Child's Play

Faced with the prospect of a movie about a killer doll, you might be forgiven some scepticism; but Holland demonstrates how a well-written script and taut direction can triumph over the silliest premise. When Hicks buys her six-year-old son a talking doll called Chucky for his birthday, she has no idea it's possessed by the malevolent spirit of psychopath Dourif, whom Chicago cop Sarandon blew away in a shootout the day before. So when her babysitting friend (Manoff) takes a dive from her apartment window and the kid says the doll did it, he gets a ticket for the funny farm. Sarandon doesn't buy it either, until vengeful Chucky tries to strangle him while he's driving. While some of the supernatural stuff about witch-doctors and Mojo dolls is a bit daft, Holland's sure handling of the suspense and shock moments lends the film a sharp and scary edge.