Here comes ol’ Mikey (Brian Bonsall); a terror tyke that will surely be a royal ass pain to everyone he (dis)graces with his presence.
So yeah, Mikey… this mother fucker tries to set his house on fire, watches his sister drown, and electrocutes his adoptive mother… all in the first five minutes of the goddamned film; fuckin’ beast mode activated amirite? Oh, he then kills his father with an aluminum baseball bat…
Mikey is also a liar par excellence, so he gets away with this shit scot free, and shipped off to live with the Trentons, Neil (John Diehl) and Rachel (Mimi Craven… yup she was married to Wes); a pair of upper-middle class rubes that have no idea the hell they’ve welcomed into their home.
To his credit, Mikey tries to fit in, even though he’s death obsessed and is bound and determined to put the moves on the neighbor’s teenage daughter Jessie (Josie Bissett)… even though she has a boyfriend… a fact that starts him back on the path to murder and mayhem!
Things may not be so easy goin’ in the killing fields for our pint-sized antagonist however, as his teacher, Shawn (Hellraiser‘s Ashley Laurence) definitely thinks something is up with her new student and begins diving into Mikey’s past… which reveals some shocking secrets.
Cheesy, melodramatic, and a shit-ton of fun; Mikey is perfect ’90s horror biz comfort food. The things this kid get away with before anyone catches on boarders on the absurd, and unholy hell does Bonsall act the role to the hilt; he’s morbid, off-putting, charming when he wants to be, which ain’t often… it’s a juicy villain and the dude looks like he’s having the time of his life in the part.
Of note fans of A Nightmare on Elm Street, besides the aforementioned Craven (who had a bit part as a nurse in the first installment), this film also features Freddy’s Revenge‘s Lyman Ward (the most Tim Thomerson mother fucker that isn’t Tim Thomerson) as the Principal of the school Mikey attends, and Whitby Hertford, who starred as the titular Dream Child in the franchises fifth entry, as Mikey’s friend/neighbor Ben.
And through no fault of it’s own, the fashions and hair styles will punch ya right in the nostalgia balls if you grew up in the decade.
As for extra features on this Blu-ray release from MVD Entertainment (under their MVD Rewind label), there are basically only two… but they are freakin’ choice! First up we get a new, ninety minute, ultra informative making-of documentary featuring cast and crew reminiscing on the film’s production, followed by a featurette where director Dennis Dimster-Denk takes us through how he crafted the film’s climax! The film’s trailer is included as well.
A fine entry in the killer kid genre; Mikey is violent, suspenseful, and at times gloriously ridiculous and is well worth puttin’ your eerie eyeballs on!
