Child’s Play (1988)
C. – 87m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Batteries Not Included, Blood Brother, Blood Buddy
Dir.: Tom Holland
Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent and Brad Dourif
A serial killer’s spirit lives on in a doll that a single mother gives her son for his birthday. Almost a black comedy rather than a horror, this film boasts of strong performances and a smart script. Things do get a bit preposterous as the film moves on but such is the charm of it all.
Trivia: Chucky’s full name as a human is Charles Lee Ray. The name is derived from serial killer and assassins: Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald (Senator and President John Fitzgerald Kennedy) and James Earl Ray (Martin Luther King, Jr.). Catherine Hicks met her husband, the creator and operator of the Chucky doll while making this film. They married a year later. Brad Dourif recorded his lines prior to filming. When they would shoot the scenes with the doll the filmmakers would move the mouth of the puppet to the recording of Dourif’s voice that would play on set. As such, he was seldom on set. And The My Buddy Doll Line never recovered from the damage this film did to it.
Rate: [R]
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy
Child’s Play 2 (1990)
C. – 84m. / 90m. (Extended Cut) / 72m. (Heavily Edited Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Child’s Play II
Starring: Alex Vincent and Brad Dourif
Chucky takes another stab at Andy who is now in a foster home. Contrived but amusing sequel is slightly lesser quality than the first one but not bad as sequels go. There are a few different cuts of this film. The 84 minute cut is the standard release version for Blu–ray, DVD & Digital copy. A couple of points of trivia: Despite Catherine Hicks not reprising her role, she was on set to see her husband who invented and operated the Chucky doll. And: Chris Sarandon was originally going to reprise his role but it was cut out of the film due to budgetary issues.
Rated: [R]
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy
Child’s Play 3 (1991)
C. – 90m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Child’s Play III
Starring: Justin Whalin and Brad Dourif
Chucky makes attempt three at getting Andy, who is now a teenager. This is the dud of the series in this reviewer’s opinion. Nothing is believable and there is little to care about in the story (not that all the others have major plots). A waste of time for most but a must for die hard fans of the series. A few trivia points for those who care: Peter Jackson was asked to direct this film. It was the least liked film in the series by all involved. And Jonathan Brandis (It (1990) and Ladybugs (1992)) was considered for the role of Andy.
Rated: [R] – Horror Violence & Language
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy
Bride Of Chucky (1998)
C. – 89m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Child’s Play 4: Bride Of Chucky, Chucky And His Bride, Child’s Play 4, Chucky
Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Katherine Heigl, Alexis Arquette, John Ritter, Colin Clive, Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester
Chucky creates another murderous doll, goes on a killing spree with her and then marries her. Goofy sequel in the Chucky series starts the “Of Chucky” sequels. Enjoyable but bloody disgusting.
Trivia: Keep an eye open for a nip–slip on Tilly when she is dancing for Chucky. According to Jennifer Tilly the sex scene between the dolls was improvised. And: Brad Dourif adlibbed the line: “Why does that look so familiar?”.
Rated: [R] – Strong Horror Violence, And Gore, Language, Some Sexual Content & Brief Drug Use
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy.
Seed Of Chucky (2004)
C. – 87m (Theatrical Cut) / 88m. ([UNRATED] Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Child’s Play 5: Seed Of Chucky, Child’s Play 5: Son Of Chucky, Bride Of Chucky 2: Son Of Chucky, Child’s Play 5
Starring: Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Boyd, Redman, John Waters and Martha Stewart
Chucky and Tiffany bring back their gender confused son into the family business as they hit Hollywood to terrorize the filmmakers of a film about their killing sprees. An idiotic premise to be sure but there is sharp and dangerous wit at play here. Most critics hated this film but this reviewer enjoys it.
Trivia: Originally Rated [NC – 17] by the MPAA but was released [UNRATED]. And: The gender confused offspring of Chucky in this film is named Glen or Glenda, which is a reference to the Ed Wood film of that title: Glen Or Glenda (1953). In that film Wood himself played a transvestite known as Glen or Glenda.
Rated: [R] – Strong Horror Violence / Gore, Sexual Content & Language. / [UNRATED] – Strong Horror Violence / Gore, Sexual Content & Language.
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy.
Curse Of Chucky (2013)
C. – 97m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen (Orig.) / 1.78:1 – Widescreen (DVD & B.R.)
A.K.A.: Child’s Play 6: Curse Of Chucky, Child’s Play 6
Writer – Dir.: Don Mancini
Starring: Fiona Dourif, A Martinez, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly.
A dysfunctional family with a dark secret, (guess what it could be), is haunted by the Chucky Doll. Slow moving 6th installment in the Child’s Play franchise has glib and subtle humor compared to the last two entries: Bride Of Chucky (1998) and Seed Of Chucky (2004). There are no real, “scares,” here but there are a couple of good jump moments. The fun of seeing series runner Brad Dourif with his daughter, Fiona Dourif, makes this good campy fun. Viewers in the know may recognize the elevator in this film as being similar to the one in the apartment complex in the first Child’s Play (1988) film. Tilly is always a screen treat. Watch through the end credits to see a scene with Andy from the Child’s Play films (1988 – 1991). This film, Curse Of Chucky (2017), comes in an R rated cut and an Unrated Cut. Horror film buffs will want to stick with the Unrated cut, though the difference is negligible; adding up to mere seconds difference.
Rated: [R] – Bloody Horror Violence & Language. / [UNRATED] – More of the same plus an extension of the lesbian subplot.
Available on DVD, Blu–ray & Digital Copy
Cult Of Chucky (2017)
C. – 92m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen (Orig.) / 1.78:1 – Widescreen (DVD & B.R.)
A.K.A.: Child’s Play 7: Cult Of Chucky, Curse Of Chucky 2, Child’s Play 7, Childs Play 7
Writer – Dir.: Don Mancini
Starring: Allison Dawn Doiron, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Zak Santiago and Jennifer Tilly
Chucky’s daughter is institutionalized because she is believed to have killed her family. When grisly deaths start to occur in the hospital she is the prime suspect. Meanwhile Andy (from the original Child’s Play films) must find a way to get into the nuthouse to rid the world of multiple Chuckys. Just how far does the cult of Chucky stretch? An insane premise actually turned out a good sequel in the franchise. Everyone and everything is in top shape here. There is an [UNRATED] cut of the film, but again the difference is negligible from the [R] rated cut, adding only seconds.
Trivia: Don Mancini, the writer – director of this film has written the Chucky films from Child’s Play (1988) – Cult Of Chucky (2017), and has directed three of them; Seed Of Chucky (2004) – Cult Of Chucky (2017). The two Dourifs are related. This is the second teaming for them. Jennifer Tilly shot all her scenes in six days. In the film Chucky, voiced by Brad Dourif, says, “F---ing Cuckoo’s Nest.” Brad Dourif was Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). Chucky also mentions that another doll sounds like Hannibal Lecter and that he can’t believe the TV show Hannibal (2013 – 2015) was cancelled. Don Mancini wrote two episodes of that show. And finally: Watch all the end credits because there is a post credits scene with Kyle from Child’s Play 2 (1990).
Rated: [R] – Strong Horror Violence, Grisly Images, Language, Brief Sexuality & Drug Use. / [UNRATED] – Same reasons just slightly more violence.
Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy.