Child's Play: Critic Reviews

84%

MovieWeb: 4 reviews

68%

RottenTomatoes: 27 reviews

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Caryn James New York Times (Top Critic)

60

[A] clever, playful thriller.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Richard Harrington Washington Post (Top Critic)

Director Tom Holland keeps things moving without rushing them. Unfortunately, Child's Play gets a little ugly at the end.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

75

Child's Play is a cheerfully energetic horror film of the slam-bang school, but slicker and more clever than most.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Variety Staff Variety (Top Critic)

Fun withers in stretching the thin material to feature length.
Full Review » 4 years ago
TV Guide's Movie Guide

63

Is anyone ever going to make a really good movie about toys coming to life to kill people?
Full Review » 4 years ago
Kim Newman Empire Magazine

60

It's nothing wildly original, but it is pacey and entertaining when it gets going.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Richard Luck Film4

60

It does, however, have some decent scares, a lot of good lines and a memorable villain.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Dustin Putman DustinPutman.com

75

With humor taking a backseat to good, old-fashioned suspense, Child's Play is an impressive horror highlight of the late-'80s film scene.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Lucius Gore ESplatter

100

'Child's Play' is one of the scariest movies ever.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid

Insidiously effective.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Scott Weinberg FEARnet

80

While the sequels may have gotten progressively more campy, I'm pleased to note that the original Child's Play holds up just as well as I'd hoped. (And the new DVD rocks.)
Full Review » 4 years ago
Eric Henderson Slant Magazine

50

I'm sure Child's Play was far from the only film of its era sold as one of the great scareshows of all time.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton Dread Central

80

Even after twenty years, Child's Play shows no ring rust. The little flick plays just as well now as it did in its heyday.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Chuck O'Leary FulvueDrive-in.com

70

An inadvertently silly but effective shocker. Director Tom Holland definitely knows how to spin a scary yarn.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Time Out

Holland's sure handling of the suspense and shock moments lends the film a sharp and scary edge.
Full Review » 6 years ago
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com

40

Full Review » 7 years ago
Ryan Cracknell Movie Views

60

Full Review » 7 years ago
Stefan Birgir Stefansson sbs.is

88

classic horror
Full Review » 7 years ago
Luke Y. Thompson New Times

100

A gem, with one of the best "sudden reveals" ever committed to celluloid
Full Review » 8 years ago
Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com

34

It is not funny enough to be a comedy, but not scary enough to be a horror, either. It does, however, star a malevolent talking doll, which scores a lot of points in my book.
Full Review » 8 years ago
Spence D. IGN Movies

60

Full Review » 8 years ago
John Esther Pasadena Weekly

0

Full Review » 9 years ago
Rob Vaux Flipside Movie Emporium

60

A deluge of wretched sequels has diminshed what was originally a nifty little horror film.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Alex Sandell Juicy Cerebellum

40

I always thought this film was overrated by the Fangoria crowd. Brad Dourif's performance makes it worth a rental.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

60

One of the few decent entries in the slasher genre.
Full Review » 10 years ago