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"Child's Play" Revitalizes the Horror Genre

Critic Ken Tucker recommends the home video release of the recent thriller. He says the premise -- a demon-possessed doll terrorizes a family -- is absurd, but the movie features characters with surprising depth. And while Child's Play is violent, it doesn't rely solely on gore to terrify its audience.

03:36
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Other segments from the episode on June 30, 1989

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 30, 1989: Interview with Thomas Friedman; Commentary on Herschel Evans; Interview with Drew Takahashi; Review of the home video release of the film "Child's Play."
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27:47

Journalist Thomas Friedman Reports from Beirut

The New York Times correspondent's new book is called From Beirut to Jerusalem, about Arab-Israeli conflicts in the Middle East. He joins Fresh Air to discuss how cultivating a network of contacts, coming to terms with the frequent violence he witnessed in Lebanon, and how those experience affected his reporting in Israel.

Interview
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09:19

TV Ad Director Drew Takahashi

The director lives in San Francisco, far from the filmmaking hub of Los Angeles. Takahashi's isolation has allowed him to develop a unique directorial style. He join Fresh Air to discuss how he best takes advantage of the creative freedom given to him when making a commercial or logo.

Interview

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Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

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52:30

Venture into the 'Fresh Air' crypt for a Halloween horror fest

In addition to Steven King and Jordan Peele, we talk with Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins about how he humanized Hannibal Lecter, the oh-so-sophisticated cannibal of The Silence of the Lambs. And Carrie star Sissy Spacek remembers sneaking into the theaters in New York City to watch audiences jump at the sight of her hand stretching up from the grave at the end of that film. Plus, we hear from actor Mercedes McCambridge, who voiced the devil in The Exorcist; George Romero, who directed Night of the Living Dead; and Kathy Bates, who starred in the 1990 film Misery.

Interview

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52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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