Child's Play: Ranking The Films From Worst To Best

By the end of the '80s, the slasher genre had long since been defined by a handful of quintessential killers, from '70s faces like Leatherface and Michael Myers to '80s stars Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Not only did newcomer Chucky have a lot to live up to in terms of his forebears, he had to overcome a concept - the idea of a killer doll - that could've easily gone off the rails.

Fortunately, Child's Play did a pretty solid job treating its premise with enough seriousness and dark humor to elevate itself above becoming another of the many forgettable slasher/horror films of the decade. From the stellar puppetry work to a good performance by young Alex Vincent to a pretty cool musical theme, a lot went right in bringing the film together to give it the right amount of spark that made it worthwhile and enjoyable.

Easily the most crucial aspect, though, was Dourif's work in the film, with his voice lending Chucky the right amount of credibility as to be scary. It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role, and while many of the film's other elements worked to get the final product near the finish line, Dourif pushed it and Chucky over into genre history.