TR Reviews horror franchises: "Child's Play"

[Lick Ness Monster]

CHILD'S PLAY 3
1991
Director: Jack Bender

As you've probably noticed, a recurring theme in a lot of these little reviews that I've been doing is the word "fun." Namely, horror movies exist for the very purpose of fun - and this is one fun movie.
Don Mancini himself, the architecht of the "Child's Play" series and a writer in some capacity on all five films (to note the impressive continuity between the films - by far the most continuous of any of the horror franchises), calls this film his least favorite of the bunch. Universal wanted its Child's Play sequels; they had asked Mancini to begin writing this film even before "Child's Play 2" was released.
Thus, this film was released nine months after Part 2. And while Mancini says that this film has "no idea", I find this movie to be wild, funny, and a whole lot of fun.
Set some eight years after the events in Part 2, this one finds Andy Barkley (Justin Whalin) in his troubled teens, still an orphan, and just sent to a military academy lorded over by a series of villainous teachers and students - all of whom are very annoying, making the ensuing carnage in the film all the more enjoyable.
Meanwhile, the Chucky doll from the previous film has been added to the mold in the Good Guys factory, and is assembled once more - and soon Chucky, voiced again by the legendary Brad Dourif, is on his way to the military school to find Andy...
This film also had a good idea in that it wasn't actually Andy that Chucky is trying to possess this time, instead focusing his energies on a younger cadet, leaving Andy in a very "Tommy Jarvis" like role in this film as the Chucky-hunter.
This movie is extremely entertaining. It features plenty of great murder scenes, a plethora of funny lines from Chucky (Don't smurf with the Chuck / I guess Chucky's gonna be a bro / Presto, you're dead!), even more impressive special effects than Child's Play 2, and yet another good Mancini script.

*** 1/2 / ****

p.s. - A lot of people find the idea that the mold used in Chucky's Good Guys doll should have been spread over more dolls - instead of just one. According to Mancini himself, this script WAS originally going to be just that - a veritable plague of Chucky dolls stalking the entire country. Unfortunately, while the budget for this film was impressive (considering the genre), it just wasn't THAT epic.

[Lick Ness Monster]

BRIDE OF CHUCKY
1998
Director: Ronny Yu

After "Child's Play 3" was released in 1991, it was a pretty rough time for horror. As Wes Craven, one of the masters of horror, so eloquently said of the genre, "horror seems to go through these periods where it's considered dead and gone and never able to come back - and then it comes back like gangbusters."
So hallelujah in 1997 to Craven himself, who brought horror back in a big way with "Scream," paving the way for a slew of other "horror-whodunnit" style films. Of course, since horror was back, it also meant our little friend with the awesome voice could return as well...
Showing great continuity as the entire series has, the film opens with Chucky being pieced together strip by strip (the result of his being thrown in a shredder in CP3) by his ex-girlfriend, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly). A former lover, and a sadistic killer herself, the two seem to be a perfect match, and indeed they are.
I'm going to make a statement that, for whatever reason, many, many fans of horror seem to disagree with - I think the character of Tiffany, and Tilly's portrayal of it, is the best thing that ever happened to this series. While I am a huge fan of CP3, admittedly the series would grow very threadbare if it was to continue with only Chucky as a main threat. Tilly is so masterful in this film and the following one. She shows great humor in making fun of herself, and all the while seems to genuinely be a fan of these films. Absolutely killer decision in casting Tilly as Tiffany.
The film's main subplot, involving a young couple (Nick Stabile and a young Katherine Heigl) being chased by the police, including John Ritter himself, also isn't half bad, and sets us up with a classic "spree-killer" storyline, as (after Chucky, of course, murders Tiffany and transforms her down to a form more befitting his own) the two murderous stowaways attempt to top one another.
This is a good movie, and I love the direction that Mancini took with the screenplay. Ronny Yu, as he would later do with the underrated "Freddy vs. Jason," shows both great style with his direction as well as a gift for the horror-humor aspect and reverence for the material. Tilly's Tiffany became a horror icon, definitely not as much as Chucky himself, but certainly more than able to hold her own. And the Tiffany doll itself - after, in Tiffany's own words, she has to "make it a little more her" - is awesome to behold.

*** 1/2 / ****

[Deleted]

Bride actually had a couple of my favorite lines by Chucky. I love the comment he makes after he kills John Ritter's character. "Why does that look so familiar?" kind of a nod to Hellraiser. I also liked his "I always come back" line.

[Lick Ness Monster]

conspiracyvictim said:

Bride actually had a couple of my favorite lines by Chucky. I love the comment he makes after he kills John Ritter's character. "Why does that look so familiar?" kind of a nod to Hellraiser. I also liked his "I always come back" line.

Wow - I thought that everybody had forgotten about this thread and that I wrote reviews last night and today for no one in particular.

Thanks for paying attention. ;D

And right after he says "I always come back!", I love how his next line is, "but dying is always so goddamn painful..." or something to that effect.

[mrprofessionalx]

I always enjoyed the Chucky series...except for part 3 which was kinda boring. I'm glad the series sort of re-invented itself for Bride & Seed of Chucky because that 3rd one was really stale. There are far worse killer doll movies than the Chucky series though.

Dolls & Dolly Dearest were just crap. Especially Dolly Dearest. They still show that piece of crap on SCI-FI every now and then.

[Jiren]

Dolls was great

Bride & Seed of Chucky were terrible

[Lick Ness Monster]

SEED OF CHUCKY
2004
Director: Don Mancini

Don Mancini was involved in some capacity in every film in this series. While he considers "Child's Play 3" his least favorite, he has proclaimed that this entry - the only film in the entire series where Mr. Mancini took on the directorial duties as well as writing - to be his favorite.
It is mine as well, as this is not only an exemplary horror film, but (for those willing to look at it outside the box) a fascinating character study of the madness of Mr. Chuck, Tiffany, and...Glen (or Glenda? Awesome reference).
Glen, the titular "Seed" of Chucky who was just seen giving birth in the previous film, is an outstanding character. At the film's open, he is in a carnival, believing himself to be a normal human being, albeit severely deformed. But we can already see the glimpses of sadness, of not knowing who he is or where he comes from, and wanting only to have an identity of his own - not to mention the fact that he does not even know which gender he is.
Meanwhile, Chucky and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), the outstanding character introduced in the previous film, are resurrected again, as Hollywood, in the world of this film, is finally making a film out of Chucky's exploits. And who better to do the voice of Tiffany than...Jennifer Tilly herself?
Playing herself, Tilly again shows remarkable wit, character, and ability to make fun of herself. For the life of me, I still cannot understand why she is not a bigger star. And eventually, Chucky, Tiffany, and Glen (or Glenda) make their way to Ms. Tilly's hosue herself...
This is such an awesome, fun movie, and what I consider to be one of the best horror films this decade. There are so many funny lines in it ("I could have been Erin Brockovich! I wouldn't even need a push-up bra!" "Awww, what's the point? I'm happy being Chucky...the killer doll!" "That's Jennifer Tilly! She has the voice of an angel!"), it contains actual character studies around each of the film's villains - as well as Jennifer Tilly herself. And the script and direction by series creator Don Mancini is excellent in continuity, as well as admitting the outright silliness of the series he created. Basically, Mancini is not pretentious at all about his work.
Cannot recommend this film enough. An absolute blast on all levels.

**** / ****

[Lick Ness Monster]

The ranking (and yeah, I like every film in this series):

(1) Seed of Chucky - one of the best horror films of the decade, and fascinating character studies to boot
(2) Child's Play - The one that started it, introducing us to Charles Lee Ray and the reason why so many kids in the early '90s threw out their My Buddy dolls
(3) Bride of Chucky - The introduction of Tiffany, a triumph in modern horror characters, as well as great support from Katherine Heigl and John Ritter
(4) Child's Play 3 - Best assets are plenty of annoying characters that you actually root for Chucky to off
(5) Child's Play 2 - Still good, although not quite as fun as the other movies in the series

[erisi236]

So are the Puppet Master films next?

[Jiren]

Seed of Chicky was one worst horror movies i've ever seen

And i have seen plenty of crap

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

I love Seed of Chucky the most in the series for one reason...Chucky kills Brittany Spears.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

Hey Thomas, any plans on doing Re-Animator?

[-Lithium-]

Why do people credit Wes Craven with Scream? He didnt write it, and the writing was the most important thing in that movie...

[Lick Ness Monster]

erisi236 said:

So are the Puppet Master films next?

Yes.