In RFMC’s “All Dolled Up” series, I’m taking my first journey through the seven original films, one reboot film and one TV series of the “Child’s Play/Chucky” franchise. Spoilers follow.
Overall impressions
Willing to adjust to fan response and what’s popular, writer-director Don Mancini embraces the “Sinister” (2012) and “Conjuring” (2013) style of ancient-curse horror for “Curse of Chucky” (2013), the sixth entry. (It beats another haunted-doll film, “Annabelle,” to the theater by a year.) That said, it’s original and clever in the margins, with a great new character who is stalked by Chucky, Nica (Fiona Dourif, Brad’s daughter).
Not merely one of those saga creators who takes the full reins once the series gets more cranked-out, Mancini shows directorial flair, starting with the opening-credits kill wherein the family member’s shocked reaction is seen in a reflection in the pool of blood. A dinner scene where we wonder which bowl of chili has the rat poison in it is Hitchcockian, and later we get an excellent modern use of horror via computer video chat. Only some missteps in the denouement hurt the final result.
“Curse of Chucky” (2013)
Director: Don Mancini
Writer: Don Mancini
Stars: Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Brad Dourif
Outsider status
Disabled people. Nica is a paraplegic due to a spinal cord injury; she uses a wheelchair and lives with her mother, Sarah (Chantal Quesnelle). She’s presented as a sympathetic outsider when a delivery man flirts with her and she believes no one would want to date her because she’s disabled (while every geeky “Chucky” fan in the audience wishes to date her).
The film smoothly shows how much Nica can do for herself when assisted by accommodations such as a wheelchair elevator and lower kitchen counter spaces. A lot of the annoyances are mental and psychological, such as her sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti) desiring to move Nica to an assisted-living home.
“Curse” goes too far with emphasizing a disabled person’s abilities, as a judge and jury wrongly believe Nica, who has no use of her legs, is the mass murderer of a house full of able-bodied people. By the “Well, no one else could’ve done it” theory, why does the kid (Summer Howell as Alice) – who was hiding in the closet the whole time – get off the hook?
LGBTQ people. In a fun twist, it’s not Ian (Brennan Elliott) who is cheating with nanny Jill (Maitland McConnell), it’s his wife, Barb.
Comedy quotient
95 percent horror, 5 percent comedy. After the brazen Hollywood satire “Seed of Chucky,” we’re back in horror mode, although it leans toward moody curse horror over slasher horror. We get a large manor house, a seemingly perpetual thunderstorm, a curse storyline, the tension of Chucky sneaking about, and gruesome kills. There’s no comedy other than our general chuckles about a killer doll.
Magic and the dolls
Initially, it seems Mancini is skipping over the explanation of how Chucky – seemingly dead and of no more interest to Tiffany (now inhabiting the body of Jennifer Tilly) in “Seed” — has been revived. But we get it in a neat flashback at the end: Tiffany – repeating her “Bride of Chucky” scheme of acquiring the police evidence via sex appeal — has put Chucky back together again and mailed him to Sarah and Nica, who have a connection to Charles Lee Ray.
Special effects
In the 1980s, Charles had kidnapped Sarah and killed her husband. The expansion of the mythology is nice, but using a 60-something Brad Dourif to reprise his role as a 30-something Charles is a big ask of the audience. This would’ve been an ideal time for a de-aging effect, but the tech and budget weren’t in place yet. Another solution should’ve been found.
Chucky’s mouth shape and facial expressions seem a little off, like the budget has been trimmed. The in-universe explanation works out OK, as he’s been reconstructed by Tiffany. And it allows for the scene of Fiona peeling off the outer makeup to find the stitching underneath.
Best kill
Chucky offing nanny Jill via dumping rainwater on the floor, where there’s an electrical socket, and electrocuting her, is fine. But what’s really impressive is Mancini’s buildup. Jill and Barb are video sexting within the same house, having to be silent because Barb’s husband is next to her and Jill is in the sleeping kid’s room. So when Chucky sneaks up behind Jill, Barb can only try to use gestures, she can’t say anything out loud.
Best one-liner
“Women. Can’t live with ’em. Period.” A twist on the saying, and befitting Chucky’s misogynistic character.
References and meta commentary
“Curse” seems influenced by the resurgence of moody ancient-curse films set in an isolated house, wherein the protagonist compiles the big picture via old newspaper clippings, namely “Sinister” and “Conjuring.” Chucky slots in nicely as the possessed object, and this is an appropriate time to expand his mythology.
The wheelchair elevator, with its open slats, calls to mind the old-fashioned lift in the apartment building from the original “Child’s Play.” “Curse” also repeats the original’s conceit of Chucky whispering horrible things to the kid, who repeats those things to the shocked adults.
Continuity and predictions
The conclusion hurls a lot of information at us, as we learn Tiffany (in Jennifer Tilly’s body) is the one who resurrected Chucky. Although “Curse” has a few wonderfully directed sequences, it’s clunky at other points. And I felt there was something missing: the Tiffany-Chucky interplay. It’s fine to take a one-film break from it, especially if you have a likeable lead and a colorful cast, but if Mancini intends to get back to the bickering couple in “Cult of Chucky,” no complaints from me.
We also get a blast of sequel-baiting that’s both very cool and easy to miss. Andy, the kid from the original trilogy, is back, and on the prowl for Chucky. He’s still played by Alex Vincent, from the first two movies, but with so much time passed, I did not make the connection and only learned who he is via internet research.