mrs. Barclay what are you doing back here?
    2. Karen Barclay: Andy was telling the truth. Chucky is alive and he killed Eddie Caputo.
    3. Det. Mike Norris: What?
    4. Karen Barclay: I took him home to my apartment, I was about to throw away the box when we came in, the batteries fell out. Don't you see? He's been moving and talking for days without any batteries in him.
    5. Det. Mike Norris: What are you talkin' about?
    6. Karen Barclay: How I found out the doll was alive. See, I threatened to throw him in the fireplace. When all of a sudden, he came alive in my hand. I dropped him and then he ran out of the apartment.
    – Submitted by Nick P (3 months ago)

Latest News for Child's Play

March 25, 2011:
MGM Plans Child's Play Reboot
Remake-hungry MGM isn't satisfied with developing new versions of "RoboCop," "Poltergeist," and "Mr....

September 9, 2008:
Child's Play Partners Look Back, Discuss Remake
A brand new 20th anniversary edition of "Child's Play" hits store shelves today; to celebrate, Don...

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Foreign Titles

  • Chucky - die Mörderpuppe (DE)
  • Jeu d'enfant (FR)
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