I filled in one of my horror blindspots this year, which was the long-running, genre-hopping "Child's Play"/"Chucky" franchise. The quality of the individual movies was all over the place, but I enjoyed my weird, nasty journey with Chucky and friends. Below, find my rankings of all eight films, from best to least.
Child's Play (1988) - The original "Child's Play" is still far and away the best film in the franchise, because there's nothing else that can match that great reveal where Chucky finally gets to let loose on Catherine Hicks. It's a ridiculous premise, but the execution is fabulous. Chucky is viscerally repulsive and scary in this movie, to a surprising degree. Effects supervisor Kevin Yagher and his team deserve so much credit for their work bringing everyone's favorite Good Guy to life.
Child's Play 2 (1990) - Much less effective as a thriller since we know from the start what Chucky is up to. However, the finale sequence in the toy factory is the high point of the franchise for me, with the best kill sequences and some potent nightmare fuel imagery. I also have a soft spot for Alex Vincent as Andy, who I'm glad got to come back for another round. The movie also sports a surprisingly deep bench of beloved character actors, including Jenny Agutter, Grace Zabriskie, and Beth Grant.
Child's Play (2019) - The recent remake is a lot higher on this list than I had originally intended to put it, but the film really is a pretty good watch on its own. The actors are all solid, especially Audrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry. Chucky being the result of misused smart technology works decently enough, plotwise. The biggest problem is that the redesigned doll voiced by Mark Hamill doesn't hold a candle to the original Chucky. The new guy just doesn't have as much personality or panache.
Seed of Chucky (2004) - This one is a lot of fun as a Hollywood spoof, with Jennifer Tilly getting a chance to make fun of herself. It's not great as a "Chucky" film, however, especially if you're here for the horror and gore. Also, the new character of Glen/Glenda voiced by Billy Boyd didn't work for me at all. What pushed this one over the top, however, was the participation of John Waters and the weird finale - which is the closest thing to a happy ending that I think the characters were ever going to get.
Bride of Chucky (1998) - I applaud the creators for pushing the movies in a new direction by leaning into the comedy and the camp value of the Chucky character. The addition of Jennifer Tilly as Chucky's longtime paramour, Tiffany Valentine, creates a fun Bonnie-and-Clyde dynamic, and the opportunity for an epic glow-up sequence. Unfortunately, I find Katherine Heigl and the other humans pretty forgettable, and Ronny Yu's direction and I have just never gotten along (See "Freddy vs Jason").
Child's Play 3 (1991) - I didn't find this nearly as bad as the reviews made it out to be, and it's definitely not the worst of the series. If anything, the third "Child's Play" suffers from a lack of imagination, just sticking Chucky in a military academy as part of his latest attempt to steal Andy's body. Andy now being a teenager played by Justin Whalin adds absolutely nothing. However, there are still a few decent kills and Chucky still manages to come across as a real menace, which is more than I can say for…
Curse of Chucky (2013) and Cult of Chucky (2017) - These are the two direct-to video features that are officially the last in the original continuity, not counting the 2021 "Chucky" television show. And they're both fine. I understand that some fans were happy to have Chucky back in fairly straight horror films again, but it was very noticeable that the budgets had shrunk and the effects work was much more limited. Kudos to the heroic efforts of Don Mancini for keeping the franchise going for as long as he did, but by the end of "Cult of Chucky," it was clearly time for a break.
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