“Hi, my name’s Chucky. Wanna play?” It’s as iconic now as anything uttered by Freddy Krueger, Pinhead, or Ghost Face. In fact, it’s a great tagline and everyone knows it.
As a teenager I actually saw the first “Child’s Play” at the theatre. It was a dark horror comedy boosted by several surprisingly good performances, not the least of which was seven year old Alex Vincent. Generally speaking, we don’t see many stellar performances from kids in movies. In horror flicks specifically, child actors tend to be really bad. As the tormented scapegoat Andy, Alex Vincent was phenomenal.
“Child’s Play” was a hit. It was followed by two sequels that frankly just weren’t very good, the third outing was particularly bad. I admit, I wasn’t too thrilled with the concept of a “Bride of Chucky.” How could any such titled flick be anything but bad camp? After the trailers emerged, I decided to take a chance and went to see it at the cinema. I remember being pleasantly surprised at nearly every turn, the movie was shockingly good. “Seed of Chucky” however, was an all-time low for the franchise.
So it wasn’t without some trepidation that I ventured down the dark corridors of a sixth Chucky movie. Not only had the series played itself into the dirt, endless imitations had saturated the market in the many years since the first film. Remember “Dolly Dearest”? That was one of the better ones.
Forget the comedy, “Curse of Chucky” is extremely dark. From the demeanor of the characters themselves to the classic haunted house style directing by Don Mancini (the scribe who has been involved since the conception of the series), this sixth installment is saturated in gloom. And it is stunning to behold. The camera moves with skillful elegance and grace, every shot framed beautifully. Even the decomposing old home it’s set in is given a dreamlike, shadowy polish.
Mancini takes a cue from the eerie nightmares of the 80s horror heyday and breathes nostalgic new life into the framework of Chucky’s world. One character even states, “Yeah, the 80s were awesome.” I couldn’t help but be specifically reminded of the look and feel of the first two “Amityville Horror” sequels, an overcast autumn day manifest in celluloid. And is that a hint of Stewart Gordon’s “Dolls” in the air? Other horror nods are present as well. The music is at times subtly reminiscent of Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” and even Fiona Dourif (yes, Brad Dourif’s daughter) resembles Argento’s ingénue Jessica Harper.
There are genuinely creepy moments, shock jumps, and edge of your seat tension. Just try not to squirm during the insanely unnerving dinner sequence, I dare you. Chucky’s expressions this time around are shudder inducing, especially effective in a scene where he watches a victim slowly die. The story itself is a slow burn of a mystery. Mancini takes his time revealing Chucky’s sinister intentions, and oh yeah it’s worth it. The dénouement, by the way, is great. For fans of Chucky, this is a high note for the series and a must-see film.
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