Child's Play 2 Reviews

This sequel to the surprise 1988 hit is a slicker and ultimately more disturbing film than the first. In the original, the evil Chucky Doll, a toy possessed with the spirit of a psycho killer, killed a slew of people while trying to steal the soul of a little boy named Andy (Alex Vincent). In the end, the doll was destroyed, but since the film made more than $40 million it was inevitable that Chucky would be back. As part two opens, Chucky is being reconstructed by a group of technicians at the Good Guy Toy Company, creators of the doll. During the reassembly process, a bolt of lightning surges through the doll, sending a technician flying through a window--Chucky's back. Meanwhile, little Andy is separated from his mother (who has been institutionalized) and lives with foster parents, the Simpsons (Gerrit Graham and Jenny Agutter) and another foster child, 16-year-old Kyle (Christine Elise). Kyle is an orphan, and at first she and Andy don't get along. Back at the toy company, Chucky has escaped and heads out to find Andy, still determined to steal the kid's soul before his spirit becomes forever trapped in the doll. Taking the place of a look-alike doll already in the house, Chucky again threatens Andy. When Andy realizes Chucky is back, he tries to tell his foster parents of the danger, but they refuse to believe his story. When Chucky ties Andy to a bed and begins casting a voodoo spell that will enable him to take the boy's soul, Kyle bursts in and thwarts the doll's plan. When the Simpsons stumble upon the scene, they believe Kyle has tied Andy to the bed and ignore Andy's claims to the contrary. Soon thereafter, a teacher and then the Simpsons are murdered, and Kyle teams with Andy to stop Chucky, setting up a climatic battle with the killer doll in the toy factory. Much like 1990's biggest hit, HOME ALONE, the true subjects of this film are child abuse and revenge. The horror elements don't really work (the suspense is heavy-handed and the doll just isn't all that scary), but the film's delicate subtext is most unnerving. Director John Lafia (THE BLUE IGUANA) shoots the film almost entirely from the child's viewpoint, employing low camera angles and a wild use of fish-eye lenses to create a surreal atmosphere. This style serves to make the film's violence all the more unsettling. For most of the film, Andy is treated as a sociopath and dismissed in a variety of cruel ways. The Simpsons are unsympathetic, and the rest of the adults are abusive, evil caricatures who eventually "get theirs" at the hands of the doll. It's the ultimate revenge for an abused child. The fact that Chucky is controlled by an adult (Brad Dourif again supplies the voice) adds another interesting dimension to the film. When Chucky attacks an adult, the action is depicted in an almost comedic manner. But when the doll goes after Andy or Kyle, the action is more frightening as Chucky seems to be an overpowering adult. Ultimately, Chucky is not the villain here. The adults are. While the film is certainly not for children, its climactic battle in the toy factory plays almost like a disturbing, adult version of WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. With its elaborate conveyor belts, primary colored machinery, and mounds of plastic doll parts, the setting is a surrealistic playground in which Andy and Kyle take their revenge, not just on the doll, but on the entire adult world. The climax also includes allusions to THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T, the classic surrealist children's film from 1953, while the entire film is rich in theme's from children's literature. When Kyle and Andy stagger out of the factory, they are alone, with no family and nowhere to go. Yet Lafia handles this is an upbeat ending. This is unsettling material, and while the film may lack thrills, it has an undeniably powerful effect that makes it an interesting and finally compelling horror film. (Extreme violence, gore effects, profanity, adult situations.)