Child's Play (1972)

Brilliant Old-Fashioned Gothic Horror

     

This is not the CHILD'S PLAY that introduced the world to "Chuckie," this is a completely different type of horror film; adapted from the Broadway play by Robert Marasco (BURNT OFFERINGS), this film knows how to use silence and shadows to ratchet up the psychological tension to unbearable levels. Superbly directed by Sidney Lumet (DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK, THE OFFENCE, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD) who is careful in key sequences not to stray from the materials' stage origins (particularly effective in the final 10 minutes, with a closing scene that will freeze your spine). James Mason and Robert Preston (the latter brilliantly cast against type) give breathtaking performances, and the casting director gets a special nod for finding over two dozen of the *creepiest*-looking schoolboys ever to haunt a horror film. No gore, but this film doesn't need it; it's smart, literate, eerie, and incredibly tense -- elements that have become too subtle for the modern horror movie audience. If you want good old-fashioned Gothic horror with brains and three-dimensional characters, rent this. Better yet, buy it.