Review: Curse of Chucky

25 years have passed since Chucky first broke out of his Good Guy doll box and into the nightmares of filmgoers across the world. 

The first Child’s Play (1988) was an instant success introducing audiences to the foul mouthed doll possessed by the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Two years later, Child’s Play 2 was released to a positive reception, solidifying his status as a horror icon. Surprisingly, the studio followed up Part 2’s success by releasing the lackluster Child’s Play 3 only one year after part 2 hit theaters. After that Chucky laid dormant until 1998’s Bride of Chucky, which reintroduced Chucky to viewers along with his murderous bride, Tiffany. The film was a dark horror comedy that brought Chucky front and center as the star of the film. While many fans debated whether it was the right move to make turning the series into more of a self-aware comedic story with a shocking ending no one saw coming, Bride was a hit. After some studio shuffling Seed of Chucky was green lit and directed by series writer Don Mancini. The film, which further entrenched the series in comedy, had good intentions with Don Mancini valiantly doing everything he could with a limited budget, but was poorly received and effectively killed off Chucky for the next 9 years. 

Talk of a horror centric remake surfaced a few years back, but after rights issues between studios arose, that idea was laid to rest and a new sequel Curse of Chucky was finally announced in June of 2012. Fans of Chucky were excited, though one major cause for concern that came with the announcement was that this newest installment would be direct-to-video with yet another limited budget. So the question remained: did this matter and/or affect the quality and care that Curse would be made with? The answer: a resounding no. 

The major selling point for a diehard Chucky fan such as myself is the fact that this installment is straight horror and not full of the jokes or self-referential humor that was prevalent in the previous two films. Early on we are introduced to a family in turmoil as a result of a recent death. The main character, Nica (played by Chucky voice actor Brad Dourif's daughter Fiona), is dealing with her grief and the tension the sudden death in the family has brought out between her and her sister Barbara. As you can imagine, the trouble begins when Chucky is brought into the picture via a creepy friendship he forms with Nica’s niece, Alice. Writer-Director Don Mancini makes a bold and appreciated move with this film as he takes his time setting up the film and developing the relationships and motivations behind all the characters involved. While I have heard some people complain about the film being slow or boring, I attribute this to them being so used to Chucky being front and center in the last two installments from the jump. Here, the actors do a solid job and keep you interested in whats going on even when the main attraction isn’t on screen. Fiona Dourif is a revelation and carries the film on her shoulders with a sympathetic and believable performance as Nica. A lot of people assumed she got the job because of who her father is, while this may have been the case, she honestly was great and deserved the role regardless. 

For most of the film, Chucky remains in the shadows and it works, Mancini utilizes his one location-- a large old gothic home-- to great effect. By keeping the action contained in this one spot, he maximizes budget and gives us a bit of a haunted house vibe to the entire thing. Using stylish setups and confident camera work, he clearly shows he is influenced by classic horror filmmakers. One thing Mancini proves here is that Chucky and his alternate Good Guy look can still be very creepy when used properly. Here we are treated to a Chucky that is as sadistic and disturbing as he's ever been. When reviewing a film, I don’t feel it necessary to go into detail about the story so as not to ruin any surprises or moments that are there for fans to be excited about seeing (there are quite a few), but I will say this: there are plenty of callbacks to previous Child's Play films for fans to geek out over when they catch them, some subtle, some not, but most are welcome and exactly what fans of these films look for. 

The movie is not perfect. There are a few lapses in logic that just come with the territory, along with some character moments that I am not entirely sure how to feel about that may contradict things to a small extent from earlier films; however, these won’t hinder your enjoyment of the film. The score is generally solid, if not misplaced in some portions of the film, but there are some moments that I loved that are callbacks to the score from the origial Child’s Play. I will say my main issue lies with Chucky himself. Here, Tony Gardner who did the FX work for Seed, has his work cut out for him and it shows. For the most part Chucky works, but there are a few scenes where he doesn’t feel as lively and fluid as Kevin Yagher's puppeteering from previous films, but that also could be a result of budgetary constraints. 

While going straight-to-video, Curse of Chucky looks great and doesn’t feel like that type of film. It’s a stylish creation made with a lot of love that features solid acting and returns Chucky to his horror roots while honoring the preceding films in what is a true love letter to the fans. When you take it into account that it’s the 6th film in the series that has had its ups and downs, it’s even more impressive that it wasn’t just a name recognition cash grab like most DTV horror sequels are. Curse of Chucky actually adds to the mythos and is a worthy addition to the series. It’s a shame it did not get a theatrical release, but don’t let that discourage you from checking out what has to be a considered a triumphantly horrific and bloody return of one of horror's most beloved characters.