Child's Play (1988)

One of my favorite movies about casting spells, besides "Lord of Illusions" which I've already talked about a few months ago, is "Child's Play". Yes, I'm serious; most people would never connect this movie with the theme of spells but that's how Charles Ray Lee's soul got trapped within a plastic doll, by using evil witchdoctor voodoo magic! This movie is clever and thrilling and doesn't have any of the dumb jokes or attempts at lame puns that were rampant in the sequels. I wish I had been able to see this movie without knowing anything about it or about Chucky because I would love to see if there is any real suspense in trying to figure out if the young boy Andy or Chucky is the real killer.

All Andy wants for his birthday is one of the extremely popular “Good Guy” dolls for his very own. He’s a lonely kid and his single mother Karen tries her best to be there for him and is heartbroken that she can’t afford the gift he wants. Her best friend finds a homeless guy behind their retail store that has one and Karen buys it from him. Unfortunately this doll has been possessed by the fugitive serial killer Charles Lee Ray, who transferred his soul into the doll after he was fatally shot by the police detective that was chasing him one night. Charles, now going by the name Chucky, befriends young Andy and begins to frame the child for his murderous deeds. Just because you’re a doll doesn’t mean that you have to give up your hobbies or let loose ends get out of hand. When Chucky learns that he has a limited amount of time to find a new host or else be trapped in the doll forever, he sets his sights on Andy; unfortunately the police detective and Karen are going to do everything they can to keep that from happening.

Favorite moment – I love the point-of-view camera moments when Chucky is running around. It’s close to the ground and gives the right feeling to what Chucky sees and how fast the little guy can go!

I’m also super impressed by how well the animatronics for Chucky are. This movie was made in the golden age before CGI and how they made his face move when he spoke is awesome. 

The Resurrected (1992)

“The Resurrected”, also known more recently as “Shatterbrain”, is a mostly faithful adaption of the Lovecraft story “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”. Because the story is about a family member from the 1700’s interacting with a future relative, the story is able to be updated to take place in 1990 without a problem. The only problem I had with this film is that I didn’t find it very entertaining. The slow pacing and uninteresting actors are to blame; even Chris Sarandon didn’t seem to be giving this project much effort even though he was the main character. Unlike many other Lovecraft themed movies, this one avoids any attempts at adding any humor and tries to stay true to Lovecraft’s style of exploring the unknown.

 A P.I. is hired by Mr. Ward’s wife after he is questioned by police about the weird smell around his farmhouse. She wants to know what he is doing in there with another doctor that she doesn’t trust. Mr. Ward had begun acting strangely ever since he inherited the farmhouse and found belongings from a long distant relative. Eventually the P.I uncovers the truth that Ward and his past relative are working on ways to bring back the dead and that somebody isn’t who they seem to be.

Favorite moment – I don’t have one. I found this movie dull and not very entertaining. It took effort not to turn it off and watch something, anything else instead.