I wrote this article for the now defunct Geek website Bad Haven and thought with it being halloween and all it was a good time to re-share it with the world in all it’s glory!
With the news recently that the 6th film in the Childs Play/Chucky series came out recently I thought it best to reacquaint myself with the previous films to fully enjoy the latest offering from Charles Lee Ray or Chucky as he prefers to be called. Over the course of 6 nights I watched these in chronological order and whilst I enjoyed them all, in one way or another, it struck me how different they all are and how I enjoyed some considerably more than others. The good thing about the series is that all films are written by Don Mancini (he even directs the last too) with David Kirschner producing each one also. This means that past films are never forgotten or ignored and the legacy and legend of Chucky feels complete. So before you can chant “Ade due Damballa, give me the power I beg of you” here are the 6 chucky moved rated from worst to best.
6.Childs Play 3
This film came out less than a year after the 2nd film and feels disjointed, like it was rushed. The whole military school aspect isn’t really used to its full potential and the character Tyler leaves you practically begging that he gets killed off. This film did introduce the notion that Andy doesn’t need to be the one that Chucky transports into, but this never gets utilised again in the series as it’s the necklace of Damballa that can free chucky. There’s too many characters introduced in this film and it feels cluttered. This is the film I remember the most from watching these as a youngster yet it’s the one that holds up the least.
5.Bride of Chucky
Apart from the introduction of Jennifer Tilly, the rest of this film just feels a bit meh. It’s not completely without merit, the cop bringing Tilly the doll and the graveyard scene at the end are worth a watch. However the rest feels very of its time, with the Nu-metal soundtrack and the introduction of the new Gothic Tiffany doll. It’s also very baggy in the middle and feels like it’s treading water and racking up kills for the sake of it. Also there a lack of children in it which takes it completely way from the original set-up and there’s no real scares either. There’s a lack of commitment on wht it wants to be, it can’t decide whether to be a campy fun horror or an actual scary horror, so it skirts the edges of both.
4.Childs Play 2
This is how you do a sequel. It’s more of the same and a little bit more. We find out a little more about the story behind Charles Lee ray and the films bowls along feeling completely like a latter part of the first film. The film progresses at a decent pace and doesn’t get ideas above it’s station. Chucky has started to become somewhat of a parody of himself at the point, as seems to be the trend with all horror movies of this era, which makes him lose a bit of his scariness from the first one. But he hasn’t went full blown ‘Dream Master’ just yet!
