Mikey (1992) User Reviews

Mikey: Creepy unnerving thriller

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 16 January 2018]

Mikey is a horrifying thriller telling the story of a 10 year old boy with more than slight psychotic tendancies.

Many people say the concept is far fetched, I'd be inclined to agree but not to an extent where I couldn't take it seriously.

One fascinating fact about Mikey is that it's still to this day prohibited in the United Kingdom. It was banned due to the James Bulger murder, but alike the accused Childs Play 3 (1991) there are no similarities at all. Most movies are re-reviewed for release but due to red tape Mikey never has been and likely won't be.

It's one of those films that gets under your skin and succeeds in doing so from the opening through to the closing credits.

I'm not saying Mikey is a good film because it's not, but it does what it sets out to do and you have to give it credit for that.

The Good:

Kid does a great job

Very unsettling

The Bad:

Still a rather average effort

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

This is reason 7878952 why I don't want children

Ashley Laurence should have had a better career

Girls liking "Bad boys" when will they learn?

Time For a Re-Examination

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 17 October 2016]

A seemingly innocent and sweet little boy causes murder and mayhem in his new neighborhood and falls for the teenage girl next-door.

As others have pointed out, this film has sort of the same feel as "The Stepfather", except the killer is now a little boy instead of a seemingly caring new dad. Of course, "The Stepfather" is the better movie, but that's no secret.

I do think the film needs to be brought into the light. I had not heard of it until a book by T. S. Kord made me aware, and then when I went to watch it on Hulu, I found the picture quality was not the greatest and the film was cut for full-screen. With horror veterans Mimi Craven and Ashley Laurence, as well as Lyman Ward, it seems like this would be a good film for Scream Factory to pick up.

Amusing child serial killer. Those were the days...

[insomniac_rod · 25 March 2007]

I remember renting this once in a while back in the early 90's. I had fun with it although it's a predictable slasher flick.

The plot was easy to follow and entertaining as I remember. There were some good death scenes and amusing acting.

The Mikey character was truly good and that's because of the talented child actor who portrayed it.

I remember a death scene involving a pool. Nice sequences and decent gore.

I haven't rented this one in years but I have good memories about it. As far as I remember, it's a decent, entertaining slasher. Recommended for slasher hard core fans or those who enjoy killer child flicks. As someone else mentioned, this movie always reminds me of "The Stepfather".

Fair If Not Taken Seriously

[cosmic_quest · 5/10 · 7 May 2004]

This film was actually banned in Britain since it was due for release in the same year as two ten-year-old boys abducted, tortured and murdered a two-year-old child. To this day, I don't understand that decision since nothing Mikey does reaches the scale of what those two sadistic monsters did nor does Mikey ever attempt to harm complete innocents but chooses his victims from people who have done him 'wrong'.

Anyway, I've finally managed to get my hands on a copy and I have to say, I'm quite glad I did. It's definitely not a film to be taken seriously but it can be rather funny if viewed as a dark comedy. Obviously, there's huge plot holes such as how a ten-year-old can move from place-to-place without anyone checking on his background and why these people were able to adopt him in a matter of days. However, there is something slightly humorous in watching the rather stupid adults be played by a young, calculating boy.

Very underrated killer kid slasher

[connerrmiranda · 6/10 · 6 April 2021]

I went into this movie expecting a cheesy slasher film. I was in the first five minutes of the movie three people died in a really shocking way.

I'm not going to spoil anything from this movie all of the actors did great. The plot is understanding as well To be honest I choose this movie over The Prodigy 2019 I get this movie six stars out of 10 because I think it's a good underrated slasher.

Could be better

[dhstorch123 · 4/10 · 18 October 2013]

I discovered this movie as a Star Trek TNG fan, curious of what ever became of Brian Bonsall. A 10 year old serial killer... how could you go wrong? Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh in my review of this film. I guess my sick deviant mind just craved more blood. The plot works, and the big plus is that this film actually has a plot. The story is set up nicely and allows for a window in to the troubled mind of Bonsall's character. After a great opening I felt the film dragged a bit, but as with all thrillers the last 20 minutes more than makes up for it. Worth checking out but not a film you'll tell your friends about or rush to see again.

Good if you like cheering for the killer!

[BadWebDiver · 4/10 · 3 September 2002]

This is actually one of those films that's so bad it's kind of funny. The only character of any intelligence or possible sympathy is the central psycho - in this case a kid. The adults are so pathetically naive, and blunder into fatal situations so easily, that it's ludicrously funny to watch. My guess is that this film is a cheap attack at 80s liberal politics - the story is so blatantly one-sided.

SPOILER WARNING

The central killer has such an easy time of it that the plot is almost boring. No one seems to have the remotest chance of catching up to him. He has the uncanny ability to push everyone's buttons exactly the right way. He's so brilliant he can apparently outwit a professional child psychologist without any hassle. He even manages to disarm a gun placed on a table right under the nose of a school principal on the phone. Admittedly some of the coincidences are totally ridiculous, especially the bit with the skeleton that happens to be of a child his age exactly.

If you enjoy the type of story where a psycho killer is running effortless rings around everyone else in the cast, then you may get a wicked thrill from this movie. If you only like sensible stories where the nice ordinary people eventually win and no-one ever really gets hurt, I suggest you avoid this one like the plague.

Highly Entertaining!

[Astraether · 7/10 · 1 December 2020]

I laughed throughout this movie, so in that sense it was highly entertaining! I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a dark comedy or just so bad it's good. I had it recommended to me after asking for evil child movies. For whatever reason, it's a trope I love!

This one certainly fit the bill, complete with cheesy one-liners. I remember Brian Bonsall in Family Ties so it was fun to see him play the adorable but murderous waif. Parts were slow but the beginning was off to a good start and the ending was so over the top ludicrous that I actually LOLed. I'm almost surprised this doesn't have better cult status. Fun if you want to be entertained by bad horror.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer Jnr

[meathookcinema · 8/10 · 13 October 2019]

This entry into the taboo 'killer kid' horror sub-genre involves 9 year old Mikey. The first scene shows him slaughtering his entire adoptive family (yes, really) in one fell swoop. Whats more, hes videotaped the whole thing for his later entertainment. Mikey is found hiding in a closet by the police officers investigating who could have done this. After fobbing them off with a fake description of the perpetrator he is then placed up for adoption.

The majority of the film is centred around Mikey's new life with his new family. He starts out by looking every bit the model angelic child but then red flags start to appear. Then the number of 'accidents' and casualties starts to grow.

The power of this film is that it was filmed and feels like a TV movie. It adheres to this genre's conventions but subverts it because of it's controversial subject matter. This juxtaposition works amazingly well especially as the film pulls no punches when it comes to the truly sadistic and brutal deeds of it's central character. The performance of Brian Bonsall is pitch perfect as the psychopathic child. It's also great to see Ashley Laurence from Hellraiser fame make an appearance as Mikey's concerned teacher.

This film was actually made for the 'straight to video' market in the US but was then to be released theatrically in the UK. The film was submitted for a certificate to the BBFC and was awarded an 18 cert in November 1992. But then things took an unexpected turn. The abduction of toddler James Bulger by two other children dominated the news in February of the next year and the media was stating how horror films and specifically home videos must be the cause. A number of films that had been released were targetted with Childs Play 3 taking most of the blame. The Daily Mail (who else) noted how Mikey was a future release and involved a child killer. Surely this couldn't be released now, could it, they opined. Head of the BBFC, James Ferman then took the unprecedented step of taking back the 18 certificate that had been granted to Mikey and banning it outright. It's hard to believe that this happened but it did. Mikey was resubmitted for a certificate in 1996 but was rejected. The film is still banned in the UK.

BUT, it's on YouTube.

Can't escape it's exploitation roots

[tomgillespie2002 · 3/10 · 4 May 2011]

One of the forgotten films of those to feel the wrath of the 80's and 90's censorship madness, Mikey has a more genuinely sinister feel to it than the others. Still banned outright in the UK, it tells the story of a young boy name Mikey Holt (Brian Bonsall). We see him first of all getting told off by his adoptive parents for lighting a fire inside the house, so he gains revenge by murdering the lot of them. The father especially gets it bad as he receives a baseball bat to the head from our pubeless protagonist. Unable to solve the murder, the police are quick to relocate Mikey with a new family, who at first warm to their lovable new son. But as he falls for his best friend's sister, and his behaviour starts to get stranger, his school teacher begins to suspect something is not quite right.

Generally thought of as being a 'video nasty', this wasn't actually on the official government list. Strange, considering it is far worse than the majority of the others. What it does share with a lot of the ones that did make the list, such as The Driller Killer and Blood Feast, is that it does lack in quality. Mikey obviously has a bit of a budget, but it's filmed in that TV Movie Of The Week style that makes it look like it should star Shannon Tweed. A lot of the plot developments either don't make sense or are just unrealistic, such as his current teacher phoning his old school and asking them about Mikey (as she suspects something is amiss), only for the teacher on the other end of the phone to give her everything she knows about him straight away. The film has been compared to Child's Play, but Mikey doesn't share the former's comic humour. A decent idea, but the film can't seem to escape it's exploitation roots.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

An entertaining, but predictable take-off

[Adam E · 18 October 1999]

"Mikey" reminded me a lot of "Stepfather" with Terry O'Quinn, only a crazed kid instead of a grown-up. "Mikey" is a pretty disturbing, yet predictable film. The film is pretty violent; even a little girl is killed in the thing.

I thought Brian Bonsall did an extremely good job as the disturbed boy, when we're used to him playing that sweet kid. The film has a good measure of suspense and keeps you on the edge, but then they throw in an awful ending that you see coming a mile away. "Mikey" is worth watching if you like fun horror movies, but they could've done much better with the ending.

Predictable but I liked it

[tlharrison-59546 · 5/10 · 9 October 2021]

This movie was very predictable but still enjoyable. I really appreciated all of the early 90s set designs. The bathrooms, the airport.. these scenes were awesome just for the sets. The score was creepy, making this a decent movie to to watch around Halloween.

Good little film!!!

[thediva-89114 · 7/10 · 3 August 2020]

Enjoyed this film 😊 not to be taken seriously mind you! Not sure how the kid managed to move adult dead bodies around! 😎

Wretched and deplorable

[ebrown2112 · 1/10 · 30 January 2004]

What a disgusting, creepy, absurd movie. Implausible beyond belief, and gratuitously violent beyond description. Disturbing (not in a good way) on many levels - such as Josie Bissett telling the kid that he's a "good kisser." If they thought that Jodie Foster might be warped by playing Iris in "Taxi Driver" (a brilliant movie), how the hell did they prepare Brian Bonsall to act in this piece of garbage? 0 stars out of 1 million.

Mikey is a special child with a different kind of special skills

[phanthinga · 8/10 · 29 April 2018]

Mikey is a pretty hardcore slasher flick when the villian who you should fear is not a guy in the hockey mask or a guy can kill you in your dream but the most harmless person in the world:A child.The movie is not messing around with viewer cause about 5 minutes in the movie Mikey the main character already kill his adoptive family start off with the drowning of a little girl.The subject behind Mikey is disturbing and not easy to understand but don't take it seriously cause put all the spychological stuff aside Mikey is still cheesy as hell.

Why would anyone enjoy this film is beyond me.

[DrLovelick · 1/10 · 2 October 2002]

Geez, I suppose one were to appreciate this film if they figured Mikey had horrible parents growing up or perhaps he's that Calvin from "Calvin & Hobbes." Still, that wouldn't account for anything in this film because it's bad in several ways. I could start by saying "Mikey" isn't scary AT ALL. Maybe that should be enough.

No wait, it's more than just not scary. It's terrible on every level imaginable. I swear, the filmmakers must have hired monkeys to write this screenplay because there's nothing you can remember from it! I suppose it would be nice to examine the supporting characters because usually they're more underexamined compared to lead characters. Certainly that shows in "Mikey" because everyone besides Mikey seems to be a pawn in the game, rather than a character you want to care about. Yes, all plot and no development in the supporting characters. Typical uninspired filmmaking, yep.

However, since little time is given to the supporting characters, it's pretty obvious that "Mikey" examines what the title is all about. Wait, did I say "examine?" How good does it examine Mikey? Hardly that much. See, remember with suspense films like these, it's about PLOT, not characters, just PLOT. Regardless, a suspense film can still be pulled off if you blend plot and character together in a nice fashion. That's what the Hitchcock films did. No wait, I don't think the filmmakers of "Mikey" ever studied Hitchcock so it's pointless to talk about him. Still, they should know that character development can really help. No wait, in the filmmaker's point of view, perhaps it doesn't. See, Mikey as a little child is a nasty bugger but the biggest issue isn't because he isn't nasty. It because we know EXACTLY what he's going to do. See, as characters in a film, the villains can steal the show. But in "Mikey," Mikey doesn't steal the show nor does he actually show any motivations. See remember, this film believes in plot, not character development, but plot.

The even bigger issue I have with "Mikey" is why it was made. Ironically the year the film was made (1992), just a year after it came "The Good Son," which starred a young Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin. Like "The Good Son," "Mikey" believes that children who act as killers can make a scary, non-moralistic kind of film. Yea, sure. People who do these kinds of films are really sick puppies. Seriously. If you can't show any CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT to make us care, then you might as well just be an idiot.

As for the people who enjoy these kinds of films with child killers, get help, please. It must stink to be you.

By the way, I could really tell this was a direct to television movie. Wanna know how? It was done in a hurry. At least it seems that way.

Mikey-Brian.

[stephanotis323 · 24 February 2002]

Mikey is a little friggin phsyco who kills his newly adoptive parents. Good flick, but could be better. Brian Bonsall was cute and ferocius in this, and he did a ver good job of portraying the little weirdo. I loved bonsall, he was a cute little kid.

You will be on the edge of your seat!

[rsrungaram · 5/10 · 10 May 2007]

When me and my spouse rented this film I was very iffy about it. But boy did my mind changed! From the minute the film started I was glued to the screen! Brian Bonsall's acting is just incredible and brings the character of Mikey to life! The film blends the elements of drama, comedy and horror very well, with dramatic tension between the characters, witty one liners and heart pounding horror. I must see! The film however is very scary and will most likely be a fun riot when you and your colleages view this film together! And just like any movie, this film is best viewed with popcorn and a cold soda. I will love to go into detail on this film but I can't because it will just spoil this cult classic! But take my word! This film is loads of fun and bit of a good scare. So please head to your local video store and rent this great film....If you dare.

THIS IS THE WORST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN!

[Nickrj · 1/10 · 28 May 2002]

How can anyone like a movie like this? I can't believe that there are some people out there that actually like this garbage movie. If you see this movie on the video store rack, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT RENTING IT! It's that awful.

Lil Mikey

[davecalavera · 7/10 · 31 October 2021]

I felt like this could have been a prequel to Halloween or at least an entire flashback..it is called Mikey after all.someone shouldake a fan edit. The kid has some Michael Myers moments.

I loved Mikey!

[msval · 5 November 2006]

If I had to choose between The Good Son (McCauley Caulkin) or Mikey (an unknown actor); my choice would be Mikey. I thought this young actor did a fine job. I'm surprised I have not seen him in other movies. Mikey was psychotic; yet, in a strange way, lovable. I enjoyed the suspense of what Mikey was going to do next. The psyche of Mikey should have been explored more thoroughly. What happened to him in his earlier years? Who were his real parents and what did they do to him, if anything? Better yet, what happened to them? However, the movie seemed to be low- budget so perhaps the budget did not allow for further exploration.

Disturbing.

[teekieteekybirdie · 5/10 · 20 February 2023]

You may think the kid is just looking for a happy home and someone to love him, that's he's just misunderstood and hurting inside, but that doesn't seem to be the case, he's a sociopath in the making.

He kills his first foster family, then kills the next one, and keeps getting away with it. And falls in love with his friend's older sister which is even creepier, she's a teenager and way too old for him so that part is kind of gross. And why is it nobody ever ducks or moves out of the way and fights back in these movies? Are you telling me you REALLY can't fight a KID? Come on! And people just stand there screaming like in typical cheesy horror movies waiting for someoen to kill them or shoot them and just stand there screaming like oooh this is gonna hurt, like a bunch of idiots, instead of ducking or moving out of the way so the stupidity in this film kinda ruined it too.

This is a great slasher movie

[dollpenguin · 8/10 · 12 April 2006]

This movie was not exceptionally original, but it stays very interesting throughout. The violence was well constructed, the pacing was perfect, and the acting was above average for this type of film. Brian Bonsall did a wonderful job playing the psychotic killer. One of the things that I especially liked was that his victims were all average people that were easy to relate to. Although they were believable, this movie is still more entertaining than scary.

This movie isn't going to make you think, but for pure entertainment value it is quite good. I love these kinds of horror movies, my favorites probably being Silent Night Deadly Night and Sleepaway Camp. If you enjoy those two movies you will probably like this one as well.

scared the hell out of me

[kummel · 10/10 · 13 November 2002]

I absolutely loved this movie and over the years I have watched it over and over again. I've made my friends and my family watch it and I've recommended it to everyone I know. This movie really gives me the willies because somehow the thought of a child being like Mikey is just plain out scary. I can't really go into details without spoiling the movie so I can just say: SEE IT!!

PS: That the main character also starred in "Family Ties" didn't spoil anything for me any of the times I saw it. He isn't as cute in this movie as he is in the series...

This kid is worst than Jason and Freddy Krueger

[lovingtouch72 · 10/10 · 2 April 2007]

I really like this movie about Mikey has an emotional behavior because of what had happen in his past and what his real parents have done to him before he was adopted by foster families to another.He's a sweetest,cutest little boy that his second foster family;Neil and Rachael had want him as their own son they're think that he's a great kid until things become deadly with him.First he has a crush with his best friend Ben's older sister Jessie.After he peep at her through her bedroom window and video taped her in the action with her boyfriend David,he grows emotionally,disappointed with his jealousy,because he didn't know that she already had a boyfriend.Won't Mikey find some girl his own age.Mikey got really bad and start killing his foster family one by one after Jessie found out that he had kill her boyfriend by kicking a boom box in a jacuzzi he was in.Will Mikey go kill the next foster families?This movie is more killing and violent than the GOOD SON.Macauley Culkin is not holding a candle for Brian Bonsall's killings.