Shocktober 2022, Week 3

     In the past, my brother and I have watched through the Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street series. This year we watched all of the Child's Play movies, which was a more grueling experience then I had anticipated.   

 1. Child's Play (1988)

A less outright campy film then I anticipated, Child's Play is a solid slasher with unusually likable, grounded characters, impressive special effects and solid direction from Tom Holland (who also directed the underrated cult classic Fright Night). What was most surprising is how restrained the film is. The body count is remarkably low, and the blood are gore are kept to a minimum. The films greatest liability, ironically, is Chucky himself. The thuggish New York mobster voice used by Brad Dourif (who I usually love) lends a comic effect to the otherwise creepy doll and the more he speaks, the less scary the film is. 

Score: 7.5/10

1. Child's Play 2 (1990)

The second film in the series is closer to what I would have expected, a semi-serious slasher with a good does of camp. The blood and gore are amped up, though its still relatively restrained until the climax, and the deaths feel more mean-spirited this time around. Chucky has more screentime in this film but the film wisely remains centered on Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent reprises his role from the original) and Christine Elise is a good addition as Kyle, a fellow foster kid who takes Andy under her wing. It is less scary then the first film, and not as well-paced, but overall it is a solid sequel. 

Score: 6.8/10

3. Child's Play 3 (1991)

Andy (now played by Justin Whalin) is recast as a teenager this time around but, surprisingly the filmmakers did not decide to increase the sexual content (usually a staple of the slasher film) and, if anything, Child's Play 3 feels more benign than its predecessor. That's about the only compliment I can give this film, which is boring in the extreme. The pacing is erratic and the characters stupid and dull. The rules established by the first film are ignored (a trend which will only increase as the series goes on) and the credulity of a 4-foot-tall puppet menacing full grown adults is only exacerbated by this film's military school setting.

Score: 5.6/10

4. Bride of Chucky (1998)

A soft reboot, Bride of Chucky sees the titular possessed doll resurrected through the efforts of his old flame Tiffany (played by Jennifer Tilly). The plot is incredibly contrived and the conditions for Chucky to possess someone else's body are almost completely retconned. The main characters are bland and there is much more screentime dedicated to Chucky (as opposed to the "sympathetic" human characters) then heretofore. The romance introduced between Chucky and Tiffany leads to some really bizarre sexual content and, coupled with completely unnecessary BDSM elements early on, this makes watching the film a distinctly uncomfortable experience. 

Score: 3.2/10

5. Seed of Chucky (2004)

The focus in this installment is squarely on the puppets and the result is an almost unwatchable mess. Glen, the child of Chucky and Tiffany resurrects them this time around (in a way that, once again, ignores previously established lore) and the plot involves Chucky's family trying to attain human bodies. They single out Jennifer Tilly (played by herself) and the director she is having an affair with but to supply a body for Glen they impregnate the actress. There is not as much uncomfortable sexual stuff this time around but the series does begin to dip into LGBT themes (which will continue in the final film, also directed by Don Mancini).

Score: 2.6/10

6. Curse of Chucky (2013)

In this, the first direct-to-video installment in the franchise, director Don Mancini returns to the series roots. Chucky is mysteriously mailed to the isolated home of paraplegic Nica Pierce and her mother Sarah. When the mentally unstable mother's death is attributed to suicide, Chucky begins killing off the grieving family members one by one. It's a good premise but the film is held back by its limited budget and a rather contrived plot. Continuity with the previous film is maintained (shakily) by a third act twist which undermines, to some extent, the verisimilitude of the film and hurts the pacing via tedious expository flashbacks.  

Score: 5.8/10

7. Cult of Chucky (2017)

The last installment of the franchise (now continued in the 2021 SyFy television series) sees Nica Pierce, committed to an insane asylum after the event of Curse of Chucky, stalked once again by the killer doll.  Alex Vincent returns as Andy Barclay (introduced in an after-credit scene in the previous film), now an obsessive adult, who is determined to destroy Chucky once-and-for-all. The lore is, to use a charitable term, expanded, and now Chucky can inhabit multiple bodies at once. Chucky has become such a parody of himself that the film is almost completely lacking in genuine suspense. This is easily the most mean-spirited film in the series and watching Chucky (and even some of the staff and the asylum) torment the poor mental patients makes for tedious viewing.

Score: 4/10