Child’s Play (1988) d. Tom Holland (USA) (87 min)
After Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif), the notorious Lakeside Strangler, is cornered and shot in a Chicago toy store, he uses his dying breaths and voodoo mystic abilities to transport his soul into that of a Good Guy doll, the red-headed, freckled, talking sensation on every kid’s birthday wish list. Young Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) is one such lonely youngster, hoping that his newly widowed mother Karen (Catherine Hicks) can somehow come up with the funds to buy him his very own “friend to the end” to ease the pain of his father’s death. She manages to secure a deal with a back-alley peddler, not knowing that the doll in question is in fact harboring the serial killer’s spirit, and equally ignorant of “Chucky’s” plans to inhabit Andy’s body! Mysterious deaths begin to surround the young lad, arousing the suspicions of Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon), the level-headed detective assigned to the case. Will anyone believe Andy’s story or will he become the vehicle for Chucky’s future crimes?
This novel twist set Chucky apart from a decade of masked slavering weirdos jamming pointed instruments into myriad nubiles, while it could also be argued that behind the simple “killer doll” plot device, the film resonated with critics and viewers thanks to its intelligent commentary on the twisted commercialism of the “Me Decade,” where the solution for lonely kids was to have a best friend bought for them, a plastic-and-stuffing stand-in for genuine human connection. In the era of the My Buddy, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Teddy Ruxpin crazes, where adults literally fought in the aisles for overpriced playthings, the premise felt all too plausible.
Holland had risen up through the Hollywood ranks scripting such “disreputable” fare as The Initiation of Sarah, The Beast Within, and The Class of 1984 before penning the critical and commercial smash Psycho II in 1983, the success of which led to his first directing gig, Fright Night (1986), which also impressed at the turnstiles. Following the action comedy Fatal Beauty starring Whoopi Goldberg, Holland was approached to helm a new horror flick featuring another serial killer, but of a very different stripe.
Struggling screenwriter Don Mancini had conceived the idea of a killer doll not only inspired by time-honored classics such as “Talking Tina” from Twilight Zone’s “Living Doll” episode and the “Prey” segment from Trilogy of Terror, but also based on his father’s experience in the retail world, where ethics were subservient to the almighty dollar. Tapping into two of children’s greatest fears, 1) their toys magically coming to life and 2) not being believed by adults, Mancini’s original script imagined a doll that emulated human bodily functions, including bloody wounds when scraped or punctured. This device would allow for Andy and the doll to become “blood brothers” at one point, which sparked life into the inanimate object.
This conceit was eventually jettisoned in subsequent drafts by Holland and John Lafia (all three are given screenplay credit) in favor of the loosey goosey voodoo angle, with Chucky sending his soul into another body, only to find that if he stays in there too long, he’s living the Raggedy Andy life forever. (Lafia would go on to direct the 1990 sequel, Child’s Play 2, while Mancini received sole credit on all of the subsequent entries.)
While there’s little denying that Holland delivers the goods, he was by all reports a tough customer on set when dealing with cast, crew, producers, studios, and anyone else at whom he could throw a coffee cup. (He never again reached such heights, relegated to so-so efforts like Thinner and The Temp, as well as a few episodes of Tales from the Crypt.) He recruited his Fright Night leading man Sarandon to play the empathetic if dubious Chicago cop assigned to the case after Andy’s babysitter takes a tumble from a third-story apartment window, while Hicks, hot off the success of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, was hired to play the frazzled and tightly wound mother, with first-timer Vincent landing the central role of Andy.
Dourif, already a veteran player of oddballs (Wise Blood), racists (Mississippi Burning), and misfits (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), was tapped to play Charles Lee Ray (the name inspired by Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray) in the opening scene, as well as voicing the nefarious doll once the soul had been transported. It’s also fun to see Jack Colvin, aka pesky investigative reporter Jack McGee who wouldn’t leave David Banner in peace on TV’s The Incredible Hulk, delivering one of his final onscreen appearances as Andy’s well-intentioned and ultimately doomed doctor.
All of the above listed human performers deliver fine work, yet the biggest star was undoubtedly the Chucky doll itself, designed by producer and graphic artist David Kirshner and brought to life by special f/x wizard (and former Rick Baker protege) Kevin Yagher and his extensive team of puppeteers lurking just out of frame. (Little person performer Ed Gale also pulled on the GG overalls whenever Yagher and his team weren’t able to pull something off or simply when the sequence would be better executed by a human.)
In the heyday of 1980s practical effects, Chucky stood proudly alongside Chris Walas’ Gremlins as evidence of how far the field of animatronics had come since the days of Disneyland rides. Legendary cinematographer Bill Butler, who had already shot everything from Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Grease, and Rocky II, III, and IV, expertly handled the lensing duties, collaborating seamlessly with Holland and Yagher to bring Chucky to terrifying life.
Now, why Shout! Factory has elected to release their boffo three-disc UHD/Blu-ray set at this time is anyone’s guess. (Does anyone else remember the days of actual Anniversary Special Editions? I mean, they would have only needed to wait a single year longer to properly celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original film’s release in 1988. Anyway…) Regardless of the date, it’s hard to imagine any fan of the franchise being disappointed in the colossal treasure trove of supplements, ranging from new interviews (as well as those ported over from the, ahem, 20th anniversary release), vintage featurettes, and three, count ‘em, three commentary tracks.
There is also a “select scene” Chucky commentary track, although the truth of the matter is that listeners have to hang out until just past the hour mark (1:06, to be exact) to bear witness to Mancini and SOMEONE riffing as Chucky. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure who exactly which fans this is supposed to be for, or even whether that is actually Dourif or someone else doing an impression (which is funny considering Dourif has claimed that he is doing an impression of Jack Nicholson for the character). But, hey, it’s on there.
Having entered the pop culture lexicon and endured through six sequels and an eponymous television series, it’s a pleasure to go back to the beginning of the Chucky phenomenon and see where it all began, especially with all the background information and historical context available with a simple click of the remote control. Hats off to the fine folks at S!F for being truly Good Guys.
Fun Fact: Sarandon and Dourif were both born in West Virginia and both were nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1975 for Dog Day Afternoon and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, respectively. (George Burns took home the statuette for The Sunshine Boys.)
BONUS FEATURES:
DISC ONE (FEATURE FILM – 4K UHD):
NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative – Presented In Dolby Vision
NEW Dolby Atmos Track
Audio Commentary With Director Tom Holland
Audio Commentary With Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks, and "Chucky" Designer Kevin Yagher
Audio Commentary With Producer David Kirschner And Screenwriter Don Mancini
Select Scene Commentary By Chucky
DISC TWO (FEATURE FILM – BLU-RAY):
NEW 2022 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
NEW Dolby Atmos Track
Audio Commentary With Director Tom Holland
Audio Commentary With Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks, and "Chucky" Designer Kevin Yagher
Audio Commentary With Producer David Kirschner and Screenwriter Don Mancini
Select Scene Commentary By Chucky
NEW Birth Of The Good Guy – An Interview With Writer Don Mancini
NEW Friends Till The End – An Interview With Actor Alex Vincent
NEW Believe Me Now? – An Interview With Actor Chris Sarandon
NEW Chucky: The Great And Terrible – An Interview With Producer David Kirschner
NEW Windy City Chills – An Interview With Production Manager Robert Latham Brown
DISC THREE (SPECIAL FEATURES – BLU-RAY):
Behind The Scenes Special Effects Footage
Howard Berger: Your Special Effects Friend ‘Til The End – An Interview With The Special Makeup Effects Artist
Life Behind The Mask: Being Chucky – An Interview With Actor Ed Gale
Evil Comes In Small Packages –Featuring Interviews With Don Mancini, David Kirschner, John Lafia, Chris Sarandon, Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks, Alex Vincent, and Kevin Yagher
Chucky: Building A Nightmare – Featuring Kevin Yagher
A Monster Convention – Archival Piece From The 2007 Monster Mania Panel Featuring Catherine Hicks, Alex Vincent, and Chris Sarandon
Introducing Chucky: The Making Of Child's Play – Vintage Featurette
Vintage Child’s Play Featurette
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spot
Rare Behind-The-Scenes Photo Gallery
Posters And Lobby Cards Gallery
Child’s Play is available now from Shout! Factory on UHD and Blu-ray and can be ordered HERE:
https://shoutfactory.com/product/child-s-play-collector-s-edition-1?product_id=7833
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