Chucky is still making entertaining horror sequels look like child’s play.
Chucky is back, but then again, Chucky never really left. The killer doll from the Child’s Play movies has somehow managed to make it all the way through the reboot boom of the 21st century without hitting the reset button, and he’s now embarking on his sixth official sequel, Cult of Chucky. And while the latest film doesn’t reach the madcap heights of Bride of Chucky or the creepy depths of Curse of Chucky, it’s still a worthy addition to the series.
It’s been a few years since Curse of Chucky, and the film’s hero, Nica (Fiona Dourif), has been institutionalized because she said a doll killed her whole family. Now Nica thinks she’s the real murderer, and she’s been convinced that evil toys aren’t real. But after her psychiatrist introduces a suspiciously familiar “Good Guy” doll into her group therapy sessions, everyone at the institution starts behaving strangely -- or more strangely than usual -- and the dead bodies soon start piling up.
Chucky’s spent some time in a mental institution before, back in the original Child’s Play, but this is the first time he's spent a whole movie there, and the location makes sense. It gives Chucky ample opportunity to manipulate susceptible patients and confound the staff of doctors and orderlies.
And although the plot recycles some ideas from Child’s Play 2, it eventually veers off into unexpected directions, picking up on concepts that fans of the franchise have probably been toying with for years, but which have somehow never been explored in any of the previous films (but to reveal more than that would be a spoiler).
Between Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky, director Don Mancini (who wrote all the previous Child’s Play installments, and directed the last two) worked as a writer on the TV series Hannibal, and he’s channeling that show’s aesthetic. Chucky even comes right out and says Hannibal shouldn’t have been canceled.
The film employs psychological manipulation, corrupt psychologists, unethical hypnosis and nightmare sequences that provide the series with some of its scariest imagery to date. This, combined with a few particularly memorable kills, should be more than enough to satisfy fans of these movies.
But as creepy as Cult of Chucky gets, Chucky himself is still a bit of a jokester and the film’s broad sense of humor often undercuts Mancini’s attempts at genuine horror. The filmmaking and acting style is sincere and disturbing for the most part, but Chucky (still voiced by the great Brad Dourif) and his homicidal girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) are campy characters who tend to break the fourth wall, even when it ruins the moment. And it often does.
The Verdict
Cult of Chucky is a Frankenstein monster, cobbled together from previous installments, TV shows and fan service, but like the Frankenstein monster… it’s alive. Too many horror sequels feel like cheap and soulless cash ins. Cult of Chucky has big ideas, strong performances and some moments that rank among the best in the series. The other classic slasher franchises may be failing, but lately, Chucky is making entertaining horror sequels look like child’s play.
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