Back in 1988, the horror genre received one of its most iconic villains. No, it wasn’t a demon, ghost, or an indestructible masked psychopath. It was a doll. That’s right. A killer doll is one of the most recognizable horror characters of all time. Now, in 2017, the homicidal Good Guy doll returns in Cult of Chucky.
Since the original 1988 film, Child’s Play, the franchise has grown to include six sequels (including this newest film). Brad Dourif voices the legendary character who transfers his soul inside of a doll after getting in a shootout with police. The series burnt out almost completely with 2004’s Seed of Chucky. The tone of the films became more comedy based by the film’s release and polarized the character’s fanbase. To be fair, Seed of Chucky is entertaining but it’s far from the relatively serious direction of the early films. It feels more like a spoof film than anything.
In 2013, creator Don Mancini made a return to form for the character with Curse of Chucky. The upcoming sequel picks up where the last movie left off and appears as if it will maintain a serious tone. Nica (Fiona Dourif), the protagonist from Curse, returns along with Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), Chucky’s arch-nemesis from the first three movies. Nica is in a mental hospital with some of Chucky’s other victims as doctors try to convince them that the doll isn’t real. Of course, we all know better and, sooner or later, he returns to wreak havoc.
The first trailer for the film doesn’t necessarily show a lot and that’s not a bad thing. Maintaining a sense of mystique only helps the series to stay on track after straying so far from its original formula. These two newest films have both been direct-to-DVD releases which can sometimes be the death knell for a franchise (i.e. Hellraiser). However, the overall response to Curse of Chucky was very positive from fans of the series. The inclusion of Andy, along with Jennifer Tilly as Chucky’s wife, Tiffany, are welcome returns to the resurrected franchise. If the new film is well received, it will be interesting to see where the franchise will go.
Cult of Chucky is set for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and video-on-demand on October 20th. Check out the first trailer and comment below.
