Child's Play (1988)

I don't know if it's just because I recently completed a Leprechaun marathon and those movies were so cheesy or if Child's Play has always been this good, but I really liked my viewing of this. I had seen it years ago, probably once or twice, but appreciate it more now.

The story is of a killer who, while escaping the police, gets shot and is on the brink of death. To 'fix' this, he uses voodoo-like chanting to enter a Good Guys doll and uses his dying breath to let the police officer who killed him know he will have revenge upon him. The doll ends up in the hands of a 6-year old boy named Andy and deaths follow.

Watching it now, I don't think I've ever give credit where credit is due on this film. The animatronics were top notch and some of the lip movements were pretty amazing for the time. Another big factor to the success of the film was the practical/visual effects. There are some really well done bits, especially near the end when Chucky becomes crispy critters. (Small spoiler)

The thing here is that the story is pretty well done, the acting is decent, and the flow is pretty solid. I have seen the first few in the series, at least up through the first Bride one, but this one stood out to me this time. I was this close to giving it four out of five stars but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Yes, I'll recommend this one as necessary franchise viewing and even horror viewing.