Top 10 Scariest Child's Play 2019 Moments

0

The Forklift

Also in:

Top 10 Scariest Movie Scenes of 2019

Although Andy Barclay's mother Karen stays safe from Chucky for most of "Child's Play," she ends up in serious peril during the film's climax. As Andy sees her with a rope around her neck, we realize just how dire her situation is. Aubrey Plaza's bugged-out eyes only accentuate the horror, as a forklift starts lifting the noose. The whole moment is hard to watch, as Andy can barely cut through the rope, and has to fight off Chucky as he does it. Plus Andy's dangling moment off the forklift only ups the concern for Karen's already dwindling air supply.

After Karen's boyfriend Shane bullies Andy, Chucky decides to get Shane out of the picture. When Shane is putting up Christmas lights on a roof, Chucky makes sure he falls, breaking his leg. With Chucky scurrying about, and the tiller bearing down on him, the scene is full of creepy visuals. The doll's anger is the most chilling part of it all however, as we finally see Chucky get upset. There's also something unnerving about watching Shane decide between fending off the tiller or a knife, especially since he loses either way. Goofy Tupac jokes aside, it's easy to freak out at this moment due to Shane's debilitating position.

As Andy is finally enjoying a movie night with friends, Chucky notices everyone laughing at the violence of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2." But since this new iteration of Chucky is learning as he goes, he seems to think that they'll love getting hurt too! We're left with the eerie sight of the doll grabbing a knife and appearing in a shadow on the wall. The moment he runs towards the kids and cuts Andy is pretty scary as well. What’s most terrifying of all is that he doesn’t understand the significance of his actions, just wanting to help. As they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Andy uses a hearing aid in this reboot, which mostly remains a subtle part of his overall character. That is until Chucky uses his wireless capabilities to hacks into the device, so that only Andy can hear his taunts. Andy is someone who often feels isolated, and Chucky’s takeover of his hearing aid is the ultimate symbol of that - ensuring that Andy can hear only Chucky. It also represents the creepy relationship that Chucky wants with Andy, which excludes all others - on pain of death! Plus having a murderer talking in your head is nightmare fuel no matter what the context is.

When Andy’s cat Mickey Rooney scratches his arm, Chucky swears vengeance. The moment Andy leaves the room, Chucky tries to strangle the cat to defend his friend. The next day, Andy finds the cat dead on the floor. This is already a great way to spook Andy and the audience, but then Rooney's voice returns one night. Hearing Chucky replay the cat's death wails is deeply disturbing, especially as we experience them with Andy for the first time. And it's exponentially more terrifying since the doll is only doing it to torment him.

After Chucky kills off Shane, Andy wakes up to a surprisingly quiet and blissful morning. In the midst of this idyllic scene however, we're jolted with fear as Andy spots Shane's face stuck onto a watermelon. The imagery is equally absurd and horrific, which helps it stick with you long after the film ends. The dramatic shift in tone also enhances this scare as it happens. And the sense of panic is upped further as Andy realizes the criminal repercussions of trying to call the police on Chucky. The mix of gore and consequences feeds into the panic.

We learn early on in 2019's take on "Child's Play" that Chucky has wireless functions to control smart-home tech around him. While this sounds like a cool feature at first, it takes a sinister turn when the doll uses his powers to throw his voice around the room. Though it would be freaky enough for Chucky to sneak between couches and shelves in the dark, it's scarier that you never know quite where he is. Just as you think it can't get more unnerving, the doll projects his own point-of-view onto the TV to show us where he is in relation to Andy. Given how underused smart-tech is in horror, this scene is especially memorable for taking a path less travelled.

Once Chucky decides that everyone else in Andy's life must go, even their nice neighbor Doreen is in danger. So when Doreen hops in a self-driving taxi to go out, Chucky quickly takes control of her vehicle. It's tense to watch as she's driven in circles and over cars at reckless speeds, all while Chucky taunts her through the speakers. He also menacingly pulls her over to see him, in a chilling display of how powerful he is. It's Doreen's reaction to seeing the seatbelts and airbags disengaged however that really got us shivering.

With plenty of new Buddi dolls ready to be sold at a mall event, Chucky takes control of a horde of Buddis and drones. And since there's a large crowd between him and Andy, Chucky starts mowing down anyone and everyone at the store. The shots of drones attacking people are spooky enough, but seeing the damage they do to people like Detective Mike is enough to keep you up at night. Soon the Buddi Bear dolls are clamped on people's faces. Worst of all is the off-screen sound of their bones crunching - leaving audiences to fill in the horrifying blanks.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Jump Scare

Corporate Reality Check

A Terrifying Point of View

#1: Repairman, Dismantled
It turns out that maintenance worker Gabe is pretty creepy himself. But his fate is far worse than he deserved. When he takes and repairs Chucky, the doll turns on him. The quick shots of Chucky zooming past to cut Gabe are chilling, especially considering how quickly he manages to overpower of adult. It only gets worse for Gabe, as he’s first burnt, then forced to drop onto a table saw. That’s some way to go . . . The moment shows just how much damage Chucky is capable of, and how cruel he’s become.