Chucky’s back and more diabolical than ever! I was provided with an advanced copy of Cult of Chucky, so I made sure to re-watch Curse of Chucky in anticipation of the new movie’s arrival. I wish I could go back and re-write my review of Curse of Chucky because I feel like I was too hard on the 2013 installment. Watching it a few days ago, I can appreciate Don Mancini for reeling back the craziness that took place between Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky and providing horror fans with an effective back to basics film. It was my hope that Cult of Chucky would carry that same atmosphere and progression, especially considering Cult of Chucky is a direct sequel to Curse of Chucky. Well, I can say that Cult of Chucky is a wildly surprising and original story that delivers strong doses of suspense and gore, but I feel like the wheels kind of went off the track again. I’m going to try to keep my review as spoiler free as possible since this title doesn’t come out until tomorrow. Bear with me.
Cult of Chucky opens with a follow-up to the Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) story that was introduced during the closing credits of Curse of Chucky. Andy is a huge gun enthusiast, as seen in the before mentioned scene, and debates the second amendment right to bear arms with his dinner date. Andy’s gone from victim to survivor now in a very Laurie Strode in Halloween: Resurrection and Sydney Prescott in Scream 3 kind of way. I found the dinner date conversation to be poignant today of all days considering I woke up to the postman giving me my copy of Cult of Chucky before turning on the news and discovering the tragic mass shooting in Vegas. From there, we revert back to find Nica (Fiona Dourif) as she’s sent to a mental hospital following the events of the previous movie. She’s quickly diagnosed with schizophrenia, though the other patients in the asylum see her as a true murderer. Not that they’re any better. Through a variety of ways, multiple Good Guy dolls end up in the asylum and it’s not long before the staff and their patients fall victim to grizzly, bizarre and creative suicides and deaths. But Nica knows better. She knows Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) is back as one of the dolls and now it’s up to her to put a stop to his reign of terror.
I’m glad that Don Mancini is such a fan of keeping his films a family affair. Besides Alex Vincent, Fiona Dourif and Brad Dourif coming back to star in Cult of Chucky, Jennifer Tilly (Tiffany) and Summer H. Howell (Alice) also return to the franchise along with a very special cameo that diehard Chucky fans are going to scream for. I know I did. They’re joined on screen by Michael Therriault, Elisabeth Rosen, Adam Hurtig, Zak Santiago, Ali Tataryn, Grace Lynn Kung and Marina Stephenson Kerr. Cult of Chucky is written and directed by franchise creator and mastermind Don Mancini with producers Ogden Gavanski and David Kirschner. Cinematography was handled by Michael Marshall with Randy Bricker on editing. The last three crew-men are all returning Chucky players. Between the cast and crew that vibe and jell well together and a doable budget, Cult of Chucky culminates in what could be one of the best straight-to-DVD horror releases of 2017. I know that Seed of Chucky was a bomb at the box office, but I suspect Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky would do well with at least a limited theatrical run. I honestly have no gripes what-so-ever with Cult of Chucky from a production standpoint, though I will say once again that I’m just not a fan of CGI Chucky. He moves awkwardly and the practical effects are what made him so lovable in the first place.
My main problem with Cult of Chucky is that it does just that – it moves away from the practicality that made it such a success in the first place, especially in the 1980’s and 1990’s. I think what made the original films such big hits was their simplicity. Take a creepy killer doll, stick him with a relateble family, and watch mayhem and murder ensue. This is also why I think Curse of Chucky is such a good movie and actually ranks third on my list when it comes to rating the seven Child’s Play movies. It’s natural and homey and takes people back to The Golden Age of Horror. Now, Nica’s in a mental asylum and it’s a lot less relatable when she’s moping around a stark white yet classy and plush hospital for the deranged. I’ve never been into movies that take place in asylums – I mean, I struggled through John Carpenter’s The Ward – but this one started pushing the boundaries. It’s hard to believe that such a fine establishment wouldn’t have more security guards and the patients can walk around freely and with all sorts of dangerous items in their rooms. I understand that to continue Nica’s story we needed to see her logical path, but the entire bubble of the asylum didn’t seem realistic enough for me… especially when you dump a possessed doll in it.
Speaking on the film’s practicality again, it dives into new territory and attempts to expand on how dark Chucky can go while exploring the roots of his voodoo powers. As I said above, I want to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but I will say this attempt has a Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday vibe to it that took away from the very essence of Chucky’s motives. It quite literally makes the first three films look completely unneeded if it was this easy to transfer his soul into another living or nonliving vessel. No, no no. I’m sorry, Mr. Mancini, I respect you immensely and Child’s Play 2 was thee movie that got me into horror, but the expansion of Chucky’s character in this format in Cult of Chucky was absolute garbage. Terrible and a worse idea than Seed of Chucky. No. Just. No. I could harp on this for another two paragraphs, but instead I’ll move on to the little things I did enjoy.
Cult of Chucky is self aware, and I loved that. It’s mentioned in the movie that one of the Chucky dolls was purchased at a Hot Topic and that’s actually true because that store is the biggest seller of life-size Chucky, Tiffany and Glen dolls. The line made me chuckle and smile, and it was one of the times this movie had comedy hidden in its dialogue and plot. I’m thrilled that Don Mancini still gave us a couple laughs without taking away from the horror and brutality of the movie. I’m also thrilled that Jennifer Tilly was featured in this movie in a much bigger way than in the previous one, and I have to say she is absolutely ravishing in red. In Cult of Chucky, she shares a line with Chucky – “Fuck that kid” – and I can only wonder if it was directed at Alice, the now grown up Andy, or Glenn, whose been absent from the series since Seed of Chucky concluded. Throw in the theme of mass hysteria, a major topic in America right now, and a great Nightmare on Elm Street nod and Cult of Chucky is a wacky, sadistic pint-sized punch to your brain. It’s filled with gore, genuine suspense and hearty what the fuck moments. I really could have championed this movie if it wasn’t for the failed attempt to make Chucky a “more hands” on villain.
Final Score: 6.5
