Film Review: CHILD'S PLAY 2 (1990, John Lafia)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 84 minutes.
Tag-line: "Look out Jack! Chucky's back!"
Notable Cast or Crew:  Brad Dourif (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, DEADWOOD, BLUE VELVET), Jenny Agutter (WALKABOUT, LOGAN'S RUN, EQUUS), Gerrit Graham (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, USED CARS), Grace Zabriskie (TWIN PEAKS, WILD AT HEART, DROP ZONE), CHRISTINE ELISE (ER, BEVERLY HILLS 90210), Alex Vincent (CHILD'S PLAY, CURSE OF CHUCKY), Beth Grant (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, SAFE, THE WIZARD).  Written by Don Mancini (writer of all 7 CHUCKY movies).  Music by Graeme Ravell (FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, BOXING HELENA, PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING).
Best One-liner: "Okay, sport. We're gonna have a little game of 'Chucky Says.' Chucky says move your ass!"

As I said in my review of CHILD'S PLAY 1:  Maybe you have an affinity for killer dolls. Maybe you're a die-hard Dourif fan. Maybe you're a devotee of Chucky's complex, Miltonian love affair with the word "bitch," a relationship that is only rivaled by Fred Krueger's. Hell, maybe you thought you were seeing the film adaptation of Robert Marasco's Tony-winning CHILD'S PLAY.

Nevertheless, you're here––so prepare yourself for a journey in murderous My Buddies, Voodoo enthusiasts, and the foster care system––it's a list of my eight favorite things about CHILD'S PLAY 2!

#1. The opening sequence.  With shrieking strings from composer Graeme Ravell (who later in the same year scored PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING) and vivid, VERTIGO-spiraling imagery, it feels like the opening credits to an Alfred Hitchcock... 80s slasher!

I also must give a shout-out to how much the "burned Chucky" from the finale of Part 1
 resembles a Lucio Fulci zombie.



#2. For a brief moment, CHILD'S PLAY 2 turns into a walk n' talk, "corridors of power" drama set at a Good Guy factory, in the vein of Aaron Sorkin.

Sure, it only lasts about two minutes, but it's a nice change of pace, and you appreciate that the film is not simply content to ape the first installment.


#3. Franken-Chucky. As in the first film, we have an "it's alive!" moment, and it does not disappoint.

In this instance, "does not disappoint" translates to there being plenty of 80s lightning on hand.  I approve.

#4. Brad Dourif. Unlike in the first film, the Dourif we have here is entirely voiceover.  We can live with this, because Dourif is brilliant, no matter the context.

He has portrayed Chucky in seven feature films, an episode of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, a horror movie awards show from 1990, and a surreal big-time wrestling crossover that defies human comprehension.  

 

Every time, no matter the venue, the Oscar-nominated Dourif gives it his all.  He has perfected the evil cackle, the gleeful screeches, the poetic utterances of "bitch" and "don't fuck with the Chuck."

Chucky has altered his persona somewhat; it seems he's no longer simply a serial killer trapped in a doll's body, he is an anarchic force of uninhibited childish rage, whether seeking revenge on a Kindergarten teacher he's never met (for no conceivable reason),

or beating the tar out of his doll counterpart

and burying him in the backyard with an exuberance that borders on profound ecstasy.

There's a reason the man has worked four times with Werner Herzog!

#5. Grace Zabriskie!  One of my all-time favorite character actresses (TWIN PEAKS, BODY ROCK, WILD AT HEART, MY SON MY SON WHAT HAVE YE DONE), Ms. Zabriskie plays a social worker, and therefore has a number of opportunities to exude loving pathos––as well as mind-numbing fear at the sight of an animate, killer doll.

She has a memorable run-in with a photocopier, and that's all I'll say about that.

#6. Continuity.  In rare form for a horror sequel, they actually bring back the same child actor (Alex Vincent) to play "Andy," Chucky's nemesis.

 

Most of this continuity arises from the fact that original writer Don Mancini penned the screenplays to all six (and counting) CHILD'S PLAY films.  That's unheard of in a horror franchise, and I can't think of any other series (beyond, say, Coscarelli's PHANTASMs) that is guided by the same voice throughout.

#7.  Jenny Agutter and Gerrit Graham.

 

As Andy's new foster parents, these two are (unnecessarily?) top notch.  Jenny Agutter (WALKABOUT, EQUUS) brings a lot of poignancy to the role, and Gerrit Graham ("Beef" from PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) brings some reserved silliness. 

#8.  The wonderfully insane final setpiece, which takes place in a candy-colored Good Guy doll factory.  It feels like a gaudy, German Expressionist nightmare brought to life by Joe Dante in his prime: 

One section of it feels like THE SHINING, as our heroes flee through a "hedge" maze made of Good Guy boxes,

 

and another section feels like THE TERMINATOR, with a maimed but persistent Chucky limping along, and he just won't die, he just won't die, and WHY WON'T HE DIEEEE! 

Well done!  Four stars.

–Sean Gill

2015 HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN

1.  SCANNERS (1981, David Cronenberg)

2.  MICHAEL IRONSIDE: MENTAL SABOTEUR (2014, Karen Stetler)

3.  NOMADS (1986, John McTiernan)

4.  THE STUFF (1985, Larry Cohen)

5.  THE BEACH (2000, Danny Boyle)

6. ...

Film Review: CANNONBALL! aka CARQUAKE (1976, Paul Bartel)

Stars: 4 of 5.

Running Time: 90 minutes.

Tag-line: "The annual Trans-American outlaw road race– a cross-country demolition derby without rules!"

Notable Cast or Crew:  David Carradine (DEATH RACE 2000, CIRCLE OF IRON), Robert Carradine (REVENGE OF THE NERDS, BODY BAGS), Mary Woronov (ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, DEATH RACE 2000), Paul Bartel (EATING RAOUL, THE USUAL SUSPECTS), Dick Miller (GREMLINS, THE TERMINATOR), Gerrit Graham (USED CARS, THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE), Veronica Hamel (HILL STREET BLUES, HERE COME THE MUNSTERS), Bill McKinney (DELIVERANCE, EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE), Joe Dante (director of EERIE, INDIANA, GREMLINS), James Keach (Stacy's brother, FM, THE LONG RIDERS), Carl Gottlieb (writer of JAWS and THE JERK), Stanley Bennett Clay (ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, CLEOPATRA JONES), Louis Moritz (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, NEW YEAR'S EVIL).  Written by Bartel and Don Simpson (co-producer of THE ROCK, BAD BOYS, TOP GUN, FLASHDANCE).  Cinematography by Tak Fujimoto (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE SIXTH SENSE).

Best One-liner:  In lieu of a one-liner, just imagine a car exploding.

After the success of DEATH RACE 2000, Roger Corman and New World Pictures wanted another car picture out of auteur/performer Paul Bartel, and so he submitted to them a project that would have been completely wonderful and astounding called... "FRANKENCAR."


Corman wouldn't spring for it, though, wanting something a little cheaper and more mainstream, especially in comparison to DEATH RACE 2000, whereupon men and women in cars that looked like dragons and cattle and gatling guns ran over pedestrians for sport.  Corman wanted a standard cross-country racing movie, and Bartel, deep in depression, feared he would be pigeonholed as an action director.  Despite it all, he grudgingly delivered his "car movie."

I put off watching CANNONBALL! for years, having heard mostly bad things and not wanting to tarnish my memories of DEATH RACE 2000.  However, having just seen it, I am happy to report that CANNONBALL! is great.  The material has been adequately Bartel-ized; it's dark, hilarious, insane, and it ends with a senseless pileup of cascading explosions that truly must be seen to be believed.


 Due to the final scenes alone, CANNONBALL! may very well have more per capita explosions than most Michael Bay movies, truly earning its alternate title of "CARQUAKE."  It's a fun, dumb, fast-paced time, and here are my nine favorite things about it:

#1.  The cross-country race/tournament aspect.  A forerunner to CANNONBALL RUN in title and content, I've always enjoyed movies that feature a motley crew of characters competing against each other for some zany prize.  Maybe it just reminds me of BLOODSPORT.  Would that make this not a kumite, but a carmite?

#2.  David Carradine.  In DEATH RACE 2000, they put him in a gimp costume and called him "Frankenstein."

That was pretty good.  Here, they tough him up by slipping him in moccasins and a salmon pink hoodie, with a bandana tied around his neck like an ascot.   
 
"Huh?" you ask.  "Hush up and just go with it," I say.


#3.  Robert Carradine.

The moral center of our film, pre-'REVENGE,' nerdy Carradine is likable and fun, hanging out with his girlfriend Belinda Balaski (a likable Joe Dante crony who's been in over a dozen of his films).  They're the classic "nice guys finish last" underdog team.


#4.  Mary Woronov.

It ain't a Bartel flick without Woronov!  In the past, I've referred to the two of them as the "demented 70s and 80s versions of Tracey and Hepburn."  She filmed all her scenes in one day and was reportedly miserable doing so (she didn't know how to drive a car, so they only used cutaways), but as the leader of a trio of waitresses who are tooling around in a van, she provides the proper spunk and bitchiness that this film needs.

I especially appreciate that she's busting shit up and driving through prefabricated homes... before the race even begins!

CARQUAKE!

#5.  The bizarre Yokel-mobile.  Here goes: one single car in the race plays home to Gerrit Graham ("Beef" from PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) who's a successful country western star appropriately plucking an acoustic guitar throughout;

Judy Canova, notorious Old Hollywood yodeler and comedienne (this was her final film role); and Bill McKinney (Ned Beatty's rapist in DELIVERANCE!)

who is the central villain of the piece, a hateful asshole-type who is a hateful asshole merely for the sake of being a hateful asshole.  (Character motivation be damned!)

#6.  James Keach (Stacy's brother).

Here he delivers a ludicrous, one-note performance as a pipe-chomping German driver named Wolfe Messer who is always saying subtle German-y things like "YOU DUMMKOPF!"


#7.  Dick Miller.

Fulfilling the "it's technically not a movie from 70s if Dick Miller's not in it" rule, Dick Miller appears as Carradine's desperate gambler brother.  He gives a solid, typically Miller-ish performance, and I especially applaud the balls of casting him as Carradine's brother in a movie that already features Carradine's real-life half-brother.

#8.  Paul Bartel.

He casts himself as a priggish, turtleneck-addicted criminal kingpin who communicates to his cronies from behind a piano, singing fake Cole Porter.  Sounds about right.

#9.  A surprise appearance by Martin Scorsese and Sylvester Stallone as mobster associates of Bartel's character, who (very) briefly appear in a brief hangout session, eating KFC.


WHAAAAAAT?!

Four stars.

–Sean Gill

Only now does it occur to me... SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROCK!

Only now does it occur to me...  that I'd ever get to see Mary Woronov try the very concept of Rock N' Roll in a kangaroo courtroom... and win!

Mary just wants to take away your rockin' tunes

And from whom does she want to take those rockin' tunes, you ask?  Try a wackified-solo dancing Renée Zellweger,

a "too cool for school" Howie Mandel (er, maybe make that "cool enough to actually be at school, if he was still of schooling age" Howie Mandel),

and 90s R&B outfit "For Real" (playing an up-and-coming girl band).

This quasi-prequel to the 70s cult classic ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (steeped heavily in the influence of John Waters' HAIRSPRAY) tells the origin story of Woronov's fuddy-duddy 'Evelyn Togar' and was featured in the "90s does the 50s" series of TV movie sentitled REBEL HIGHWAY (which I more adequately describe here).

Everybody's quite likable, and like a lot of Arkush's output (GET CRAZY, HEARTBEEPS, CADDYSHACK II), it exudes a sense of fun even if it is fairly blockheaded most of the time (it doesn't really matter, though).  

Also of interest, Dick Miller (legendary character actor and Joe Dante/Roger Corman crony) reprises his role from ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL as a gruff but sympathetic cop

I swear, Dick Miller is in everything.

and P.J. Soles (the incomparably cheerful star of ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, CARRIE, and HALLOWEEN ) shows up as a mahjong-cheater and concerned mother from Mary Woronov's friend circle.

P.J. Soles: excited to be here.  Also, missing her hat.

Continuing on with the Rock N' Roll street cred is Gerrit Graham, who notably played "Beef" in Brian de Palma's glam-rock-horror-musical spectacular PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

Here he plays a nerdy television producer who's all-too-susceptible to the phoned-in complaints of uptight parents.

And I must repeat for those who may not know– the aforementioned Mary Woronov is one of the greatest cult actresses of all time, and a wayward muse for figures as disparate as Andy Warhol and Roger Corman, not to mention the best bud and screen partner of Paul Bartel (together they became the demented 70s and 80s' equivalent of Tracey and Hepburn).

She has a tremendous amount of fun here, banning books in the school library like CATCHER IN THE RYE, INVISIBLE MAN, and THE NAKED AND THE DEAD, and being an all-around stick-in-the-mud– obviously the complete opposite of her natural character.

Speaking of books, I must take a moment to plug hers, because I don't believe I've yet done so:  it's called SWIMMING UNDERGROUND, and it outlines her life experiences upon entering the New York/Warhol scene in the 60s and the many hilarious/terrifying/absurd tales therein.  I highly recommend it, along with her greatest filmic hits, like EATING RAOUL and DEATH RACE 2000.

In closing, this movie's certainly not the best in the world, but if you're at all invested in ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, the REBEL HIGHWAY series, or simply the abundant use of cult and character actors, you'll find a lot to like here.