Child's Play 2 (Don Lafia, 1990, USA)

  As some Chucky fans consider Child’s Play 2 the best film in the series, I naturally had to rewatch it after revisiting the original. While I still find the original Child’s Play to be the superior film, Child’s Play 2 has some great strengths. While Child’s Play is the spookier of the two films, Child’s Play 2 brings the film into pure slasher territory. Chucky is much more vocal in this film, screaming, slashing, fighting, and biting his way through one hour and thirty minutes of visceral hatred. As The Bitter End podcast noted in their episode on the film, Chucky is distinct from other slashers like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers in that he lets you know that he hates you.

Brad Dourif must be commended for his vocal performance as Chucky. Some of the doll’s most colorful lines come in this film. In contrast to the first film, Chucky is much more unhinged in Child’s Play 2. He also does considerably more joke-cracking (“How’s it hanging Phil?”). As with the first film, the cast is remarkably small, although it does introduce some memorable characters, including Christine Elise as fan favorite Kyle, Andy’s tough foster sister. Grace Zabriskie of Twin Peaks fame also has a brief but memorable turn as Grace Poole, manager of the facility for foster children.

Child’s Play 2 is also distinct from the original film in amping up the camp and black humor factor. This is a film about a possessed killer doll after all, and playing the material straight for another film would probably have been a misstep. As such, the mix of violence and campy humor works quite well, and there quite a few ridiculous moments in the film which are worthy of a laugh. The finale in the Charlie and the Chocolate-style toy factory is also memorable.

6/10