8 Horror Characters We Were Happy To See Killed

4. Phil Simpson - Child's Play 2

Scream 3
Universal Pictures

It takes a special type of d*ckhead to threaten a traumatised, fostered child with the prospect of being returned to the uncertainty of the foster care centre. In Child's Play 2, that special type of d*ckhead is Phil Simpson.

Having undergone the ordeal of the original Child's Play movie, the sequel picks things up with a shaken Andy Barclay being forced into the foster system following his mother being locked up in a mental institution. Taken in by Phil and Joanne Simpson, you'd imagine that young Andy would be handled with kid gloves. Only that doesn't happen.

Instead, we see Andy browbeaten at every turn by the Simpsons, in particularly by Phil. Granted, it might be a little hard to believe that a murderous doll is on the prowl once Andy claims that Chucky has resurfaced, but the way this is handled by Phil is shocking. As in, he constantly threatens Andy with being kicked out of the home and sent back to the foster centre.

It's worth remembering this is an eight-year-old Andy Barclay who has already been through so much. And so, you can't help but crack a wry smile when Chucky trips Phil up and causes him to fall to his death.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.