Okay, some people say this movie is a very cheesy sequel to Child's Play, and I can't disagree with them. But in some cases, cheesy is exactly what you want from a movie. Especially if it features a red-haired freckled doll possessed by a serial killer. Come on people, of course this movie was going to be cheesy. The first one just about managed to keep it together with some suspense, but once you've done the big reveal there's not a lot of credible scares you can wring out of this premise.
What's left is having fun with it, and Child's Play 2 does that very well. From the opening scene in which Chucky is reconstructed by the original toy factory (for a nonsensical reason, but who cares?), it has this obvious sequel quality to it. The thing that could not be destroyed, but was, is back, and he's angrier than ever! The cliché of the cynical company bosses is played out and then we're on our way.
That first scene sets the mood really well, you really get everything you need to get an idea what this movie is going to be like. Over the top, campy, set in its own reality. There really was no other way to go after the over the top ending of Child's Play 1, with the melted, barely recognizable Chucky dragging himself to his victims for a final scare. So we get some enjoyable one-liners from old Chuckles, and I definitely got some chuckles out of his killer lines. Literally, because most of his one-liners are accompanied buy an equally funny kill.
About those kills, well, they're maybe not even extremely creative, but they're sure as hell effective. In the beginning of the movie all of the people Chucky kills really deserve to die (in horror-movie terms that is, obviously no one really deserves to die). I'm rooting for Chucky when he kills the underling of the company director who brought old Charles back in the first place and who's just a slimy little weasel. Then Chucky manages to kill Andy's horrible teacher with a ruler, in the classroom where she locked Andy. And even when foster dad Phil is killed on the way to punish little Andy for misbehaving, you're still sort of rooting for the doll.
But no horror movie can thrive on just murdering bad guys, so from that point on the movie takes a more action-driven mood, which is done quite nicely. In the end, we go back to real sequel territory when we return to the good guy doll factory for an ultimate showdown, set to a background of thousands of good guy dolls in various stages of being manufactured. That just works brilliantly.
The acting in this movie never strays into academy award winner territory, but it's sufficient, and especially little Andy and his stepsister Kyle play their parts pretty well. Of course the real star is Brad Dourif who serves his cheesy lines with a side order of ham.
The effects are again nothing mind-blowing (well... one effect is, but that's not a description of its quality, it just literally blows Chucky's mind apart), but they're not bad. Add to that a pretty good score, decent camera work and editing, and you have a nice little brain-snack. I don't think it was anyone's intention to make this a great piece of art. It's pulp, entertainment. Ultimately pointless, but a great watch when you're bored.
I can't rate this higher than a 6 objectively, but in my heart I would have given it a 7 or 8, just because it's so unpretentious. Horror sequels that try to artificially invoke the same terror the original had to offer are usually horrible to watch. Child's Play 2, although it is of course nowhere near as good as the first movie, made the right choice to take a different approach.
What's left is having fun with it, and Child's Play 2 does that very well. From the opening scene in which Chucky is reconstructed by the original toy factory (for a nonsensical reason, but who cares?), it has this obvious sequel quality to it. The thing that could not be destroyed, but was, is back, and he's angrier than ever! The cliché of the cynical company bosses is played out and then we're on our way.
That first scene sets the mood really well, you really get everything you need to get an idea what this movie is going to be like. Over the top, campy, set in its own reality. There really was no other way to go after the over the top ending of Child's Play 1, with the melted, barely recognizable Chucky dragging himself to his victims for a final scare. So we get some enjoyable one-liners from old Chuckles, and I definitely got some chuckles out of his killer lines. Literally, because most of his one-liners are accompanied buy an equally funny kill.
About those kills, well, they're maybe not even extremely creative, but they're sure as hell effective. In the beginning of the movie all of the people Chucky kills really deserve to die (in horror-movie terms that is, obviously no one really deserves to die). I'm rooting for Chucky when he kills the underling of the company director who brought old Charles back in the first place and who's just a slimy little weasel. Then Chucky manages to kill Andy's horrible teacher with a ruler, in the classroom where she locked Andy. And even when foster dad Phil is killed on the way to punish little Andy for misbehaving, you're still sort of rooting for the doll.
But no horror movie can thrive on just murdering bad guys, so from that point on the movie takes a more action-driven mood, which is done quite nicely. In the end, we go back to real sequel territory when we return to the good guy doll factory for an ultimate showdown, set to a background of thousands of good guy dolls in various stages of being manufactured. That just works brilliantly.
The acting in this movie never strays into academy award winner territory, but it's sufficient, and especially little Andy and his stepsister Kyle play their parts pretty well. Of course the real star is Brad Dourif who serves his cheesy lines with a side order of ham.
The effects are again nothing mind-blowing (well... one effect is, but that's not a description of its quality, it just literally blows Chucky's mind apart), but they're not bad. Add to that a pretty good score, decent camera work and editing, and you have a nice little brain-snack. I don't think it was anyone's intention to make this a great piece of art. It's pulp, entertainment. Ultimately pointless, but a great watch when you're bored.
I can't rate this higher than a 6 objectively, but in my heart I would have given it a 7 or 8, just because it's so unpretentious. Horror sequels that try to artificially invoke the same terror the original had to offer are usually horrible to watch. Child's Play 2, although it is of course nowhere near as good as the first movie, made the right choice to take a different approach.