Decades of Horror 1980s Gruesome Podcasts

Child’s Play (1988) — Episode 117 — Decades of Horror 1980s

“Hi, I’m Chucky. Wanna Play?” Chucky (Brad Dourif) – a doll possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray – is one angry little dude. Stuck in a plastic body trying to find a flesh one to return to, Chucky has to dupe  a young boy named Andy (Alex Vincent) into transporting him around to extract his revenge. Yet, it’s all simply treated as  Child’s Play. But how playful will the Grue Crew be about this particular toy phenomenon? You’ll just have to see how nice our boys play.

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 117 — Child’s Play (1988)

Chucky is the last of the iconic slashers from the 80s era. Coming off the heels of Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees, Chucky had more of a way with words like the former rather than the latter. A foul-mouthed doll that had the voice of a slimier Jack Nicholson impersonator. He may be little, but did he pack a punch.  Child’s Play  was a major success, playing on the modern Cabbage Patch Kids and My Buddy doll crazes of the age with a sinister edge.  Child’s Play  started one of the stranger horror franchises ever, but we wouldn’t have the funnier antics that involve Tiffany without this one to set the groundwork.

To discuss all of this, Thomas Mariani brought along his own Goody Guy Doll, Chris…topher G. Moore! The two discuss the context of the late 80s boom in child advertising and how it impacts the world of the  Child’s Play  universe. Despite the seedy underpinnings, the two revel in the sweetness of the adorable Vincent and his struggling single mom Hicks. The two build a solid base that Chucky try to chip away at with his Good Guy hammer. Plus, there are plenty of comparisons to talking dolls old & new, the direction of the  Child’s Play  franchise and whether or not the special effects hold up that well. There’s plenty to discuss with this small package, but just you wait until that toy bursts out of its box.

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Special thanks to  Neon Devils  for their awesome song Bone Chillin!

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Hellraiser  (1987)

 

Doc Rotten
Doc Rotten is the founder of Gruesome Magazine. He is also a film critic for Gruesome Magazine and the podcast host & producer for Horror News Radio, Monster Movie Podcast, Decades of Horror: 1970s, The American Horror Story Fan Podcast and Hannibal Fan Podcast. He is also co-host of the Dracula podcast on TV TALK and is a contributing reviewer for HorrorNews.Net and Widescreen Warrior. Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
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