Child’s Play (1988) is a low-budget, dark comedy horror film that redefined the horror genre when it first released 34 years ago. Directed by Tom Holland (not the Spider-Man Tom Holland) and written by the incredibly clever Don Mancini, Child’s Play is a very original tale about a dying sociopath who uses voodoo to transplant his soul into a doll. When a single mother gives her 6-year-old the doll, they find themselves in a fun-sized dilemma. Now, while many people critique the franchise for its overall campiness, the original film had an interesting charm to it. It didn’t insist upon itself because there was nothing to insist upon at the time. What this movie does really well is implement aspects of mystery into the horror. At its core, Child’s Play is a story of a random target’s struggle to survive a predicament that no one will believe. That allegorical aspect is horrifying in itself and it only adds to the goriness of Chucky’s killing. My biggest criticism of the film is that the tone tends to flip-flop a little too much between horror thriller and straight-up comedy at times. However, the tonal change is not as obvious as it is in the following sequels that I mentioned previously.

I give it a high 7/10.