Child's Play 2

3/4

Starring: Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, and the voice of Brad Dourif

Rated R for Horror Violence and Language (I guess...)

When the 1988 horror movie featuring a killer doll became a hit, a sequel was all but assured.  After all, no genre is easier to turn into a franchise than a slasher movie.  Just use some mumbo jumbo to bring the villain back from the dead, add photogenic but dim-witted characters to fill up body bags and let the carnage begin!

After the events in the first film that sent a number of people to the morgue, little Andy Barclay (Vincent) is in a foster home.  His mother (played by Catherine Hicks in the first film) is in a mental institution due to the trauma, and Andy is stuck living with the Simpsons (Agutter and Graham), the "perfect couple."  But Andy's troubles are far from over.  In an act of unbelievable stupidity (although this sort of thing is a requirement of a horror movie), the company that makes the Good Guy dolls has rebuilt the doll that the tabloids claimed was behind the murders.  To be fair, they're doing it to investigate the rumors to put their stockholders at ease, but still.  When it comes to possessed toys, it's better to err on the safe said.  At least from this reviewer's perspective.  In any event, it doesn't take long for Chucky, new (but not improved) to get loose and start killing people to get to Andy so he transfer his soul into Andy's body.

The film does not get off to a good start.  The acting is adequate, although little Alex Vincent is stiff (a common problem that affects child actors and slasher movie thespians).  The film also gets a little repetitive: ominous thing happens, Andy blames Chucky, (insert older person) doesn't believe him, and throws Chucky into closet/basement/trash can/etc.  There is a good side to this, however.  Then-newcomer Christine Elise, who plays Andy's tough-as-nails-on-the-outside foster sister, Kyle.  She's quite good, and of all the characters in the film, she's the most sympathetic.  I suppose Agutter and Graham are okay, but they have too many scenes.  Once Kyle and Andy go on the run, the film takes off.

Like the first film, there is some inspired, if dark, comedy.  Nothing quite as funny as Chucky's memorable "Fuck You" from the first one, but there is an amusing sequence where Chucky is backseat driving.  There are a few other witty bits here and there, but writer Don Mancini and director John Lafia keep them in check in order to keep the tension up.

The film works, I suppose, since I have to admit that I enjoyed myself overall.  But by our standards it appears a little tame (so was the first one, by the way).  The body count is low and there's not much of the red stuff.  The second installment is inferior to the first one, but not by much.  Chucky fans will do well to check it out, but unless you liked the first one, there's not much point to watching the sequel.  

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