It’s been four years since Curse of Chucky brought the notorious serial killer trapped in a doll’s body back from the ridiculous direction which Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky had taken it down. Curse of Chucky turned Chucky back into a scary murderer with a mission who would occasionally quip instead of a comedian who accidentally killed a photographer. Cult of Chucky continues the story of Curse and sticks with the return to his original roots with a few twists. As a fan of the series, I am torn about this entry into the franchise. There are parts that I loved and other parts that I really could have done without.
The story picks up shortly after Curse of Chucky ends, keeping up the continuity and even explaining the confusing after-credits scene. Now our heroine Nica is trapped in a mental institution after her therapist has convinced her that it was her, not Chucky, who killed her family. Unfortunately for everyone around Nica, Chucky is not done with her yet. As the bodies start to pile up, no one believes that it is the recently introduced Good Guy doll and not Nica who is committing the murders. Now Nica’s only hope is Chucky’s longtime nemesis, Andy Barclay, but even he is not ready for what’s to come.
First of all, when I read that Alex Vincent was reprising his role as Andy, I had a complete fanboy breakdown. Vincent took some time off of acting, but one look at his IMDB shows that he is back to work. I could not wait to see Chucky go at it with an older and more prepared Andy. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t deliver in that aspect. It turns out that Andy is a little weird and has an oddly unhealthy relationship with his childhood foe. What should have been an epic showdown ended up being an epic letdown in that regard, and Andy was only on-screen for about 15 minutes maximum.
There is a major turning point in the film that completely changes the franchise, but explaining any of it would ruin the movie. What I will say is that I didn’t love the idea that they introduced, though it opens up the possibility of the Child’s Play universe expanding exponentially. It’s also something that can be unwritten if the minds behind potential future films in the franchise see fit.
Though I didn’t love Cult of Chucky, I did like it. I thought that they stayed true to the legacy of Chucky and the deaths were inventive. Chucky has some great one-liners in the movie that will make you chuckle, and Jennifer Tilly is amazing as always. One detail that they fixed in this film versus Curse was Chucky himself. I am not sure if they used a real doll for most of the scenes or just got much better CGI, but Chucky was much more realistic than he was in the previous film.
If you are a fan of the Child’s Play movies, I would say that you have to see this one. I know that I plan on adding it to my collection when it’s available for wide release. It will be interesting to see if this was Chucky’s final ride into the sunset or if this is just the beginning for our favorite pint-sized serial killer.