Child’s Play 2 (1990)

childs play 2 poster 1990 movie
6.0 Overall Score
Story: 6/10
Acting: 7/10
Visuals: 8/10

Still love Chucky’s design, strong acting by Alex Vincent on his part

Story is similar to Child’s Play, missed opportunities in the script

Movie Info

Movie Name:  Child’s Play 2

Studio:  Universal Studios

Genre(s):  Horror

Release Date(s):  November 9, 1990

MPAA Rating:  R

childs play 2 good guy chucky doll middle finger

Chucky gives it a ringing endorsement

Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) has caused big problems for the Play Pal Company by claiming his Good Guy doll attacked him.  When the corporation rebuilds Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) to test the product, they accidentally restore Chucky’s soul to the doll.  Chucky is out to find Andy who is bouncing from foster home to foster home.  When Andy finds a new home with Joanne and Phil Simpson (Jenny Agutter and Gerrit Graham), he finds Chucky is after him again.  With no one to believe him except his foster-sister Kyle (Christine Elise), Andy must battle Chucky once again to save his soul.

Directed by John Lafia, Child’s Play 2 is a horror slasher thriller.  Following Child’s Play in 1988, the franchise jumped from MGM/United Artists to Universal and was financial success.

childs play 2 eye murder good guys warehouse

His eyes just seem to follow you…

I loved Child’s Play.  Part of the movie was the anticipation.  The killer doll wasn’t prevalent in the TV commercials (aka pre-internet), and I remember eagerly renting Child’s Play and watching it a few times.  Child’s Play 2 continues the story of Child’s Play but is lacking in a lot of its ingenuity.

Child’s Play 2 is more of a traditional horror film as opposed to the original Child’s Play which had more suspense.  The movie does follow a lot of the same format of Child’s Play in that no one will believe Andy again that Chucky is alive.  Andy apparently has no credibility, and he really should start to think before he says “Chucky did it”…sorry Andy, it didn’t work the first time, why do you continue to think it will work now?

Chucky is the star of the movie, but I do have to say that Alex Vincent does a good job as Andy.  For a young kid to hold the movie and do ok in scenes where a killer puppet is hogging all the fun, it had to be difficult.  It is hard enough to interact with another actor but to work with a puppet (that had some difficulties at time) isn’t easy and all the actors really were quite good at it.

childs play doll chucky head blows up

I guess I am allergic to shellfish

The problem I have with Child’s Play 2 is that it sets up a really intriguing storyline with the whole corporate intrigue of trying to bury an eight-year old kid.  I liked the tabloid aspect of the film which kind of went along the lines of would anyone believe a doll came to life?  I always think about how at the end of a horror movie, the cast is screwed…murder is murder and the masses won’t believe the supernatural.  This idea is dropped and everyone seems to forget (or not know) that Andy was all over the news.  When this film ends, Andy and Kyle are back in the same situation with an incredible story that no one will believe.

Child’s Play 2 still maintains the fun of Child’s Play, but isn’t as good.  The movie shows a little decline in this film, but not as much of a decline as the third film.  Fans of horror comedy like A Nightmare on Elm Street will still love Chucky and enjoy the film.  Child’s Play 2 was followed by Child’s Play 3 in 1991.

Related Links:

Child’s Play (1988)

Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Curse of Chucky (2013)

Child’s Play (2019)

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

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