Parents' Guide to

Child's Play (1988)

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Dumb-scary horror movie has violence and swearing.

Movie R 2008 87 minutes
Child's Play (1988) Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 60 parent reviews

Libertalia
Libertalia Adult
October 2, 2021
age 8+

Good first horror movie

My 8yo girl watched this for the first time last night, spurred on by the fact that Chucky is a prominent bad guy in her Roblox games and she wanted to know his story. Shocker, right? Some icons live forever! She's pretty sensitive, but found Chucky's oldschool movie puppet look to be cheesy and not so scary. We laughed our heads off at the scene where Chucky tries to kill the cop through his car seat and "just keeps poking him in the butt", she says that's one of her favorite parts. Seeing him melted at the end was a little freaky, but not that bad since he looks like an overcooked marshmallow. There was a lot of swearing which made her gasp, but she eventually got over it. She has attachment anxiety and was a little uneasy about the boy being taken from his mother by the police, though didn't get hung up on it for long. The ONLY scene that really scared her was when Chucky electrocutes the doctor, because there's blood coming out of his eyes, that visual was disturbing for her. Other than that though, the violence was very fake and sometimes silly. No sex. She very happily told my eyebrow lady all about it this morning, obviously enjoyed herself!
horrerman
horrerman Parent of 7 and 8-year-old
July 4, 2020
age 9+

pretty good

pretty good movie but i cant believe the idea of a 6 year old fighting a adult
See all 60 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In CHILD'S PLAY, a fleeing murderer named Charles Ray (Brad Dourif), who just happens to be a disciple of voodoo magic, is cornered by tough cop Mike (Chris Sarandon) in a toy store in Chicago. Fatally shot, the dying villain mystically transfers his soul into a "Good Guy," a popular doll with a battery-operated voicebox ("I'm your friend to the end! Hi-de-ho!") and rudimentary facial expressions. The innocent-looking doll is subsequently purchased by Karen (Catherine Hicks), a struggling young widow, as a plaything for her 6-year-old son Andy (Alex Vincent). At first Andy's stories about being able to converse with the doll "Chucky" and blaming Chucky for nuisances around the apartment just seem to be the little boy's imagination. When a babysitter is killed, however, it's just the beginning of a new rampage by Charles Ray -- but how can Karen (or investigating officer Mike) believe little Andy's claims that the doll is guilty?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (60 ):
Kids say (214 ):

While the premise of an evil toy has built-in appeal for youthful horror addicts, very little of this movie is easy to take seriously. From its over-the-top '80s-action beginning to its Terminator -like conclusion, you'll be amazed the actors managed to keep from giggling. Some decent moments early on evoke much sympathy for unfairly accused Andy, and there are particularly effective shudders when the script just allows our fear to do all the work envisioning an ambulatory, killer doll at large. Brief glimpses of the small, scuttling figure around corners, quick cuts to Chucky's head barely moving -- suggestions like that are unexpectedly creepy.

But when the filmmakers finally unleash the full f/x, with Chucky snarling, swearing, biting, knifing, and flinging himself bodily at grown-ups, laughter is the gut reaction, and a parade of sequels ultimately degenerated into comedy, at least getting the inherent stupidity of the whole premise out in the open. Fans might claim to find a touch of social commentary in the ancillary detail that the Good Guy doll is supposed to be (like Tickle Me Elmo and XBoxes in past years) one of those in-demand Christmas gifts that cue shopper frenzies to buy them (as parodied in the non-horror Jingle All the Way). But if this was meant as any sort of slam against toy-industry overcommercialization, sorry; Child's Play missed that boat.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what parts are scary and what are not. Did you find Child's Play scary? Ever find yourself being afraid of a toy or a doll?

  • Child's Play 3 was a part of the James Bulger murder case in England, in which two boys had allegedly watched the movie before killing a younger boy. The movie was blamed in tabloid press for inspiring the murder. Do you think horror movies can incite violence? Why or why not?

  • Years since the release of this movie, there have been numerous sequels, and it could be argued that Chucky is as well known as other infamous horror movie killers. What do you think is the enduring appeal of this movie and this character? How does this movie compare to the sequels of it? Why are sequels often not as good as the original?

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