Child's Play 2 (1990)
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| Directed by: |
John
Lafia
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| Starring: |
Alex
Vincent/Andy |
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Jenny
Agutter/Joanne |
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Gerrit
Graham/Phil |
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Brad
Dourif/voice of Chucky |
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| RATING
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PLOT-CRUNCH:
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Chucky (Dourif) returns and he still
has a hard on for Andy’s (Vincent) body. He hunts him down to a foster
home, kills everyone in his way and spits out some great one-liners. Don’t
fuck with the Chuck!
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THE
LOWDOWN: |
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I loved the first "Child’s
Play", it was original and well done. This sequel is dumb fun but
it hits every sequel boo-boo possible. First off the script is way too
simple. Chucky chases Andy (Vincent), killing everybody in his way...that’s
it. A little bit more meat to the storyline would have been nice. Second
of all since the cat is out of the bag Chucky gets more screen time and
one-liners. The tension we felt in regards to Chuck in the first one is
almost totally absent here. Actually Chucky is the more interesting
character in the film! The main characters are so boring (no Chris
Sarandon here) and are hardly developed. Because of that the suspense
feels forced and watered down. How can I be scared for someone when I don’t
give a rat’s ass about them? The movie tries to compensate by filling
the stalk sequences with double the fake scares but in my opinion it didn’t
make the scenes scarier, it made them overlong.
Don’t get me wrong I
still had fun watching this flick. The Chucky puppet is way better this
time around. He looks more evil and I loved that quick kicking he does
every time he lunges on somebody. I didn’t spot a midget in a suit in
this entry. The kills are more creative and bloody (although the Joanne
kill is a throw away…she deserved better). Chucky graduates the
one-liner school of killing with honors and gives a few priceless lines.
One of favorites has to be his reference to female drivers. Fun stuff. The
finale in the doll factory is very interesting visually (loved all those
Good Guy boxes…eerie) and has a few nail biting moments.
Where the first
one was more suspense oriented this one almost feels like a slasher flick.
Gone is the humanity of the first or the novel storyline. Everyone is
there so that Chucky could eventually have his way with them. This sequel
is low on surprises and any real "horror fiend" will see every
plot point coming from miles away. But that doesn’t mean it’s a waste
of time. Where else can you see a foul mouth doll kill with such
enthusiasm? Should Chucky stay in his toy box? I don’t think so…
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| ACTING: |
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Alex Vincent (Andy) does ok but doesn’t get to use the range he showed
off in the first. He’s just there. The same can be said about Christine
Elise (Kyle) who walks through the movie never letting any emotions shine
through. Nothing impresses this girl, not even a living doll! Jenny
Agutter (Joanne) has a sexy British accent and does what she has to do…not
much. Gerrit Graham (Phil) got on my nerves and looks like a jerkoff in
his pajamas. His character is unlikable and I guess he plays that well
cause I hated the guy. Grace Zabriskie (Grace) finally gets to play a
normal person. She comes through and is one of the more endearing
character of the film. Too bad we don’t see more of her. Brad Dourif
(voice of Chucky) does it again, going haywire with his unique voice. Go
boy!
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| GORE: |
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Chucky butters this toast with more blood than in the first. My favorite
kill has to be when the teacher gets it with a ruler. Damn does Chuck look
badass in that scene!
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| T
& A: |
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Lots of naked dolls in a factory…a real turn on…NOT!
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| DIRECTING: |
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The film looks polished and the slow motion is well used. Lafia
occasionally goes crazy with the camera. The opening sequence is well
handled and so is the finale (the camera is all over the place there). The
middle part has a few overlong stalk sequences and way to many fake scares
for my liking. He gets a B for effort.
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| SOUNDTRACK: |
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Sometimes the score is off (when it blares too hard) sometimes it’s on
(the jack in the box like music).
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| BOTTOM LINE: |
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Child’s Play 2 is not a bad flick. It moves fast and does
entertain. But where in the first "Chucky" was a side player,
here he is the star. The whole fun factor rests on his tiny shoulders and
he almost carries it throughout to the end. I hope next time they give the
little guy a break and make an effort to create interesting characters,
surprising plot points and a more scary feel. Chucky is the only reason to
see this film…pretty good reason to me.
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| BULL'S EYE: |
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There’s another ending out there that appears on the USA Network
version: Chucky’s face gets created (again) and he gives off an evil
smile.
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this movie on The Arrow's HORROR BOARD
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