Summary:
Several years after Chucky and Tiffany were last killed, their child returns to resurrect them. The family then terrorizes a movie production based on their previous murder sprees.
My Thoughts:
This is the best Chucky movie since the first film, and for fans that follow the series primarily for Chucky; this might be the best film of the series, full stop. This is easily the cleverest of the series as far as writing goes, both in terms of setting up jokes, and in terms of actual character development. It also introduces fresh ideas and characters to a series that has, for the last several entries, been somnambulant. The reason?
They finally gave Don Mancini the reigns.
If you look at Don Mancini’s writing credits- heck, pretty much all of his credits- they all revolve around “Child’s Play” or some kind of Chucky spinoff. The guy came up with the concept, and he’s stuck with it, writing every subsequent sequel up until even the last film where Brad Dourif (“Blue Velvet”) voiced Chucky (he wasn’t tapped to write the 2019 “Child’s Play” remake). Chucky is clearly Mancini’s passion project, but I honestly think the series has been rather aimless- we just watch Chucky go around slaughtering random people, never changing or moving the plot forward- that is, until this entry…
This entry has homages to other horror films, inventive ideas, and some genuinely hilarious moments. Is it a good movie? I mean, no, not really, at least not when compared to actual good movies, but as a Chucky movie, as a killer doll flick, this is easily one of the best movies in the series thus far, and thus far it’s the only one that I would actually recommend other than the first one.
“They’re executing Martha Stewart this morning.”
After the events of “Bride of Chucky”, wherein both Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, “Tideland”) and Chucky (Dourif) were killed, their offspring, a doll lacking anatomy named Glen/Glenda (Billy Boyd, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”) is adopted by a sideshow circus performer and used as a ventriloquist doll. Believing he is meant for something more than a sideshow routine, Glen/Glenda heads to Hollywood where he resurrects Chucky and Tiffany. The killer dolls try to reevaluate their morals and quit killing once and for all, to set a better example for their child. However, as the dolls watch a film being developed about their murderous exploits, they soon find it difficult to let the film continue without their involvement.
Back when I reviewed the first “Child’s Play” I talked about how I would most likely watch at least through this entry in the series because John Waters (“Multiple Maniacs”) and Billy Boyd were involved in this entry. Boyd lends his voice to Glen/Glenda, and there were plenty of comedic moments in the film that spawned from him, but Waters’ character was actually one of the main kills of the film, and as a huge Waters fan, I found his cameo to be pretty great. However, I honestly was more surprised and found it funnier that Jennifer Tilly plays a washed out version of Jennifer Tilly in this movie. The kind of meta-humor that has sort of always pervaded this series really hits the pique level in this movie.
Humor has always been what brings me back to this series. I suppose to find incredibly graphic and violent deaths amusing, you have to be a rather large horror fan and have a kind of twisted sense of humor, which, I am and I do. Chucky is an incredibly gross, unlikeable character, and that’s why I like him. He’s so repulsive that he almost becomes endearing (much like Divine’s characters in many of John Waters’ films). But while humor has brought me back to this series, I know the films are bad, mostly because the first four entries in the series had exactly the same plot: Chucky needs to get out of the Good Guy doll and into a human body. This film completely subverted my expectations in a great way; while it starts off being about the same thing, it ends up being a study of the family dynamics of these killer dolls, and it takes on a whole new level of meaning. Chucky and Tiffany in a sense, become stand-ins for Punch and Judy dolls, where real-life issues can be addressed in comedic ways.
One of the more relevant parts of this film actually attacks issues brought up in the #MeToo era, and this film came out fifteen years before that hashtag was ever tweeted out. Jennifer Tilly wants a roll in a film that Redman (forthcoming “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot”) is directing, and in order to get the role she professes she is willing to sleep with him. While the issue is addressed with a bit of dark humor, the nuances of the writing actually attack some of the issues in a very poignant way. There’s also some satire on modern events (modern to 2004), which, to my great delight, hadn’t aged at all; the nonchalant quip that Martha Stewart was going to be executed had me in stitches.
Another thing I really appreciated was the honest attempt at directing. When you compare this film to “Child’s Play 3”- a soulless, pointless sequel without any sense of direction or tension- you can actually see that the man behind the camera had a sense of what he wanted to do with these characters. Mancini loves Chucky, and that comes through in his want to make this series better than it is. The first scene of this film is a wonderful homage to the opening scene of “Halloween” and “Psycho”- there’s some great long tracking shots, some pretty funny moments, and it ends with a pretty great kill too. There’s also incredibly obvious references to “The Shining” and the Ed Wood film “Glen or Glenda” which sort of made me chuckle too.
(SOME SPOILERS)
Perhaps the funniest part of this film for me was Glen/Glenda’s preconceived notion that he is of Japanese decent, due to the fact that he has “Made in Japan” printed on his arm. I practically died laughing every time they brought this into play, like when Glen meets Chucky and Tiffany and begins speaking in Japanese, or whenever Japanese music played in the background. This gag is brought up multiple times in the film, with increasing hilarity each time, and that joke alone is a billion times cleverer than any of the reused/rehashed jokes in the earlier sequels.
Verdict:
I know it’s silly to say it, but I honestly enjoyed this film so much I almost gave it a 3.5/5. You’ve got to watch what you like in life, and apparently I just really like terrible killer doll movies with a touch of meta-humor. Chucky just gets me. This film might not (probably won’t) work as well as it did for me, but if you like Chucky you’ll probably get your times worth. I don’t know if I can say this film is better than the original “Child’s Play”, but for fans of Chucky, this is the Chuckiest Chucky film yet, and I am eagerly looking forward to the next sequel in the series.
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