I'm Your Friend Till' The Very End: 30 Years of CHILD'S PLAY

The earliest dolls were made of clay, stone, wood, ivory, leather or wax. Wooden dolls have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to the early 21st century B.C. Dolls are used in certain rituals like voodoo and have even been 'possessed', like the doll inspiring the Annabelle films. One thing they all have in common - is how creepy they are. The way that their lifeless black eyes look at you, never blinking, boring a hole straight into your soul, all with a terrifying grin. They have scared children and adults for many years - but it was in 1988 when a cultural icon in the form of a doll was built. His name was Chucky and we are, of course, talking about the 1988 classic: Child's Play.

In Child's Play, single mother Karen (Catherine Hicks) is looking to buy a very popular doll for her son Andy (Alex Vincent). Unable to locate one in any toy store, she buys one from a homeless man in a dark alley. Unbeknownst to her, the doll has been possessed by the soul of recently deceased serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif), also known as Chucky. Now, Chucky wants to get back into a human body before he's stuck in the doll's body forever. Since Andy was the first person he revealed his true identity to, his is the only body he can inhabit.

The Birth of Chucky

Child's Play started out as an entirely different film in the original drafts by writer Don Mancini. In the original draft, Andy Barclay was the antagonist. The film more resembled David Cronenberg's The Brood (1979). Andy was going to make a blood pact with "Buddy" the doll, and while Andy was asleep, the doll was going to come to life and take revenge on the people Andy's subconscious despised. Ultimately, If Andy was responsible for everyone's death, audiences would have had a different response to the film. People would have protested (more than they already did). Even though the finished product of Child's Play turned out different, it still maintains some of the original qualities of that idea. 

Mancini also wanted to delve further into the effects of advertising on children with Child's Play. Andy is shown in the beginning of the film watching a "Good Guys" television show filled with Good Guy marketing. Andy also wears "Good Guy" clothing in every scene. Before Karen buys the doll from the homeless man, she buys accessories for the doll, even though he doesn't even own the doll yet. Everyone in this universe is addicted to the consumerism of the eighties. Even though the film wasn't centered on this fact, like Mancini originally wanted, it is still heavily implied.

THEMES

Now, it's no surprise that one of the major themes throughout this film surrounds motherhood and family. Andy's father is hardly spoken about in the film, except for the fact that he has died. This is one of the main reasons why everyone believes that Andy has such an attachment to the doll. Just like in The Exorcist (1973), when the doctors blame Regan's behavior on a lack of a father figure in her life. Both films feature very strong mothers, who eventually start to believe their children. Child's Play shows how even a single parent still has the power to save and raise a child. She was willing to blow off the head, leg and arm of a killer doll for her son. That's love.

Throughout the rest of the film, Andy starts to mimic Chucky. Best example would be after Chucky kills Maggie. Karen asks what has Chucky been saying to Andy. His response is "Maggie was a real bitch and got what she deserved." Karen's horrified by his casual use of curse words but also by the lack of empathy for Maggie just being killed. In reality this young child is being corrupted by a
murderer.

RECEPTION

Child's Play started terrifying everyone on November 9th, 1988, just in times for the holidays. It made $44 million dollars worldwide at the box office off of a budget of only $9 million dollars. The film had good reviews with a total of 57 metascore and a 67% on rottentomatoes.com. Roger Ebert gave it three stars saying "A cheerfully energetic horror film of the slam-bang school, but slicker and more clever than most, about an evil doll named Charles Lee Ray, or Chucky." Of course a sequel was greenlit and came out two years later to the day. Since then there has been five more sequels for a total of seven in the total series.

ICON

Chucky's presence of being an actual animated doll doesn't even come to fruition until about the forty minute mark of a eighty-seven minute movie. But with a cultural icon such as Chucky, most people know who he is. He has now made appearances at many occasions over the years included the first annual Horror Hall of Fame, Saturday Night Live, USA Today, the Superbowl and his latest was in the Spielberg film Ready Player One (2018). With a reboot in the works, it seems that Chucky is really going to be our friend till' the end.

How old were you when you first saw Childs Play? Does it still scare you? Will Chucky forever haunt you? Let us know in the comments below!