The recently released Chucky: The Complete Collection Blu-ray set gives us the chance to look back on 25 years and six films worth of doll-related mayhem and murder. Beginning in 1988, Child's Play took the slasher movie subgenre into a new place that was very fun, even as it was also rather out there. Sure, they'd been killer dolls before (The Twilight Zone's Talking Tina the most famous, perhaps), but making one of them the central villain in an ongoing horror series, a la Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street? That was new.
Yes, the idea of the living doll is extremely creepy and unsettling, but there are also inherently goofy aspects to it that become more obvious the longer you spend with the subject. Such was the case with Child's Play and Chucky the killer doll, voiced so wonderfully by Brad Dourif. The first movie goes for the slow build method, with Chucky not coming to "life" onscreen until well into the running time. But once we see Chucky walking and talking, you can't easily take that back, which meant he was front and center as the series continued, through sequels both good (1990's Child's Play 2) and bad (1991's Child's Play 3).
Continue reading…
No comments:
Post a Comment