The Super Network

CHILD’S PLAY is a series I have long been a fan of, I even enjoyed SEED OF CHUCKY for all the wrong reasons. I was interested when a new film was announced, and I felt like my heart sunk when I saw the trailer. It all just looked ‘off’ and I couldn’t quite explain it. The doll of Chucky didn’t feel right and it just seemed like it was going to be a let down. When the opportunity presented itself for me to see the film, I aimed to forget about the trailer and those feelings and I wanted to see it fresh and give it a chance. So did CURSE OF CHUCKY deliver or fail miserably? Well this film absolutely delivered the goods and then some! Chucky is back folks!

Our story here sees us introduced to Nica (Fiona Dourif), she lives in a big house alone with her mother. One day a package gets delivered, a good guy doll called Chucky. Who is he from? They don’t know and throw him out in the bin, but that night the mother is found dead. Nica is left on her own, however her sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti) and family come to the house and Chucky has suddenly reappeared. Slowly strange events start to happened, and Nica feeling uneasy about the doll investigates his origins ….

CURSE OF CHUCKY goes back to the original film is terms of a tone and how it treats the situation. We do not see much of Chucky, and he even felt a little scary again because he’s hidden a lot of the time. This film has atmosphere, the house where the film is set does feel old and almost frightening. With the one location, the film is never dull, there is always something happening as we get to know this family and see Chucky lurking in the shadows. It does take a very tongue in cheeky approach, knowing full well that a killer doll is a silly idea. It isn’t as crazy self aware and full self parody like SEED was and this was really good. There are indeed a lot of fan service moments, but they are moments that are needed and are really good. They haven’t been places there simply for no reason and fans of the series will definitely enjoy it. The film actually brings the series fill circle and you could easily watch this as a double bill with the original.

Performance wise, everyone is pretty good but the show belongs to Fiona Dourif, yes she is Brad Dourif’s daughter and like her father she is a damn fine actor! Nica is a character that the audience can get behind, and Fiona brings a lot of warmth to her. She is a lovely girl, having suffered a great loss, she tries to best to remain strong but its obvious she is a mess inside. When things start to get more intense, she is extremely believable that a doll is threatening and she is in serious danger of losing her life. The film belongs to her, she is someone to watch for. Of course Brad Dourif is fantastic, with everything he has contributed to the film.

Don Mancini is someone who has been with this series since the beginning and he made such a wise choice to go in this direction. It’s fresh, it’s different, it’s completely different to anything we’ve seen before and Chucky is almost scary. This is one of the best horror films I have seen this year, it is a pleaser and I honest can’t wait to watch it again, and again, and again! This is a great film, better than it has any right to be and it needs to be seen.

Rating: