A recently widowed mother gives her son a new toy- a doll that just so happens to be possessed by a serial killer.

Child’s Play is a very effective late 80’s horror movie that has the right balance of horror and dark humour, thanks to the very funny dialogue spouted by the murderous Chucky doll.

There was a whole horror sub genre that mined into the terror provoked by toys, dolls and dolls in the 80’s. Prime examples were Dolls, Demonic Toys, Killer Klowns From Outer Space and, later on, the TV movie of It starring the ever-brilliant Tim Curry as Pennywise. There was also a doll from the mid-80s that was specifically designed for boys called My Buddy which, apparently because of Child’s Play, died a death as no-one wanted to buy them anymore.

Child’s Play more than holds its own within this sub genre and there are scenes that are genuinely unnerving particularly where a child was dressed up as Chucky and we see him running around. These are really chilling as they’re so sinister and surreal.

Child’s Play would give birth to a whole franchise that has more great movies than duds. One of the sequels features John Waters in an acting role (guess what kind of character he plays!) One of the sequels (Part 3) would be blamed for the events that led to the abduction and murder of the child James Bulger here in the UK.

This first film is a sleek production but is also pretty gritty fare. It’s well worth investigating.

3 out of 5 stars