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Film: Child’s Play 2
Year: 1990
Director: John Lafia
Writer: Don Mancini
Starring: Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter and Gerrit Graham
Review:
This sequel was actually one that I used to watch quite a bit growing up. This film continues to build on the story that was established in the original. The official synopsis is while Andy’s mother is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, the young boy is placed in foster care, and Chucky, determined to claim Andy’s soul, is not far behind.
As alluded to, this film picks up where the last one left off. I like that this film begins with the company that makes the Good Guy dolls trying to do some good PR and also putting the doll back together. It is interesting that they don’t believe the doll was possessed and their explanation was that someone in the company tampered with that one doll. They also don’t buy that the doll was doing the killings though. What is also good about this film is that they don’t violate any of the continuity that was set-up in the previous film. Don Mancini wrote this film as well as the original so that is probably part of it. He seemed to have embraced the voodoo angle as this film claims that the human Chucky, Charles Lee Ray, killed his victim’s in ritualistic ways.
I thought the angle of having Andy (Alex Vincent) going into foster care while his mother is being evaluated was good. The foster parents are Joanne (Jenny Agutter) and Phil Simpson (Gerrit Graham). What I find interesting is something that is quite believable, are they capable of taking care of a child with this film emotion baggage? Also at the house with him is another foster child, Kyle (Christine Elise), who has had a rough childhood, but it is good to see her looking out for Andy. Now there are some things that happen in this film that aren’t overly believable, but I mean we also have a possessed doll going around killing people. The biggest issue for me though is the film disregards spatiality. Chucky is a doll, but he can walk halfway across Chicago in record time. I don’t know if they thought about these things or not.
The editing for this film is pretty good though. I thought it builds tension throughout the film all the way to the climax which I really like inside of the toy factory. The film actually has a low running time as well, which I think helps for it to move at a good speed.
Some thing else that was really good in my opinion was the acting of this film. Vincent is again really good as child, which is surprising. I just feel so bad for him as no one believes him and his fear is there with this doll coming after him to take over his body. Agutter and Graham are pretty solid as the parents. I like Agutter’s compassion for the boy while Graham is a little sterner. He isn’t a bad guy, but he knows that he has to set the precedent and is concerned with being able to help the boy. Elise is good as well as someone who the system really has failed and has to take care of herself. I think it is believable that she can’t rely on adults as they keep disappointing her. Brad Dourif is back as the voice of Chucky and it’s great. This film is really him coming into his own and I love it. He gives Chucky more personality and the comedy grows. I thought the rest of the cast round the film out well, including Grace Zabriskie and Beth Grant.
Effects for this film were also great. They are practical, which I’m a huge fan of, and this is really before the CGI craze started to really take hold. They were able to do more with Chucky and it looks great. I will say that the first death in the film isn’t realistic and is a bit over the top, but the rest of them are great. I really had no problems there as they look real.
The soundtrack to the film was also good. It doesn’t stand out to me, but I know that it never took me out of the scenes. It does help build the tension when it needs to be which is definitely a good sign.
Now with that said, I would recommend this film if you like the first one. I think it does a good job at keeping continuity of the story and builds on the mythology. This one also gives Chucky more much personality and we start to see the dark comedy side of him. I like the idea of Andy going into foster care while his mother is being examined. This film does have its issues with spatiality as well as Chucky learning information. Editing of the film was well done and helps to build to a satisfying climax. I thought the acting was really good though across the board. The effects were also very good. They were done practicality which I’m a big fan of. The soundtrack was also good, as it helped to build the tension for the film. Overall this is a good film in my opinion and definitely a worthy sequel.
My Rating: 8 out of 10