Child's Play (1988)

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers (WGA):

Don Mancini (story)
Don Mancini (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll wish it was only make-believe.

Plot:

A single mother gives her son a beloved doll for his birthday, later they find out that the doll is possessed with the soul of a serial killer, who try to put his soul into the boy's body in order to become human.

Plot Keywords:

Doll | Charles Lee Ray | Chucky | Birthday | Serial Killer

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Catherine Hicks	...	Karen Barclay
Chris Sarandon	...	Mike Norris
Alex Vincent	...	Andy Barclay
Brad Dourif	...	Charles Lee Ray / Chucky
Dinah Manoff	...	Maggie Peterson
Tommy Swerdlow	...	Jack Santos
Jack Colvin	...	Dr. Ardmore
Neil Giuntoli	...	Eddie Caputo
Juan Ramírez	...	Peddler
Alan Wilder	...	Mr. Criswell
Richard Baird	...	News Reporter at Toy Store
Raymond Oliver	...	Dr. Death
Aaron Osborne	...	Orderly
Tyler Hard	...	Mona
Ted Liss	...	George
Roslyn Alexander	...	Lucy
Bo Kane	...	Male TV Newscaster (as Robert Kane)
Leila Lee Olsen	...	Female TV Newscaster (as Leila Hee Olsen)
Ed Gale	...	Chucky Stunt Double
Lena Sack	...	Bellevue Patient
Tommy Gerard	...	Bellevue Patient
Michael Chavez	...	Bellevue Patient
Jamie Gray	...	Bellevue Patient
Erin Munz	...	Bellevue Patient
Jana Twomey	...	Bellevue Patient
Suaundra Black	...	Bellevue Patient
Edan Gross	...	Friendly Chucky / Kid in Animated Commercial (voice)
John Franklin	...	Walkabout Chucky (voice)
Michael Patrick Carter	...	Kid in Animated Commercial (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Minkoff	...	Bit (uncredited)

Directed by
Tom Holland

Writing credits (WGA)
Don Mancini		(story)
Don Mancini		(screenplay) and
John Lafia		(screenplay) and
Tom Holland		(screenplay)

Produced by
Elliot Geisinger	....	co-executive producer
David Kirschner	....	producer
Laura Moskowitz	....	associate producer
Barrie M. Osborne	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Renzetti

Cinematography by
Bill Butler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Roy E. Peterson
Edward Warschilka

Casting by
Sharon Bialy
Richard Pagano

Production Design by
Daniel A. Lomino

Set Decoration by
Cloudia Rebar		(as Cloudia)

Costume Design by
April Ferry

Makeup Department
Michael Hancock	....	makeup artist
Marina Pedraza	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Robert Latham Brown	....	unit production manager
Carl Olsen	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur Anderson	....	first assistant director: insert unit
Bud Davis	....	second unit director
George Fortmuller	....	second assistant director
James Giovannetti Jr.	....	first assistant director: second unit (as James R. Giovannetti Jr.)
Michael Green	....	first assistant director
Stefanie Moore	....	second assistant director: second unit
Linnea Ebba Wicklund	....	second assistant director

Art Department
William Arnold	....	set designer (as William David Arnold)
Gary Baugh	....	set designer
Bernard P. Cutler	....	assistant art director
William Dambra	....	property master: Chicago
Edward England	....	construction coordinator: Chicago
Casey Hallenbeck	....	leadman
James F. Orendorff	....	construction coordinator
Francis J. Roix	....	carpenter
Arthur Shippee	....	property master
Timothy W. Tiedje	....	set dresser
James E. Tocci	....	set designer
Frank White	....	labor foreman
David Gianneschi	....	swing gang (uncredited)
Robert E. Knight	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry Cheney	....	sound editor
Clayton Collins	....	sound editor (as Clayton R. Collins)
Rick Kline	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cheryl Kroll	....	assistant sound editor
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Riordan	....	supervising sound editor
Kirk Schuler	....	sound editor
Douglas Vaughan	....	boom operator
Sherman Waze	....	sound editor
James E. Webb	....	sound mixer
Daniel Yale	....	sound editor (as Daniel Evan Yale)
Marty Church	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Don Summer	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
Dan Yale	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Howard Berger	....	shop supervisor: chucky construction crew
Richard O. Helmer	....	special effects supervisor
Rick Lalonde	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Ron Pipes	....	hair: chucky construction crew
Zandra Platzek	....	hair: chucky construction crew
James D. Schwalm	....	special effects
Carl Sorensen	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Christopher Swift	....	lab technician: chucky construction crew
Kevin Yagher	....	designer and executor: "Chucky" doll
Mark C. Yagher	....	shop assistant: chucky construction crew
James Kagel	....	lead sculptor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Peter Donen	....	visual effects supervisor
Joseph Yanuzzi	....	visual effects editor

Stunts
Anthony Cecere	....	stunts
Joie Chitwood Jr.	....	car stunts: Mike (as Joie Chitwood)
Bob K. Cummings	....	stunts (as Robert Cummings)
Bud Davis	....	stunt coordinator
Eddie J. Fernandez	....	stunts & stunt driver
James Fierro	....	stunts
Glory Fioramonti	....	stunts
Joe Gilbride	....	stunts
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunts
Stacy Logan	....	stunts
Carl Paoli	....	stunts
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunts
Dennis Scott	....	stunts
Joie Chitwood Jr.	....	assistant stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Art Bartels	....	key grip: Chicago
James Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit
James R. Connell	....	camera operator (as Jim Connell)
Peter J. Donoghue	....	rigging gaffer: Chicago
George Hill	....	key grip
To Lee	....	second assistant camera
Morgan Michael Lewis	....	key grip
John Lubin	....	best boy: Chicago
Wayne Mort	....	dolly grip
Mike Moyer	....	chief lighting technician
Peter Salim	....	camera operator: insert unit
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer: Chicago (as Donald Smetzer)
Peter Sorel	....	still photographer
Robert Ulland	....	steadicam operator: Chicago (as Robert K. Ulland)
Johnny Walker	....	first assistant camera (as John Morton Walker)
Paolo Cascio	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jane Alderman	....	casting: Chicago
Shelley Andreas	....	casting: Chicago

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mort Schwartz	....	costume supervisor
Lois DeArmond	....	costume illustrator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Bob Noland	....	color timer
Kevin Nolting	....	assistant editor
Scott K. Wallace	....	additional film editor (as Scott Wallace)
Carlyn Montes De Oca	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
David Chackler	....	music supervisor
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Arlon Ober	....	orchestrator
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
James Davis	....	transportation coordinator
George DiLeonardi	....	transportation coordinator: Chicago

Other crew
Howard Berger	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Susan J. Bonno-Buckner	....	first assistant accountant
Billy Bryan	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
John Ross Bush	....	location manager
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Allen Coulter	....	mechanical crew
Allen Coulter	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Pete Emmet	....	unit publicist
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer
Karen Golden	....	script supervisor
Judy Groffman	....	production associate
Steven James	....	mechanical crew
Steven James	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Carol Kim	....	assistant to Mr. Osborne
David Kirschner	....	creator: Chucky doll
Ross L. Kulma	....	set medic: Chicago
Frank Charles Lutkus III	....	mechanical crew
Frank Charles Lutkus III	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Michael J. Malone	....	location manager
Dave Nelson	....	mechanical crew
Dave Nelson	....	puppeteer: "Chucky" (as David Arthur Nelson)
Lisa J. Olin	....	assistant to producer
Margrit Polak	....	dialogue coach
Sioux Richards	....	script supervisor: second unit
Carol S. Siegle	....	assistant to director (as Carol Siegle)
Loren Soman	....	mechanical crew
Loren Soman	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Marc Tyler	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
N. Brock Winkless IV	....	mechanical crew
N. Brock Winkless IV	....	puppeteer: "Chucky"
Kevin Yagher	....	doll designer: "Chucky" doll

Production Companies

• United Artists

Distributors

• United Artists (1988) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1989) (Austria) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Intervideo (????) (Hungary) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (France) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2013) (Australia) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Apogee Productions

Other Companies

• BT Industrial Supply  expendables
• Cinema Research  opticals
• Goldwyn Sound Facility  sound re-recording
• Inter Video  24 frame video services
• Ruby-Spears Productions  animated sequence
• The Cast Supper  catering

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate. 29242) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Ireland:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Norway:(Banned) (1989-2003) (cinema release) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Finland:K-15 (re-rated) | Finland:(Banned) (1988) | Ireland:18 | UK:15 (cut) (1989) | UK:15 (uncut) (2005) | Spain:13 | Spain:18 (DVD version) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | Chile:18 | Mexico:C | Italy:T | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2011)

Filming Locations:

Brewster Building Apartments - 2800 N. Pine Grove Avenue, Lake View, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Child's Play (1988) continues a theme in Tom Holland's films of people seeing something supernatural, but they can't get anyone else to believe them. E.g. Scream for Help (1984), Cloak & Dagger (1984), and Fright Night (1985).

Goofs:

Continuity: A basket on the TV knocked off by Chucky's foot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mike Norris:I got the strangler! Wabash and Van Buren.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Leprechaun in the Hood (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

GRASS

Original and scary.

I've seen this brilliant horror movie over twenty times so far and it is still great."Child's Play" is wonderfully original-a great concept(the soul of a serial killer in the puppet)and villain(Chucky!)are perhaps the keys to it all.Plenty of shocks and scares,pretty good acting and lots of violence.The direction and editing are so tight and carefully done.Now I can see why this movie was such a huge success in 1988.Managing to be both frightening and classy,this is a nerve-wracking experience.I actually found "Child's Play" to be a very scary film.I did not find it too gory,but what gore there is it was done to heighten intensity levels to the extreme.All in all,I wholeheartedly recommend it to any open-minded viewer,who likes to watch horror movies.The hammer in the head scene still gives me goosebumps.