Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks

When Charles Lee Ray needs to get quick escape from cop, Mike Norris, he takes his soul and buries it into playful, seemingly good guy doll Chucky. Little does he know a little boy by the name of Andy...( read more  read more... ) Barclay will be the new owner of him soon-to-come. Charles confides in Andy while he commits numerous murders. Once the adults catch up to Andy's story as truth, it's too late.

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61% liked it

245,445 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

27 critics

R, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Tom Holland

Release Date: November 9, 1988

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DVD Release Date: August 14, 2001

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Stats: 8,988 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (8,988)


  • September 30, 2009
    Ridiculous but fantastic, a horror favourite!
  • August 30, 2009
    What I love about this movie is the way it slyly pokes fun at, and subverts, the 80s Toy Industry. Witness the scene where the single mother couldn't buy her son the "Good Guy" doll he so dearly wanted for his birthday, and has to face his disappointment and reassure him that she...( read more)'ll get one soon. How many parents had to face this scene in real life throughout the 80s? The film also manages to incorporate a sense of the multi pronged, multi-media merchandising attack of many toy lines of the decades. The "Good Guy" dolls are generally considered to be inspired by the "My Buddy" range, but note how they have their own cartoon show, which brings to mind thoughts of He-Man, Transformers, The Care Bears and so on. This kind of detail brings a level of wit to "Child's Play" that is ironically lacking in its increasingly comedic sequels.

    "Child's Play" is one of the cleverest and most entertaining horror movies of the 80s. OK, so Chucky isn't scary, but how many of us are really scared by Freddy, Jason, Jigsaw etc.? It is simply great fun, brilliantly executed.
  • April 10, 2009
    A very effective horror movie for kids, where a kids' toy becomes possessed by a dead psychopathic murderer.
  • October 2, 2008
    "When you're feeling down or feeling blue
    A Good Guy will always be there for you!"


    Chucky is a Good Guy, a line of dolls based on a popular children's cartoon, or perhaps the other way around. This particular Good Guy came to be alive when notorious killer Charles Lee Ray ...( read more)(Brad Dourif) was pursued by an incompetent police officer named Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) into a toy store, whereupon Charles Lee Ray was mortally wounded and, before his death, transferred his soul into the nearest item the aforesaid Good Guy doll. It's Andy's birthday, and he really wants a Good Guy, a near life-size talking doll. All Good Guys have their own names and respond to certain commands- they're like precursors to Furbies. Unfortunately, Andy's mother, Karen (Catherine Hicks), can't afford this expensive toy. Fate intervenes when she meets a peddler who sells her a Good Guy at a cut rate. While Child's Play is first and foremost a horror movie, there are enough elements of mystery and satire to help it rise above the genre. As the nominal hero and heroine, Sarandon and Hicks bring a nice level of human foible to their roles; they're not superheroes, and their encounters with the wicked doll are played with a kind of graceful absurdity that's as charming as it is nerve-wracking. As 6-year-old Andy, Alex Vincent is very good. His performance is natural, not too cloying and not too knowing. Chucky, looking like the in-bred cousin of the "My Buddy" dolls briefly popular in the mid-'80s, Chucky's big blue eyes and toothy overbite are creepy enough on their own and nightmarish when the monster inside the plastic takes over.

    Chucky: "Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?"

    Dourif is a talented character actor with a resumé that includes a range from award-winning classics to bottom-scraping drek. He's perfect as the voice of the foul-mouthed, nasty, punk-ass Chucky, whose leering, low-rent sadism makes him the white trash answer to Dr. Phibes. Child's Play is a solid scary movie.
  • June 2, 2008
    Kill 'em all, Chucky!!!
  • November 17, 2009
    This movie didn't need a bunch of shitty sequel's attatched to it.
  • November 14, 2009
    i kind of liked this movie
  • November 11, 2009
    its cheesy but great...
  • November 7, 2009
    Classic premise. It's pulled off with realistic effects. Never as scary as it was intended but watchable.
  • November 7, 2009
    A great and underrated thriller. Chucky is scary and so cool.

Critic Reviews


January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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

View more Child's Play reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • jackass001
    June 11, 2009
    i got it WITH special edition dvd whooo! =)
  • imsooweird22396
    December 31, 2008
    this is the BEST OF THE BEst Chucky movie
  • nrvanagrl
    October 30, 2008
    Chucky is so creepy! I bet you as Chucky is even creepier! Try it out at http://dareyoutowatch.com/ and scare the bejesus out of the mother as she's checking you for batteries
  • AGerardWayRomance
    February 16, 2007
    this movie creeped me out cuz iv got 1 ov these dolls an i put it in my closet so i cudnt see it an my mom had 2 throw it out because i was scared to get my clothes out of the closet incase the doll atacked.
  • FarOutBoyScout
    February 4, 2007
    it was stupid the only good actor was the doll and i thought they had slow reactions to things for example when chuky hit the kid on the head with the base ball bat it took him like a minute to notice and fall on the floor
  • 47hitman
    November 5, 2006
    The part I think is the best how she threatens to throw the doll in the fireplace if he doesn't speak & then Chucky lets off by saying "You stupid bitch you flithy slut I'll teach you to fuck with me" & lashes out at Karen Barclay that I think is the best scene

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Child's Play Trivia


  • In what movie does a serial killer escape the police and death by using a voodoo spell to transfer his soul to a body of a doll?   Answer »
  • In which Film did Brad dourif play an evil toy?  Answer »
  • What is the name of the evil doll from the childs play series??  Answer »
  • Who provided the voice of Chucky, the possessed doll from Child's Play?  Answer »

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