Curse of
Chucky (2013)
Review by Jude
Felton
Oh Chucky,
where have you been? You made a wonderful return in 1998, when you met your
Bride, and lost the child’s play. I didn’t have time for your seed though; it
seemed a bit too messy for my liking, so I had to wait until now to see what
your Curse delivered.
I, for one,
am glad to see Chucky is back, and doing what he does best. I’m still a little
miffed that they are “Chucky” flicks now, and not the Child’s Play films that
started the franchise, but they have all, generally speaking, been fun affairs
and I always have time for our favorite Good Guy Doll.
Before I talk
too much about Curse of Chucky, in terms of plot and style, I will address the
Halloween 5 factor about the new film from Universal. Remember how Michael Myer’s
mask looked absolutely crap in the fifth Halloween flick? Well, Chucky looks
grim in this movie too. Not the entire film, I should hasten to add, but it
does veer horribly into dodgy CGI territory at times, especially with Chucky’s
face.
The whole
point of these movies is that Chucky is a doll; a child’s toy and the
creepiness factor was that it was a toy maiming and killing. Hence, the
puppetry of early films served the franchise incredibly well. Once you
computerize Chucky’s face etc. you are taking the film away from its very core.
The CGI itself is fine, but Charles Lee Ray’s cherub-like face, in doll form,
is not the place for it. It does distract from the film, so if there is another
film in this series let’s get back to the look of the earlier films.
In terms of
plot, and the film itself, Curse of Chucky is a welcome return to form; it’s
dark, violent and the humor is saved for a few wisecracks, rather than the
entire tone. The action, for the most part, takes place in an isolated house,
where Nica lives with her mother. An unexpected package arrives, somewhat
randomly, and it’s not long before there’s a doll loose aboot this hoose.
You don’t
need to know too much about the plot; Chucky kills folk, okay? What
writer/director, Don Mancini, has done though is to fill in some gaps in the
Chucky history, and actually does tie events together quite nicely. There IS a
reason for Chucky arriving at this house. There are also a few cool moments
that fans of the franchise will really appreciate, so watch through to the end
of the credits. Also, Nica is played by Fiona Dourif, who herself is the
daughter of Brad, who once again returns to voice Chucky. Weird, but cool.
The look and
feel of Curse of Chucky, aside from the horrible CGI, is a real throwback to
the franchise’s roots in the 80s’. Yes, we get the Chucky wise-cracks, but the
entire feel, look and tone of the film is classic, dark and violent. Sure, it’s
filled with clichéd characters and situations, but by god it works well. This
is a fun flick; it’s not trying to be clever or re-invent any wheels, although
it does a great job of breathing some new life into this series of films,
whilst managing to throw in a surprise or two.
The film does
take a little while to get going, with Mancini going for the gradual build-up.
When it does kick into gear though there are some cool death scenes and plenty
of claret.
Personally, I
am glad Universal released the film. Some folk bemoan the majors when they
dabble in horror, but Universal always delivers the goods when it comes to the
quality of their Blu-rays, and Curse of Chucky is no exception. The film looks
and sounds great and comes with a decent amount of special features, including
some that are exclusive to the Blu-ray edition.
Curse of
Chucky, minor irritations aside, is a wonderful return to the fun feel of
horror flicks. Horror is the main ingredient here, with the humor being just
the seasoning, and it works well. I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed
the film.
So, Chucky,
it’s good to have you back; you’ve been missed. Now, go sort your face out, and
then we’ll be more than happy to see you again, sometime in the future.
Curse of Chucky is released on Blu-ray Combo pack by Universal on October 8th.
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