Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Director: Jack Bender

Cast: Justin Whalin, Perrey Reeves, Jeremy Sylvers, Brad Dourif

Have I Seen it Before: Of all the movies in the series released to theaters, I have such little fundamental memory of this one, that I’m tempted to say I never actually have.

Did I Like It: Andrew Robinson shows up for a brief supporting turn. When his name was in the credits, and when he first showed up as the mildly sadistic Sergeant Botnick, that I remarked, “Oh, good! Andrew Robinson is in this.” It was the last demonstrably pleasurable thought I had about the film, and was followed with a general curiosity as to why Robinson couldn’t be bothered with returning for Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), but was fine doing this.

Clearly, something isn’t working for this film. A depressingly more-of-the-same bare bones plot, a climax that might be the most perfunctory of any horror movie I can readily recall, and far too many moments which feel like they were specifically orchestrated to find their way into a teaser trailer all add up to a movie that feels rushed before you even realize that the time between this  film and Child’s Play 2 (1990) was only nine months.

I’d hate to build this review on the feelings others might have about it, but consider: It isn’t exactly like—as with almost any other horror franchise film in existence—there is some devoted sub-group of people who insist that the film is actually worth a damn, even if that group is those who were responsible for the film’s inception. There’s not even an alternate take I can find which might frame the film as anything other than a bankrupt endeavor.

It feels weird to be mostly pleased with the experience of the last film and so down on this one, but it’s hard to not be underwhelmed by a horror series in stasis. Thankfully, other, weirder things are still to come.

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

Director: John Lafia

Cast: Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, Brad Dourif

Have I Seen it Before: Not terribly dissimilar from the first film in the series, I’m relatively sure I caught at least large swaths of the film on cable over the years, but the poster was far more memorable than anything else.

Did I Like It: Is there any other horror series which more aptly eschews the normal boundaries of criticism. The first film is silly at its core, but somehow manages to harness a fundamental tension that keeps it afloat. Later films in the series are fueled by that silliness.

And so this middle portion of the series feels strange. By all rational expectations, this film should be a pale echo of something that had no right to work any level in the first place.

And yet, for a particular kind of horror fan, this film works just as well, if not even better than the first. The series begins to not feel the slight shame it had for itself in the early goings. Even if the final metamorphosis is incomplete, there is some pleasure in watching it begin.

Additionally, from a technical standpoint, this are far better. There’s far less of the need to dwell on the rules of Dambala and soul transfer—this series is still far, far away from making those elements at all watchable—and that allows a bit more time to focus on Chucky (Dourif) as a puppet, and that part of the creation has certainly improved in the two years since the last film. This one could get away from putting its central baddie in full view on the poster and not have the movie be laughed out of multiplexes across the country.

Ultimately, that elemental wielding of the series’ most basic elements is going to be the wrong direction to take things, but here things feel just insubstantial enough to avoid having anything about which one might complain. Small praise, to be sure, but given the state of horror in the late 80s and early 90s, that should all probably be read as fawning praise.

Child’s Play (1988)

Director: Tom Holland

Cast: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif

Have I Seen It Before: I’m certain that at some point I’ve sat down and watched this movie from beginning to end, but is it possible I’ve actually caught fifteen minutes here and there on cable screenings over the last thirty years? Yes, absolutely.

The film’s poster is the real memorable thing, isn’t it, though? No, I’m not talking about the one featured in this review, which positively screams to me that someone at the studio was more than a little ashamed about what was really at the heart of the terror of this film. I’m talking about the one that was plastered in every video store in the late 80s that jettisoned anything resembling shame, single-handedly torpedoed the My Buddy toy line, and led this video renter to eventually write a short story where the covers of horror videos come to life to get the drop on some unsuspecting kid who would be far less frightened if he actually got to watch the movies involved.

Did I Life It: From all that, you might be forgiven if you thought I didn’t like it. Surely, there are rough edges all around. The puppet is clearly a puppet, except when he’s at a distance and clearly a little person dressed as a puppet. The mythology is ridiculous (and indeed is a the vehicle of many a film of self-deprecation to come). The kid (Vincent) is only believable or effective when he appears to be in real danger (which is impressive enough).

But maybe it was a byproduct of my mood (which should always try to be surpassed in criticism), but far more likely it is as a result of the runtime, which kept the film from wearing out its welcome, but I suddenly found myself searching for Child’s Play 2 (1990) and on available via streaming. If that doesn’t count as some sort of endorsement for a horror movie, I don’t know what does.