Curse of Chucky
After Seed of Chucky I wasn’t sure what we would get. But I enjoyed Curse of Chucky. Back to the serious and evil Chucky, not the over the top comedy of the last movie. My main complaint is the lack of Jennifer Tilly. She shows up at the end. Still needs more of her.
Released: Sep 24, 2013
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: Don Mancini
Writer: Don Mancini
Actors: Chantal Quesnelle, Fiona Dourif, Jordan Gavaris
MY THOUGHTS
Women. Can't live with them. Period!--Chucky
We only get about 7 kills and Chucky doesn’t die in Curse of Chucky. However, there is a post credit scene in the Unrated version where an adult Andy shoots Chucky in the face with a shotgun. But you won’t find this scene in the “R” rated version. I thought the kills were decent and several had enough blood to satisfy Chucky fans. I think the priest’s car crash was pretty good with his beheading. I also like Ian’s (Brennan Elliot) death. An ax to the jaw. Seeing the bone sticking out is the chef’s kiss.
The first time I watched Curse of Chucky it was the Unrated version. There’s a post credit scene where it’s six months later and an adult Andy receives a package with Chucky in it. Andy turns his back on Chucky to answer the phone call from his mom. Chucky gets out with a knife and plans on killing Andy. But Andy figures this would happen and holds a shotgun to Chucky’s head and says “play with this”, and then shoots Chucky.
The acting was pretty decent. Daneille Bisutti plays Barb, Nica’s (Fiona Dourif) sister. She’s condescending to her family and is having an affair with her nanny. Definitely have a hard time rooting for her. Ian plays the absent husband/father and he is suspicious of his wife and of Nica.
I have to mention that Fiona Dourif, daughter to none other than Chucky himself, Brad Dourif is the lead and final girl in Curse of Chucky. This is her first time in the Child’s Play franchise and I think she does a great job overall as well as playing off of her fathers voice (as Chucky). I’m glad she’ll be back for Cult of Chucky.
In the beginning we meet Nica, our heroine who is wheelchair bound. Her and her mother live in this nice and big house that looks Gothic on the inside. They receive a package in the mail which, when opened, is a Good Boy doll. Soon her mother has a tragic death and her sister, with her family, shows up to the house.
There are three different stories going on. One is the family drama that occurs when Barb and her family show up. On the outside they are a good looking family with a nanny. But if you look deeper you’ll see an absent father/husband, and a wife who is cheating with the hot blond nanny. Barb wants to sell the house and with Nica’s share of the money put her in a home for special needs people.
Secondly Nica tries to figure out where the doll came from and finds out some family history that involves Charles Lee Ray, her mother, and how she ends up in a wheelchair.
All this to include Chucky killing off everybody and trying to put his soul into Alice (the first female Chucky tries to inhabit).
For the positives, I’m glad that they went back to the creepy and scary Chucky instead of the over the top comedy the last two movies in the franchise had. To help with the creepy, the inside of the house has a very Gothic feel to it and I love it. The majority of the movie takes place in the house other than the car accident, the flashbacks, and the trial. I also think the music helps set the mood and tone of the movie.
As far as negatives, I don’t think they are harsh. First, is Chucky’s look. Granted, later we do see that there is tape or something over the scars and once they are taken off it’s fine. It’s the hair that throws me off the most. Long and straight. I guess it’s maybe a throwback to Charles Lee Ray’s actual hair? I don’t know. It’s a guess and I don’t like it. BUT…..I was cool with it once he started killing.
I’m not sure if they were retconning how Charles Lee Ray was killed or not. In the original movie wasn’t he separated from his partner in crime and then killed by the detective. Curse of Chucky implies that he had kidnapped and stabbed Nica’s mother and they caught him because of that.
Despite those two negatives I think this is a great return of a serious and scary Chucky. Definitely watch it if you like the series and missed the serious side of this franchise.
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Now for the “Did you know…”:
According to Brad Dourif, he had to wear a wig and massive amounts of makeup to make him look like he did in the original Child's Play movie. Lighting was also a huge factor.
The knife Charles Lee Ray uses during the flashback sequence is the same knife Chucky uses throughout the first Child's Play movie.
Brad Dourif recorded all of his lines in less than a day.
First film in the series to have Charles Lee Ray in it since the original Child's Play movie.
The makers had a practical joke at a bus stop to promote the film. A billboard of the movie's poster would light up and an actor dressed as Chucky would suddenly bust through the billboard and scare whoever was nearby.
The longest time in the series before Brad Dourif (As Chucky) speaks his first lines (44 minutes)
Don Mancini described this film as his first real horror film as a director, since Seed of Chucky was more of a comedy in his eyes.
It is the longest film in the series.
The film makes references to each of the previous movies, including Tiffany, Jennifer Tilly, the military academy, the Kincaids and the Barclays.
This is the first time since Child's Play 3 to show Chucky communicating with a child.
Summer Howell was scared of the scarred Chucky doll so the scenes of the two together were superimposed.
The first time Chucky tries to possess a female.
This film answers some questions about the background of Charles Lee Ray.
During the scene after the credits in Andy's apartment, a photo of Kyle, the woman who helps defeat Chucky from Child's Play 2, can be seen next to a certificate from the military school Andy attended in Child's Play 3 and next to that is the original photo of Andy and his mother from the first movie.
Though not seen, Andy's mother is mentioned by Andy and it is assumed she is either married or in a relationship with Mike Norris, who is also mentioned. It is also implied that Karen got cleared between the second film and this one.
The first film in the franchise where Chucky actually wins. He successfully gets revenge on Nica's family, killing almost all of them except Alice and Nica herself, and frames Nica for his crimes, causing her to be sent to a mental institution.
Have you seen the other Child’s Play movies? Check out my other reviews here: Child’s Play Franchise.
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 4/5
Scare factor: 4/5
Enjoyment factor: 5/5
My Rank: 3.6/5
IMDB: 5.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 7.6/10 audience: 5.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.8/5