MovieChat Forums > Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984) Discussion > Similar but not 'Child's Play'

Similar but not 'Child's Play'

posted 14 years ago by MystMoonstruck
19 replies | jump to latest

I was just at the forum for "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", where someone asked about an episode with a family trapped in a house that turned out to be a dollhouse stored near a furnace. A chocolate bar that melted had caused the mudlike flood. Yes, it's a lot like "Child's Play"; for quite a while, I allowed people to convince me that that's the one I saw~until I watched it twice on YouTube. There is another version of this story, without the futuristic setting.

Has anyone else seen this similar episode? As I recall, it might have been about 45 minutes long, fitting in an hour slot. It was shown as a sort of filler and was not a regularly scheduled program. I got in a bit late, so I do not know the title and do not think the actors were notable. I hoped that checking the author's credentials would help, but it did not. I've been checking all of the anthology series I can think of but haven't found a match. I have a feeling that it was made quite a bit after the Hammer episode.

Perhaps this will remain a mystery for the few of us who recall watching it.

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wilsons926 14 years ago

sounds interesting, i would like to know the answer myself.

[–] Smultronstallet 13 years ago

It sounds like a cross between Child's Play and the episode House of Evil, from the series "Circle of Fear," which was originally called Ghost Story: www.imdb.com/title/tt0068074. A young Jodie Foster plays the girl Judy. It can be watched on youtube, albeit poor quality: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9_c4wu_l5U.

[–] MystMoonstruck 13 years ago

I know that episode, but this is nothing like that cookie/voodoo doll episode. I watched that on YouTube.

The one I recall is a lot like "Child's Play", but the substance is brown~a melted chocolate bar, as I recall. I think the dollhouse is near or in a heating event. But, it's definitely contemporary of that time, without the futuristic setting at the end. Somehow, I don't expect to find it ever. I recall getting in after the start, and I just didn't think about identifying it. I supposed it would be one time only, as with HBO Short Takes and others like that.

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MystMoonstruck 11 years ago

No. That episode isn't at all like it.

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MystMoonstruck 11 years ago

I welcome all suggestions. And, yes, I will post it here if I ever discover what it is. It's tricky because it wasn't shown as part of a series as far as I recall; it was sort of a filler. I was thrilled at first when I came across the Hammer episode then so disappointed when the spreading mess didn't match and when the ending turned out to be so drastically different.

Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year~~2013=o

BTW: I knew the world wouldn't end a day before my birthday! *snicker*snort* Happy birthday to me=}

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MystMoonstruck 11 years ago

That one is more like a voodoo doll-type story.

The one I saw is like "Child's Play" but is set in the contemporary time period. The ending is in a basement as I recall, where the brother hid the dollhouse near the furnace. The invading "sludge" is brown, not green, and turns out to be a melting chocolate bar.

I recall getting in just a bit late, after the opening credits, so I haven't a clue as to whether it's a short or an episode detached from a series just to use as a filler.

I tried checking out the author of "Child's Play" but had no luck unless there's been an addition since I looked into it.

It looks like a real family, just as in the Hammer episode. It's not dolls in a dollhouse being acted on by an outside source, as in those other two episodes. We never see the outside till the closing scene.

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

[–] RubberJohn 11 years ago

I remember watching the same programme.
I came here looking for the name also, so if you do find out what it was called, please share.

[–] jimbomatt1974 11 years ago

I am disappointed to see that there has not been an answer yet because I know exactly what you are talking about. I remember this episode including the melted chocolate bar and furnace thing too. I hope we can figure it out some day.

[–] MystMoonstruck 11 years ago

Thank goodness others recall this version! When I first heard about "Child's Play", I thought, "My search is over!" Then, I watched it and thought, "Similar but so different!"

I continue my search for that and the one with the father trying to figure out the toy that caused his son to disappear. Frustration!

*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MystMoonstruck 9 years ago

It's nearer to "Child's Play" than that episode. I wonder if it isn't an American version of the other, with a different twist ending. I clearly recall the dark mass that turned out to be chocolate. And, the end setting wasn't in the future.

I don't expect to solve it. It joins another so-far-unsolvable mystery, a short film others have been seeking for decades.

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] Deferenz 9 years ago

I recall something similar to 'Child's Play' when I was watching, I think, one of the Amicus anthology films some time ago. something like Torture Garden, or Vault of Horror, but that is just from memory. I would need to revisit them though as that is all I can remember.

AVFC

[–] MystMoonstruck 9 years ago

I believe I've seen every anthology film, especially Amicus.

I doubt this mystery ever will be solved. I was old enough when I saw it that I can't be mistaken; I know that I'm not confusing it with "Child's Play". The endings are so different, and I'm fairly certain that it has a contemporary, not future, setting.

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC

[–] Deferenz 9 years ago

Hmm, this is bugging me now because I know I have seen something very similar to Child's Play within the last year or so. My memory is vague but I recall a dolls house in an empty room at the end of the film/show/segment and the time period of the whole thing was likely 70s or early 80s. I seemed to recall that it was one story among others and therefore likely an anthology movie. I will keep looking.

AVFC

[–] MystMoonstruck 9 years ago

That description makes me think of this:
Tales from the Darkside (1983 anthology series)
The Geezenstacks (1986 episode)

Here's a video of some clips on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b6zni9I6uQ

(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC