My Review of Child's Play (2019)

 

Written by Tyler Burton Smith

Directed by Lars Klevberg

Chucky: "If they don't let us play, they all go away."

After seven movies of following the same continuity, for some reason not only was it time for this franchise to go back to theatres but it was also time for it to get a reboot.

Reboots are mixed bags. Sometimes they're moderately decent like A Nightmare On Elm Street (imo of course) or flat out terrible like Halloween and Friday The 13th. This reboot felt it had elements of both. I didn't hate this movie but I definitely didn't love it either.

One of the best elements of this franchise was the idea of the soul of a serial killer trapped inside the body of a Good Guy Doll. This time around it's MyBuddi Doll also named Chucky (Mark Hamill) and it's more of an AI gone bad than an actual serial killer.

On the other hand, we have Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman) and his mother, Karen (Aubrey Plaza) - the latter working in the store where Chucky was sold. They have a bit of strained dynamic and at first Andy's resistant to Chucky before accepting him as a friend. Then Andy made some real friends with Falyn (Beatrice Kitsos) and Pugg (Ty Consiglio) as well as a frenemy in Omar (Marlon Kazadi).

Andy's dynamic does seem a bit more fleshed out but when Chucky murdered the cat and even Karen's awful boyfriend Shane (David Lewis), even Andy knew that Chucky was bad news. Then there was Detective Mike Norris (Bryan Tyree Henry) and his mother, Doreen (Carlease Burke), both decent characters that intersect into Andy and Chucky's story well enough.

As for the final act, it's not entirely dissimilar to a movie that would come out years later and would be far better overall. There was also a clear sequel hook but considering how this franchise would pan out, this wasn't meant to be. 

- The only movie in the franchise with no involvement with creator Don Mancini. I don't think he was a fan of this.

- Mike mixed up Millennials and Gen Z and that Tupac reference just didn't work at all.

- Standout music: The Buddi Song, which was used a lot in the movie.

- Chronology: 2019 Chicago, seemingly around Christmas time.

Child's Play (2019) certainly isn't awful but as a reboot, it definitely lacked. I'm a fan of Mark Hamill but Brad Dourif is Chucky and the change up of the character's backstory just didn't work for me. I'm really glad we got the TV series after this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Cult Of Chucky (2017)

 

Written And Directed by Don Mancini

Tiffany: "A true classic never goes out of style."

In some ways, this movie would represent a temporary pause of the overall continuity of the saga given that it would be followed up with a remake of Child's Play. As for the movie, well, let's look at how the previous one ended.

The previous one had Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) framed for Chucky's (Brad Dourif) killing of her family and she's been transferred from one institution to another. On top of that, a certain Good Guy Doll isn't done tormenting her and this movie does seem him up the ante there.

Taking an idea that had been in creator Don Mancini's back pocket for a while, this movie had fun with the idea of Chucky transferring his soul in multiple Good Guy Dolls. One which was already there and being used by a fellow patient Madeleine (Elisabeth Rosen) who's convinced it's her dead son while a visiting Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) left another for Nica.

The asylum setting was definitely something that got utilised well enough here. You had a sympathetic gay nurse named Carlos (Zak Santiago) who was nice to Nica as a contrast to the horrendous abuse that Dr Foley (Michael Therriault) subjected her to understand hypnosis.  Foley's such a scumbag that even Chucky was disgusted with him.

Other characters in this setting included Angela (Grace Lynn Kung) - a woman who was convinced she was a ghost, the rather abrasive Claire (Marina Stephenson Kerr) and split personality addled Malcolm (Adam Hurtig). The latter made the foolish mistake into thinking he was Charles Lee Ray and definitely paid the price for it.

As for Chucky and Nica, well the former ended up in the latter's body and Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) ended up locked in the asylum as Chucky/Nica escaped with Tiffany. Tiffany didn't seem to mind that her boyfriend was now in the body of a woman. She didn't seem to mind at all.

- Nica's niece Alice died between movies. It was implied that when Chucky possesed her, he went after someone who fought back.

- Michael Therriault who played Dr Foley would go on to appear in two different roles in the Chucky TV series.

- A post credit scene saw the return of Kyle (Christine Elise) to torture the head of Chucky that Andy had been torturing throughout the movie.

- Chronology: Four years have passed since the events of the previous, similar to the release pattern as well. 

Cult Of Chucky definitely had fun with multiple Chuckys and changing up things with the possession lore. As great as Fiona Dourif is as Nica, I have to admit that I really like her take on Chucky as well. While this might have been the last movie in terms of continuity, at least a TV series would expand greatly on the things set up here.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Curse Of Chucky (2013)

 

Written And Directed by Don Mancini

Chucky: "Twenty five years. Since then, a lot of families have come and gone; the Barclays, the Kincaids, the Tillys. But you know, Nica, your family was always my favourite. And now, you're the last one standing, so to speak."

After two movies of Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) being the love and the thorn in Chucky's (Brad Dourif) side, it was time for a new protagonist to enter the fray and it's another breakout character for the franchise.

Of course I'm talking about Danica 'Nica' Pierce (Fiona Dourif) and she might be a bigger pain in the backside for Chucky than Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) ever was. She's also notably in being a wheelchair bound final girl with a prior history to Chucky that even she didn't know about to begin with.

When a Good Guy Doll gets delivered to Nica and her mother, Sarah (Chantal Quesnelle), its not before the latter was murdered and Nica found herself dealing with the possibility of losing her home, due to the arrival of estranged sister, Barb (Danielle Bisutti) and the latter's family, not to mention the local priest, Father Frank (A Martinez).

With the priest almost killed soon after a family meal, the rest of the movie does spend time giving us bits on Nica's family. We learned that Barb's husband, Ian (Brennan Elliott) had no problem using a nanny cam to spy on his wife and that Barb herself was having an affair with the nanny, Jill (Maitland McConnell). One by one, all three of these characters are dispatched as Chucky had other plans for Nica and her niece Alice (Summer Howell).

With Alice, of course Chucky intended to use her as a human host and he did that with Tiffany's help. After being so front and centre in the previous two movies, I think it was a wise decision to scale her role back for this one. Tiffany still managed to get at least one kill in the mix during her reduced screen time.

As for Chucky and Nica, I loved their dynamic. It might be the best dynamic in the franchise with both Brad and Fiona Dourif really going for it. Nica learning that Chucky was responsible for her paralysis before she was even born as well as being incarcerated for his crimes on her family.  Nica really got put through the ringer in her first outing. In spite of that, she was well able for Chucky and she did offer a new take on the classic final girl trope.

- A post credit sequence saw a Chucky doll delivered to Andy Barclay who was extremely prepared for it.

- Both this and the next movie, Cult Of Chucky were streaming movies with the remake being a theatrical release.

- There's photos of both Karen Barclay and Kyle in the movie. The former was also revealed to be alive and no longer institutionalised.

- Chronology: Twenty five years since the events of the first movie, with footage from that movie also appearing here.

Curse Of Chucky started an entire new era for this franchise. It's a shame that this hadn't been a theatrical release as I think it might have done well. Nica might be one of the best Final Girls ever and she's by far, the most unique. The campiness was somewhat dialled down for this one too.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Seed Of Chucky (2004)

 

Written And Directed by Don Mancini

Tiffany (to Glen): "Who are your mother and father?"

Chucky: "Judging by that face, my guess they're hiding."

In the previous movie, we were introduced to Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) and she was fantastic. She also completely changed the game for Chucky (Brad Dourif) as a character but Don Mancini also felt that as well as Chucky having a wife, he also needed a child. 

This was where Glen/Glenda (Billy Boyd) came into things. At some point they had become separated from their parents and ended up in captivity, being horribly mistreated and wetting their parents. Meanwhile Chucky and Tiffany had ended up in Hollywood and that's when Glen/Glenda made the decision to reunited with their parents.

A Hollywood setting isn't a first in a successful horror franchise but there's fun to be had with Chucky and Tiffany "killing" a fake Santa Claus (Jason Flemyng) before killimg a props guy between takes. Then there was the star of the upcoming slasher itself - Jennifer Tilly playing Jennifer Tilly. Yup, let's get meta here.

Jennifer Tilly clearly does have a lot of fun in this franchise and can easily send her up here. While there are pointed jokes about her career, previous hits (of course Bound was mentioned) and her sexpot reputation, none of this came across as mean spirited. You could argue the jokes were more at the people who don't take her seriously as an actor.

Anyways Redman (playing himself) was reluctant to cast Jennifer as the Virgin Mary and when the latter ended up the victim of a voodoo pregnancy, he was quick to ditch her. Then Tiffany killed him and that was the result of an amusing subplot where both her and Chucky tried to give up killing to be better parents for Glen/Glenda.

It's a hilarious subplot because not only did both fail (Chucky never tried to give up) but Glen/Glenda naturally turned out to be as murderous as their parents. Just ask poor assistant Joan (Hannah Spearitt) who got fired, quite literally. Or even Peters (John Waters), another victim of Glen/Glenda's. The family that slays together stays together.

Except once you've got Chucky and Tiffany turning on each other and their child getting a little axe happy. Ultimately Tiffany got the happy ending of possessing Jennifer Tilly's body and having both Glen and Glenda as human children while Chucky promised to come back yet again.

- I felt a bit sorry for Stan (Steve Lawton), Jennifer's lovestruck chauffeur. He didn't get the girl and also died during a voodoo ritual gone wrong.

- Chucky mentioned Tiffany's sister and the fact he killed her mother. He also killed Britney Spears halfway through the movie.

- Standout music: Blondie's One Way Or Another.

- Chronology: Six years since the events of the previous movie.

Seed Of Chucky might feel more like a TV/streaming horror movie than theatrical (which was the fate of the next two installments) but again, I love that this franchise doesn't take itself seriously and can just have fun. This was a lot of fun. Glen/Glenda's another great addition to this franchise.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Bride Of Chucky (1998)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by Ronny Yu

Jesse: "How'd you end up like this?"

Tiffany: "It's a long story."

Chucky: "Let me put this way. If this were a movie, it would take three or four sequels to do it justice."

In some ways, this movie not only marked a new era in the series but somewhat redefined the rule set to boot. However, going by it's title, it also introduced the most iconic character in this universe outside of Chucky (Brad Dourif) himself.

Yes, I'm talking about Tiffany Valentine (Jennifer Tilly) and once she was added into the mix, the series never was the same again and I mean that in the best way possible. I absolutely love the batshit craziness that Tiffany has added to this series and this movie was an impressive debut for her.

The movie opened with Tiffany acquiring Chucky's remains, piecing him back together and then using the Voodoo For Dummies book in order to bring her homicidal boyfriend. Of course, kinky goth guy Damien (Alexis Arquette) had to interrupt things in a desperate bid to impress Tiffany before ending up as the newly revived Chucky's first kill in the movie.

On the surface Chucky and Tiffany are probably too alike to really function as a couple. When he disappointed her over not proposing marriage, she locked him in a crate with a Belle Doll. Chucky retaliated by killing Tiffany and trapping her soul in the Belle Doll. After a quick hair change, Tiffany somewhat went along with her new body.

Of course because this movie was more couple oriented than before, we needed a counter point to Chucky and Tiffany. That's where Jesse Miller (Nick Stabile) and Jade Kincaid (Katherine Heigl) came into things. That and the fact that both of them were needed for Chucky's latest attempts to get into a human body with Tiffany wavering on the idea.

As protagonists, Jesse and Jade are not quite as beloved as Andy and Kyle or later ones such as Nica, Jake, Devon and Lexy but they're decent enough. They're impetuous enough to get married almost to spite Jade's petty uncle Warren (John Ritter) but spent a lot of the movie constantly doubting each other and getting their gay best friend David (Gordon Michael Woolvett) killed in the process.

However the two of them are savvy enough to pick up on Chucky and Tiffany's insecurities and play the two off each other. At this point in this franchise, you had Chucky point blank admit that he'll be back while Tiffany ended up giving birth in front of Lt. Preston (Lawrence Dame), ending this movie on quite a note. As for Jesse and Jade, they lived to tell the tale, though this was the last we've seen of them.

- David was the first gay character introduced in the series and while he wasn't the best written, he would be a sign of better things to come, LGBT wise in this franchise.

- Fans of Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface should definitely pay attention to the opening scene.

- Standout music: Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl. Brad Dourif would go on to appear in Zombie's Halloween movies.

- Chronology: A month since the events of the third movie and set in Lockport, New York as well as Hackensack, New Jersey.

I absolutely loved Bride Of Chucky. By far, the best movie in the franchise, a superb introduction for Tiffany Valentine and the Heart of Dambala necklace and overall, the most unbridled level of fun and chaos. Even with the threat of domesticity, Chucky's at is best/worst here. Just excellent stuff all round.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play 3 (1991)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by Jack Bender

Andy: "No, you're dead. We killed you!"

Chucky: "You know what they say. You can't keep a Good Guy down."

Often horror franchises can vary with their sense. Sometimes you had to wait ages between movies (which did happen to this franchise as it progressed) and other times, it's just a year in between releases. Chucky really was proving to be quite the moneymaker. 

However while it might have been a year between movie releases, the actual chronology was eight years. Gone was Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay and now playing the character as a relatively troubled teenager was Justin Whalin. Thankfully, he did a great job in his only time playing the character.

Clearly running out of foster homes to get kicked out of, Andy ended up in Kent Military School and yet again, any time he dared to mention a certain Good Guy Doll, his fears were either ridiculed or straight up dismissed. At the same, there were a few believers.

Notably a young cadet named Tyler (Jeremy Sylvers) who made friends with Chucky (Brad Dourif) but it took him until the third act before realising what exactly his new friend really meant with "hide the soul". Yet again, Chucky survived with his blood mixing into a new doll and when he wasn't killing CEOs, he was going after people in Andy's new school.

Yes, there was Chucky's attempts of using Tyler as a vessel (guess how that'll turn out) but in between that, Chucky had fun terrorising and killing both Sergeant Botnick (Andrew Robinson) and a driver as well as causing Colonel Cochrane (Dakin Matthews) a fatal heart attack. Now that was a moment that even took Chucky aback.

The one thing I do like about these sequels is the fact that Andy gets thrown into new environments with new characters to play. Serving as a minor antagonist was the jerkish Shelton (Travis Fine) while Whitehurst (Dean Jacobson) and da Silva (Perrey Reeves) were the only two friends Andy this time around. Well, the latter did shape up to be something more than a friend for Andy.

As for the big battle between Andy and Chucky, it was nice to see him more proactive and considering that the character was aged up, it made sense. In some ways, his role was akin to Kyle's from the second movie. Once again, Chucky was defeated and once again, it's implied that he'll return to cause more chaos. 

- A link to this movie had been made to a real life murder case in England with the movie being removed from UK distribution at the time.

- Originally there was a plan to introduce multiple versions of Chucky but the idea for scrapped for budget reasons.

- This was the last film (until the 2019 remake) to have Child's Play as a title and to be strict about the specifics of who Chucky can possess at a time.

- Chronology: Eight years after the events of the second movie.

Child's Play 3 could have served as a good ending for the series overall. It certainly felt like a good way to end Andy's story with follow up movies pivoting the franchise in interesting directions overall. For a film that's supposed to be Mancini and Dourif's least favourite, it's pretty good actually.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play 2 (1990)

 

Written by Don Mancini

Directed by John Lafia

Chucky: "Did you miss me, Andy? I sure missed you. I told you we were gonna be friends til the end. And now it's time to play."

Following the surprise success of the first movie, there really wasn't time wasted in getting a sequel off the ground. Two years has passed and the factory behind the Good Guy Dolls are trying to rebuild the brand's tattered image. However a certain someone might make that impossible.

Yes, Chucky (Brad Dourif) managed to survive being horribly burned to death in the previous movie as the CEO of the company foolish had Chucky restored and some conveniently timed lightning revived him. It's not long before Chucky decided to go on a new killing spree to get to his intended target.

With two years having passed, an unfortunate Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) has found his mother being institutionalised and Andy himself being sent to a foster home, run by Phil (Gerrit Graham) and Joanne (Jenny Agutter) Simpson. They're not horrible people as such but it's clear that neither are particularly equipped to deal with Andy at all.

It's also not long before Andy and Chucky are actually reunited and the latter tried yet again to take over the former's body. While Phil and Joanne aren't helpful, Andy at least had one ally in his corner. That being of course, fellow foster kid, Kyle (Christine Elise).

Kyle's the big sister that Andy didn't really ask for but throughout the movie he definitely needed. She's something of an emotionally distant character, not wanting to embrace either Phil or Joanne and like everyone else at first, she didny believe Andy's story about Chucky/Tommy. Then when the bodies really began to pile up, Kyle realised that Andy wasn't lying after all.

The final showdown in the factory between Chucky, Andy and Kyle definitely had its moments. Chucky realised to his horror he could longer possess Andy and for a second movie in a row, he got subjected to a rather justified but painful death. As for Andy and Kyle, at least they had each other.

- Originally both Karen Barclay and Mike Norris were supposed to appear in the opening scene before the idea was scrapped in favour of a new direction.

- Parts of the movie's novelisation delved into Chucky's family backstory a bit more than what we got here.

- This was the movie that gave us Chucky's iconic laugh for the first time.

- Chronology: 1990 Chicago, two years after the first movie. An early draft had it set during the Christmas season.

Child's Play 2 really maintained the bar of the first movie. Throwing Andy into a new environment, introducing Kyle and highlighting Chucky's desperation to live all worked in this movie's favour. It's a great sequel to the series.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play (1988)

 

Written by Don Mancini And John Lafia And Tom Holland

Directed by Tom Holland

Chucky: "Hi, I'm Chucky and I'm your friend til the end. Hidey-ho!"

For a franchise that's edging towards forty years, you can forget there was a time when it wasn't as highly camp as it's current form. Back in 1988, the introduction of this horror franchise had its humour but it was a little bit restrained compared to nowadays.

Opening the movie, you've got serial killer Charles Lee Ray aka The Lakeshore Strangler (Brad Dourif) on the run from Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon) and their chase ended up in a toystore. As Charles was about to die, he used a bit of voodoo to enter the body of a Good Guy Doll named Chucky. The rest would be history.

Cutting to our protagonist, it's a six year old boy named Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent). It's his birthday and the one thing he wanted was a Good Guy Doll. That was something his mother, Karen (Catherine Hicks) couldn't afford until her friend Maggie (Dina Manoff) got her in touch with a peddler who had one. 

Needless to say, Andy soon made a friend in Chucky and when Andy wasn't the only one whom Chucky would really speak to, the latter was going around bumping off as many characters as humanly possible. Starting off of course with Maggie who got one of the most brutal deaths in the movie. However Andy's attempts to warn people about his new friend being alive were largely ignored until they weren't.

I did like that Karen went from having a believable skepticism about Chucky being alive to using her own methods of getting the murderous doll to reveal his true nature. There was something highly camp in Chucky's first attempts to kill both Karen and Detective Norris as Chucky realised that he could be killed even in doll form.

Then there was the Chucky and Andy connection. The latter even to this day and despite the many enemies the former has made does remain the most iconic thorn in Chucky's side. Chucky had to resort to trying to possess Andy in order to prolong his life, only for things to come to a rather fiery conclusion. Simply put, Chucky chose the wrong child to terrorise.

As a villain, this was a great starting point for the character. I've never found Chucky that scary but I do enjoy his menacing side as well as how manipulative he can be when trying to achieve his goals. He's also pretty funny to boot. Andy and Karen are sympathetic protagonists and while Mike is a hot Detective, he did get bested a few times here.

- Chris Sarandon who played Detective Mike Norris also worked with director Tom Holland on Fright Night as Jerry Dandrige.

- Chucky's real name does come from infamous killers such as Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray.

- The My Buddy and Corky dolls were inspiration for this movie, which was originally intended as a satire on the toy industry before becoming a horror film.

- Chronology: November 1988 Chicago for the majority of the movie.

Child's Play was a modest start to what would evolve into one of the best and most campy of horror franchises going. Chucky quickly established himself as a potent threat and both Andy and Karen made for great protagonists. Not to mention some genuinely grisly moments certainly made this movie pop.

Rating: 8 out of 10