Growing up with Chucky
One of my earliest memories is watching Child’s Play with my mother. In a lot of ways, she taught me what not to be afraid of. How horror movie monsters weren’t real, and actually kind of funny. Mom had strong feelings about Chucky. Specifically, she could easily take him out. As my mother is about six feet tall, worked out regularly for most of her life, and had an iron will, I’m honestly not sure who I would put my money on.
One of her most endearing traits is her running commentary during movies. She would question internal movie logic, character motivation, and the realism of effects. I realize most people would hate this, but I grew up with it. She was critical of what she watched, and she made me more observant. It also insulated me from things that should have given little Ghoul nightmares. Things like gore, and jump scares. Mom was there to laugh at how fake it all looked.
The Family Connection
Child’s Play 2 wasn’t the first horror movie we watched together. But it turns out that a lot of people did get their start watching horror with Chucky and their parents. Chucky has evolved. He’s in a long-term relationship now and has a kid. Unlike many of our favorite killers, Chucky’s plans have grown too.
What starts with a simple plan to get back into a human body, spirals wildly into world domination. This plot shift takes place over the course of seven movies and three seasons of a TV show. For the purposes of this discussion, we are not going to discuss the reboot.
The Evils of Childhood
Growing up in the ‘80s was a weird experience when you think about it. Every bit of entertainment designed for kids was really a long ad. Kids were being marketed to constantly. It set the tone for normalizing the type of YouTube and TikTok ads as entertainment that people are obsessed with today.
Child’s Play tackles this cynical treatment of children head on. Everything about the Good Guy doll is spot-on for the type of marketing and hype that dolls like this received. Remember, there were riots over “Cabbage Patch” dolls, all because ads convinced kids that they could not live without this toy. Even in my house, where TV watching was a rarity, I still remember the jingles for some of the dolls that Chucky was styled after.
Given how impactful these ads and products were, it’s no wonder that Chucky struck a nerve with audiences. It also helps that Child’s Play is a really good movie. It’s got dark humor, action, great pacing, and a solid emotional core.
Family as a Theme
All of the Child’s Play movies have themes of fractured family and the difficulties of childhood. The first one starts with a struggling single mother trying to keep what’s left of her family together at all costs. The sequel deals with an emotionally traumatic foster family. From there we go to a military academy, which is a very different kind of found family. Bride of Chucky opens up the world, and Charles Lee Ray’s backstory, with the introduction of Tiffany and the start of Chucky’s family. From there, the movies do focus on Charles Lee Ray’s history as well as his current exploits as Chucky.
Curse of Chucky also introduces a new family element: Fiona Dourif as final girl Nica Pierce. The daughter of Brad Dourif, Chucky himself, would stay involved in the franchise into the TV series. Her work on the show is amazing, as she plays the younger version of Charles Lee Ray.
Child’s Play is also a technical marvel. The animatronics are beyond impressive. As the series goes on, the effects do move from practical to CG. They still look good, but I prefer the practical.
When Child’s Play was released, the studio was in bad place. Despite that, it made $44 million in 1987, roughly $125 million adjusting for inflation today. It was also critically well-received, which is rare for a slasher.
Oh Right, this is a Slasher.
Yes, Child’s Play is a supernatural slasher. It doesn’t lean into too many of the tropes, but nails the important ones. Chucky is perfectly suited for stalking people. He’s small, can blend in most places, and no one believes he’s alive anyway. He also really likes killing people.
The best thing about Chucky is he spends most of his time killing people who the audience feels maybe deserve to die. You see this more as the franchise goes on, and Chucky as a character becomes more popular. The audience wants to watch him quipping and killing people, but they have to be right kind of victims. The filmmakers manage to strike the right balance between evoking humor and terror with their kills.
There is an isolation in being “the child that no one believes”. Slashers have shown us again and again that physical isolation isn’t the only way to get to your victims. Chucky perfects this technique.
Queer Themes in Child’s Play
Chucky has been ahead of its time in addressing queer themes head-on. Child’s Play 3 and Bride of Chucky had gay characters and themes. The later entries into the franchise fully embrace these topics without losing focus on the reason why we’re here: the kills.
Why Chucky?
As far as slashers go, Chucky is different from the hordes of wordless masked killers. As time goes on, he becomes more unique, and more well, human. This doesn’t make him kinder or gentler. Being human isn’t always better.
The Legacy of Chucky
Dolls will always be a little bit frightening. Because of this, Chucky will always be menacing. The idea that the most innocent childhood plaything could do the most damage is the root of so many horror movies. None have had the impact of Chucky, and it’s hard to imagine that any ever will.
H3’s Take on Child’s Play
Hi there. I hated this.
Okay, okay. Before the Ghoul comes in and exclaims, “Expound!”, I suppose I can do just that. After watching, she asked me to rank Child’s Play against the other Big Five. I put it last. Yes, even against Nightmare, which was probably my least favorite before today. Reasoning? I dunno, I just couldn’t get into the idea of a serial killer possessing the body of a kid’s doll. Serial killers inhabiting dreams makes slightly more sense to me, if you’re looking at things from a supernatural angle.
I mean sure, Charles Lee Ray didn’t exactly have a lot of options at the moment, and he was pretty desperate. But… I mean, it’s a doll. Sure, there’s some shock value of “Toy Story by way of Halloween”, but once you get over that, it’s not like it’s a 250lb guy tackling you. Yes, he’s a tenacious little bastard too, but… come on. He weighs, what, maybe 5 pounds, tops?
Ludicrousness aside, I will give it credit for being a really well-made movie, at least. For the time, the puppetry work is pretty fantastic. Having watched 4/5ths of a 5-hour documentary on the Child’s Play franchise the day before (yes, really), I will say that I developed an appreciation for all the work that went into creating the movie and its sequels. Doesn’t mean I like ‘em, though.
Back to The Ghoul
Well, you win some you lose some. I knew Child’s Play would be a tough sell for Horror Hating Husband. But he did give it a fair try. I mean if most of the doc and the first movie isn’t enough to win him over, what else will.
Doc of Chucky is streaming on Shudder its a bit long but worth it
Read other slasher reviews here:
Leave a Reply