Child's Play
Movie, 1988, Charles Lee Ray, Set in Chicago
Child's Play is #1 of 9 in release order and #1 of 9 in chronological order in the Child's Play.
The story
After being shot in a toy store, a serial killer transfers his soul into a Good Guy doll. A mother then gifts it to her six-year-old son Andy, which unleashes terror upon the city.
Child's Play recap
Child's Play (1988) follows Andy Barclay, a six-year-old whose new Good Guy doll holds the soul of a dying strangler who used voodoo to escape his body. Tom Holland directs. Shot by Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) in a Chicago toy store, Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif, who also voices the doll) chants his soul into a doll on the shelf. Widowed Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) buys it from a street peddler for her son Andy (Alex Vincent), and the doll introduces itself as Chucky. That night the babysitter falls from the window, and suspicion lands on Andy. Chucky takes Andy across town to kill the accomplice who abandoned him. Karen realises the doll talks without batteries, and Chucky learns from his old voodoo teacher that his doll body is turning human and his only way out is Andy, the first person he told his real name. It starts the series and leads into Child's Play 2.
Child's Play ending explained
Child's Play ends at the Barclay apartment, where Chucky starts the ritual to take Andy's body before Karen and Norris arrive. They set the doll on fire and Karen shoots off its head and limbs, but the remains keep coming until Norris shoots it through the heart. Karen is later committed for backing Andy's story, which sets up Child's Play 2 and Andy's years in foster care.
Post-credits scenes
No. Child's Play has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Child's Play
Child's Play is streaming on Prime Video, Philo, Kanopy, and AMC in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 65%
Where it fits
- Release order: first, before Child's Play 2.
- Chronological order: first, before Child's Play 2.
What to watch before Child's Play
Nothing. Child's Play is the first of the Child's Play essentials, so it's the place to start.
Cast
- Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay
- Catherine Hicks as Karen Barclay
- Brad Dourif as Charles Lee Ray
- Chris Sarandon as Mike Norris
- Dinah Manoff as Maggie Peterson
- Tommy Swerdlow as Jack Santos
- Jack Colvin as Dr. Ardmore
- Neil Giuntoli as Eddie Caputo
- Juan Ramírez as Peddler
- Alan Wilder as Mr. Criswell
- Richard Baird as News Reporter at Toy Store
- Ray Oliver as Dr. Death
Directed by Tom Holland.