THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH. We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Dig in!
CHILD’S PLAY 3 (1991)
Directed by Jack Bender
“Child’s Play 3 is classic cheese of the best kind, aged to 1991 perfection.”
Now I’d be flat out lying my ass off if I claimed Child’s Play 3 was the best horror flick of all time. It ain’t. It’s nowhere close. However, it’s a shame that it gets overlooked and left on the curb like an ugly hooker with hemorrhoids. Because if a guy got to know that ugly hooker and actually gave her a chance, maybe he’d like her. Maybe he’d invite her over for a beer, let her sit on a inflatable donut, and tell her she’s better than she thinks she is.
Child’s Play 3 is no different. It sits between the effective first two movies and the busty part four (thank you, Miss Tilly). It’s the middle child, forgotten and lost, and has developed a damn nasty rap over the years because it’s cheaply made, not as horrific as the others, and perhaps a rip-off of Toy Soldiers, Full Metal Jacket (it’s in there), and other such military movies. No matter. Child’s Play 3 is classic cheese of the best kind, aged to 1991 perfection complete with a great bad guy, a decent lead, and entertainingly stupid story. Sometimes a movie needs to sit for a while for audiences to appreciate fully what they’ve got. And that’s the case here.
Like nearly every horror franchise, part three represents something of a challenge. How do you move the story forward, keep the characters intact, and present a villain who’s fresh, frightening, and f*cked up? Well, it ain’t easy. And if someone actually pondered it, the idea of horror sequels getting less serious and more comical isn’t exactly new. In fact, it’s more like standard operating procedure. As the villain is established, there’s not a lot to do in terms of character development so directors dish out a hellva lot more one-liners and gore which, depending on your mood, is either great or just f*cking awful. For me, if it’s an older movie that did not intend to be goofy or crappy or campy and just can’t help its own level of shit, then it’s got a warm place in my heart of Doom. And mine’s big enough for Child’s Play 3. After all, it has action, suspense, horror, gore, love, rifles, pistols, knives, toys, the spirit world, and the military. Everything a fan could want.
With that said, we still must see it for what it is. Nothing that revolves around a killer, sass-spitting talking walking doll holds a lot of seriousness to begin with. But considering I place dolls in the same category as clowns, then (if they’re presented right) they can absolutely be the stuff of nightmares. It’s all about presentation. And Child’s Play 3 knows something about how to present itself. It never takes itself overly serious yet never gives into the full-blown case of camp of part four. I also give the sequel credit for doing something new and pulling it off as perhaps part of the reason why it stands out from the other sequels is the military setting, which creates an automatic sense of order that needs disruption. No, there’s no political intrigue or bullshit like that, but settings always create the tone. And military schools is the stuff of nightmares. Besides, if anyone actually wants to get all deep, the movie does attempt to attack some serious issues (briefly) with the corruptness and cruelty of military school and the greed of toy makers. Ok, so it ain’t Schindler’s List or 2001. But at least it tried.
Now in the last F*cking Black Sheep, I sliced The Devils Rejects in half more with a rusty chainsaw for lack of proper characters and a lack of a clear difference between good and evil. It pissed me off. Even Child’s Play 3 knows the necessary elements to include for an actual dramatic story. The line between opposition is clearly drawn with Chucky (Brad Dourif clearly still relishes the role) on this side and the character from the first two films, teenage Andy Barclay, (Justin Whalin performs admirably) on that side. Instead of this being the Chucky show, it’s refreshing that he takes a bit of backseat to the rest of the characters. After all, if we just follow about a doll slicing and dicing, things would get a little too silly too fast. It’d fail to draw much of an interest. Speaking of slicing, while the gore isn’t exactly unrelenting, it does boast some decent stuff, namely a good throat slice with Andrew Robinson (the bad guy from Dirty Harry who is utterly wasted here as a semi-perverted barber) and a good half-face-slice as Chucky looks like a mini disfigured T2. Oh, there’s also strangulation, a Full Metal Jacket-like rifle death, a trash truck crushing, and even a heart attack!
Director Jack Bender (who went on to direct Lost, Sopranos, and Alias) attempts to keep Chucky grounded and allows Barclay to ponder his own mind. Child’s Play 3 wants and succeeds in making us care about a teen Barclay much like in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning did when grown up Tommy (Corey Feldman’s role) goes to that halfway house. But Chucky and company avoid the deep mental f*ck job that New Beginning went by making Tommy a little too emotionally scarred. He became uninteresting all messed up. Instead, Barclay appears to have moved forward with his life the best he can. Sure, the movie skims on all deep attempts to explore the psychological disorders most likely developed after having a killer doll try and kill you, but I like that fact. It’s like Barclay moved on the best he could. And so should we by no longer ignoring the middle child of, well, Child’s Play. It’s better than remembered. It’s better than you think. Really.
Disagree? Get the DVD and discover for yourself.