Childâs Play 2
One thing should be made clear: The original 1988 Childâs Play was one of the great atmospheric horror films of the decade, building suspense slowly before making its franchise villain truly part of the mix. Not so the case with its sequel, made two years later. The filmmakers had already decided that the idea of a foul-mouthed killer doll was better suited for laughs than genuine scares, and they waste no time with making Chucky and his wisecracks an integral part of the narrative, starting with his smothering of an obnoxious toy company executive (Ally McBealâs Greg Germann). Doing the voice over work again as the Chuck, Brad Dourif brings a bit of a Nicholson-esque twang to the role here (complete with a needless Shining homage during the climax), and the fact that most of Chuckyâs kills are as a result of him sneaking up and surprising people makes sense given that heâs a four foot tall dolly. After the toy company inexplicably decides to recycle (?) the killer doll to bring him back to life, the plot concerns him once again coming after his old âfriendâ Andy Barclay, played once again by Alex Vincent. This time around, the kid has actually developed into a more subtle actor, always in fear that his nemesis would return and not given as many of the cutesy-bootsy moments that marred his performance in the first film. With his mom sent to the loony bin for backing up her sonâs story, Andy is sent to live with foster parents played by the still-hot Jenny âAmerican Werewolfâ Agutter and b-movie legend Gerritt âMarshall Luckyâ Graham. It isnât long before the traumatized boy actually befriends a new Good Guy doll which is soon buried and replaced by Chucky. These and other plot holes (like how Chucky calls the orphanage pretending to be âUncle Charlesâ and immediately gets the boyâs address) show that plausibility isnât gonna be the strong order of the day, even as the film takes the same route that perhaps Chucky isnât real and that the grown-ups all believe that the boy must be schizophrenic. However, on a pure campy, corny level, the film is nevertheless entertaining, and the scene where Chucky writes an obscenity on Andyâs school paper before handing it in to his strident schoolteacher (played, naturally, by Beth Grant), actually had me laughing so hard I almost had tears coming down my face. Then thereâs Christine Elise in the role of Andyâs rebellious foster sister and the unlikely heroine of the story: projecting a beautiful, tough-girl appeal, and taking many of the more outlandish plot developments in stride, Elise shows star quality that sadly she never really capitalized on despite her later stint as Brandon Walshâs psycho girlfriend on 90210 (her scene where sheâs pulled over by a cop with Chucky sitting next to her is a good example of how she was able to âgetâ the material). Overall, a fun, cornball horror movie that quickly set the tone for the rest of the seriesâŚ
7/10