Key Movies Of My Life: Child’s Play 2 (1990)

There were key movies in my life that helped to make me who I am today. Movies that I have loved from the moment the opening credit rolled and still love now. This blog series is about those, My guilty pleasures, my favorites, my escapes. Some were very popular, others not so much. Some of these will have some real life take-aways, others are just for fun. Child’s Play 2.

Today’s Key Movie:

The evil doll from the first film returns for vengeance against his former playmate, Andy, who is now living with foster parents. Starring Alex Vincent returning as Andy, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham and, of course, Brad Dourif, this is Child’s Play 2.

Why this movie?

So, after the tremendous first film it was only a matter of time before the studios…and fans…demanded more. Thus, the Child’s Play franchise was born. Needless to say, this was a film I could not pass up seeing in the theater, having already fallen for the nightmare that was Chucky from the first film. This might have been another ‘Barbra’ deal as I mentioned in my review of the first film, but I don’t fully remember. Regardless, I saw it on the big and it left a mark on my young and impressionable mind for sure.

The plot is simple, two years after the events of Child’s Play, The Play Pals Corporation use the remains of the killer doll to make a new doll…because they want to show that it isn’t evil or somesuch. Whatever, it’s brought back, there is an accident and BAM!, Charles Lee Ray is back and seeking vengeance against Andy for preventing his return in the first film.

You like it, but is it really a ‘good’ movie?

Honestly, This is not a bad sequel, in fact it is quite good. While the premise to get Charles Lee Ray back into a Good Guy Doll after he was burnt to a crisp in the first film is a little bit of a stretch, you can’t really say much with a franchise that involves voodoo, killer dolls and the like. I mean, if you watch this kind of film you have to be willing to have a certain suspension of disbelief to begin with right?

That aside, this is not the suspense filled drama that the first film was. We already know that Chucky is real and the kid is being pursued by a living doll so this film wastes no time embracing this insanity and having fun with it. Where the first film allowed the viewers imagination to fill in the blanks, writer Don Mancini and Director John Lafia Dive directly into the antics of the killer Good Guy doll effectively establishing the slasher series that it has become known as today. There is no doubt the direction this franchise is going and frankly, I’m was okay with the direction at the time.

The cast is once again solid in every way. With Alex Vincent back as Andy and Brad Dourif back as Chucky, you really can’t go wrong, but adding in the tremendous Jenny Agutter who I loved in An American Werewolf from London as well as Gerrit Graham, who had been in just about everything at that time, was a fantastic move. The cast works extremely well together balancing out the already established cast. I was particularly impressed with actor Christine Elise in the role of Kyle, another foster child living with Andy. Kyle provides a very strong support for the already traumatized kid and frankly, her character should have come back in one of the latter sequels.

I have to say, even though Director John Lafia didn’t rely on the viewers imaginations to enhance the fear, his angles and shots throughout are spectacular. For his directorial debut I was very impressed with how he managed to convey a sense of dread even in the most peaceful moments, not that there are many. Coupled with the tremendous work of Graham Revell on the score, this film manages to stay creepy and frightening even when it plays a little in the campy nature of the killer doll.

OK, where do I get this movie?

Once again, like the first film, this movie is readily available on both home video and digital. It’s absolutely worth watching and I was very pleased to see it has aged well since I last watched it. It has certainly been a while but but it’s a fun one that has really stood the test of time.

You know, let’s keep this going…next week Child’s Play 3 or Chucky Gets Schooled! haha!

See you then!

Late To The Game 10/15/2020

If you would like to read more reviews please check out the rest of the Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday.

For more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here. and, If you dig Music, I have a semi regular series called Stand Out Albums that covers some of my favorite records I have come across in life.

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