Series: Child's Play

Where Child's Play successfully used tightly wound, slowly released tension to assist an otherwise outlandish premise, Child's Play 2 is content to trim some of its predecessor's cinematic fat and get right to the point (of the butcher knife, of course). I suppose that's because if you buy the idea of a killer doll once, you'll buy it again: little-to-no explanation required. As with other slasher sequels, Chucky's second outing doesn’t approach the depth of the first film, but unlike others of its ilk, this demented dollhouse offers numerous pleasures within its celluloid walls.
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It happens to every successful horror franchise: the one film that creators and fans alike wish never found its way to celluloid; a black cinematic hole so deep, even other lackluster entries in a given series can’t approach its awfulness. Friday the 13th fans have A New Beginning, Nightmare on Elm Street aficionados have Freddy’s Revenge, Halloween diehards have Season of the Witch, and those of us who enjoy the perverse pleasures of obscene plaything Chucky have Child’s Play 3.(read more...)

This may be as hard to believe as a doll come to life, but Bride of Chucky is one of the best horror films of the 1990s. Gory, trashy, funny, and truly entertaining, the film pays homage to the entire genre, is a send-up of its own predecessors, and plays out like a wild & witty remake of Bride of Frankenstein. And after the surprisingly dreary Child's Play 3 and a seven-year hiatus, it's good to see the ol' Chuckster cleans up real good.(read more...)

I can safely assume that anyone who's ever uttered "dolls aren't scary" did not grow up with a sister who played with dolls. Not Barbie, mind you, but dolls: those of plastic skin, life-like faces, rabid eyes, and ratty hair. The creators of Child's Play understand the unnerving--if a bit absurd--fear of once stagnant eyes slowly moving across a room. Or a plaything exercising its limbs... without any batteries.(read more...)

It’s hard to take a film seriously when the tagline is “Get a Load of Chucky.” But the good thing about Seed of Chucky, I suppose, is that it doesn’t ask you to take it all that seriously. In that regard, Seed is a refreshing and funny horror film that isn’t quite on par with 1998’s super-cool Bride of Chucky, but is nevertheless a skillfully conceived entry in the long-running Child’s Play series.(read more...)