Remembering the first time I saw Child’s Play when it was playing in theaters back in 1988, waiting
for that scary reveal when Chucky finally comes to life in front of his
victim’s eyes and making everybody scream in their seats, that memory always
comes back whenever I pop in any of the films from that franchise. Not only was that 20-year-old version of me
freaked out by the film back then, I was also analyzing how the filmmakers were
able to make the doll walk and run and stab and kill…I was mesmerized by the
logistics of the scenes and how the special effects worked and here I am, still
with that wonderment. Of course, I know
a lot of special effects are achieved with CGI or digital removal of wires and
cables, but I’m still drawn back to those times in the 80s when I’d head over
with some friends to see the latest slasher.
So, after 29 years, Chucky is still at it in his latest
adventure in the seventh outing of the Child’s
Play franchise. To me, Seed of Chucky was the least
entertaining of all the films, which took the story into a weird Meta
direction, but I love this franchise and always visit it every Halloween
season. Now I have another entry to add
to my playlist that I’d purchased sight-unseen.
Was the purchase a win?
Let’s synopsize first…
After being accused of murdering her family, Nica (Fiona
Dourif) is sentenced to an asylum and begins to believe—after many therapy
sessions and shock treatments—that she was guilty of her family’s demise. But soon, grizzly deaths start to occur and
she then realizes that what her psychiatrist, Dr. Foley (Michael Therriault),
convinced her was illusion—that Chucky (Brad Dourif) was a living killer
doll—may, in fact, be real after all.
Instead of an entirely different storyline for a sequel
or—perish the thought—a reboot of the franchise all together, writer and
director Don Mancini gives us something fresh and takes the idea of Chucky in
another direction, just as thrilling and fun as the original. Cult of Chucky follows closely after
the events in the previous entry and gives us the rest of the story after the
events of the previous film.
The crux of the story takes place in the asylum with Fiona
Dourif reprising her role as Nica, which was nice to see her again and to see
what was the result of her incarceration was at the end of the last film. Added to the mix of this story are five main
characters: the psychiatrist—Dr. Foley—who is stationed at the institution,
Angela (Marina Stephenson Kerr) is an older patient who thinks she’s dead,
Claire (Grace Lynn Kung) another patient with anger issues but looks out for
the well-being of her friends there in the asylum, Michael (Adam Hurtig) has a
multiple personality disorder and takes a liking to Nica, and Madeleine
(Elisabeth Rosen) who is clearly disturbed as she’s confined for smothering her
baby to death. Some of these characters
are presented as red herrings to the plot at times, but all add to the plot
intrinsically.
Besides the key narrative of the story, we also get a
subplot involving a familiar face in the earlier films of the franchise. In the previous entry, Curse of Chucky, there was an after-credits scene for which some of
you might’ve waited. It was a short
scene where we see Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent, reprising his role from the
first two movies) grown up and living on his own. He receives a large parcel which turns out to
be Chucky paying a visit to his old friend and trying to tie up loose
ends. Andy, of course, gets the upper
hand and ends up blasting Chucky away with a shotgun, knowing full well that
the package was in the shape of the Good Guys Doll packaging. Well, fans of the Child’s Play series loved it, so the filmmakers had to have him
return in this sequel to be Chucky’s “Dr. Loomis” as the one who knows how to
defeat the doll by planning ahead.
Back as well is Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany (the logistics of
her return is a little confusing, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions
when you watch this) and hasn’t missed a beat as Chucky’s girlfriend. She’s in this for a glorified cameo, but adds
the evil levity for which she brought to the franchise back in Bride of Chucky.
One can’t say that this movie is scary or spooky in any way
(although there are a few stirring moments)…the original achieved that and
everyone knows the character already as Chucky had become a household name
years ago. But there is a bit of a
mystery here and you really don’t know what’s going to happen or where the
story is going until later in the film.
Before I get to my overall thoughts of this movie, I’ve just
got to say how amazing it is that this franchise is still going strong and not
losing any steam. Being that Chucky is
one of the Titans of Terror—alongside Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger,
Leatherface, Michael Myers, et al—he’s the only one who hasn’t had a rebooted
or remade movie. Cult of Chucky is
actually a continuation of the story set in motion in 1988—that’s amazing!
My final “bit” on Cult of Chucky?
I had a lot of fun with this film, enjoying the dark humor
and thrills, along with the inventiveness of the story. Rather than ignoring the whole voodoo ritual
that started this whole franchise, Mancini embraces it and uses it even
further. Brad Dourif still has what it
takes to bring the killer doll to life and it always brings a smile to my face
when I hear his quips, curse words, and all around rage on the screen. Again, it’s upsetting to see this sequel get
the straight-to-home-media treatment instead of bringing Chucky back onto the
big screen, but it is what it is—Universal Studios’ loss. Though the ending of the film has a lot to
desire, and a bit of a letdown (only because I really didn’t see it going that
way), it’s still a lot of fun throughout and shouldn’t be missed if you’re an
avid Chucky fan.
Thanks for reading!
