Mikey (1992)

Mikey takes the “evil child” premise and gives it a mean little grin, delivering a brisk, pulpy jolt of early-’90s horror that never wastes time getting to the trouble. What makes it memorable is Brian Bonsall’s performance: he can flip from cherubic to chilling in a heartbeat, and the movie leans into that unnerving contrast with high-spirited, lurid energy. The vibe is suburban-normal turned quietly poisonous, where everyday spaces feel suddenly unsafe and the tension comes from watching adults underestimate what’s right in front of them. It’s not for everyone—especially if child-perpetrated violence is a hard no—but if you like your horror nasty, efficient, and driven by a genuinely creepy central turn, this one scratches that itch.

Mikey is clearly aiming for a twisted “evil child” thriller, using the contrast between a cute, adoptable kid and escalating carnage to keep you uneasy. The problem is it leans so hard on shock kills that the story starts to feel like a string of contrived setups, with adults behaving just clueless enough to keep the body count moving. The violence is also pretty mean-spirited for the premise, including harm to a child and an animal, so if that’s a hard line for you, skip it. If you can tolerate the nastiness, Brian Bonsall’s creepy charm does give the film a pulpy, B-movie kick that might work as late-night trash viewing rather than a genuinely smart horror ride.