DVD review (region 1)
Directed by Tom Holland
Starring Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Release date Out now

Karen Barclay (Hicks) gives her son Andy (Vincent) a very special present for his sixth birthday – a Good Guy Doll. Unfortunately, the doll is possessed by the spirit of murderer Charles Lee Ray (Dourif)…

There are many reasons as to why Tom Holland’s clever shocker stands up as a great horror movie – a simple premise, an iconic villain in the form of Chucky and a script that neatly walks the line between witty and scary. It also benefits from an utterly convincing performance from Alex Vincent as the kid who just wants a playmate; it seems remarkable that Vincent didn’t go on to have a long and illustrious career after this.

Unlike the sequels, Holland and writer Don Mancini treat the premise fairly seriously and, aside from a couple of slightly dated 80s explosions and chases, the film is as fun as it was 20 years ago.

The movie, of course, went on to spawn a franchise that included the godawful Child's Play 3 (the subject of much tabloid controversy in its entirely unproven influence on the murderers of James Bulger) and bonkers comedies Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky. Mancini is currently working on a remake, but it seems unlikely it could possibly top this.

This “20th Anniversary” release contains two commentaries (one from the cast, the other from Mancini and producer David Kirschner) and another part-commentary in which Dourif comments on four scenes from the movie (it’s a shame he’s not allowed a full-length commentary); Tom Holland remains strangely absent. There are also a couple of straightforward ‘making of’ featurettes. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 8/10
Doll-core classic that works as both horror and comedy.

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