As the month of October continues, the Dissection looks at the return of a cult classic franchise as it makes it way to store shelves. How does it stack up and is it worth your time and money. Well, keep reading to find out.
The Story
When a mysterious package arrives at the house of Nica (Fiona Dourif, True Blood), she doesn’t give it much thought. However, after her mother’s mysterious death, Nica begins to suspect that the talking, red-haired doll her visiting niece has been playing with may be the key to the ensuing bloodshed and chaos.
The Cast
Brad Dourif as Chucky
Notable Roles: Grima Wormtongue in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, Billy Bibbit from the film ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, and Piter De Vries in DUNE.
Random Note: Dourif has played Chucky in each of the Child’s Play films, as well as in his feud of words with Rick Steiner on WCW NITRO.
Fiona Dourif as Nica
Notable Roles: Casey on the HBO series TRUE BLOOD, a Dancer in the film THE MASTER, and a wife of a returning soldier in film THE MESSENGER.
Random Note: Daughter of Chucky star Brad Dourif.
Danielle Bisutti as Barb
Notable Roles: Mother Crane from INSIDIOUS PART 2, Amanda from the Nick series TRUE JACKSON, VP, and one of the passengers from the film remake of GET SMART
Random Note: Known also for selling Time Life disc of Disco songs, along with KC from the KC & The Sunshine Band.
Brennan Elliott as Ian
Notable Roles: Warren Saget on CEDAR GROVE, Todd Beamer in the A&E TV movie FLIGHT 93, and Dr. Nick Biancavilla from the TV series STRONG MEDICINE.
Random Note: His IMDB page picture is pretty much a spoiler for this film.
The Dissection
Yeah, there's no way the Chucky doll can get any creepier than this.
The Chucky series, or Child’s Play series, has a strange history. Starting out life as a straight horror film, it eventually culminated in a transition to black comedy that featured John Waters getting acids thrown in his face and a child that was influenced by Edward D Wood Jr’s first film about transvestism. Now, nearly 10 years since the last film, the series decides to go back to its horror roots and returns for it’s sixth iteration.
One thing to notice is that, for a Direct to DVD movie, it looks good and in keeping with the look of the series. It’s a good sign for people who worry about film franchises that lose a lot of the luster, ala the HELLRAISER series. Another good thing for fans would be the fact that Brad Dourif does return to voice Chucky in this film and the film does keep up the practical effects with the way the dolls is, although it does have it’s share of digital effects for that. More on that later.
The story of the movie goes back to the older style of movie, with the arrival of the Chucky doll and the world of the protagonists going to hell in relation to it. While it might be a big of a shock to those more familiar with the comedic era of the franchise, they’ll still find some humor still in the film, but it’s more focused on the horror aspects. There’s a lot more of a sense of the Child’s Play series, and working on the build up to the eventual murders.
Actually, it can. It still can.
Plus, the acting is well done. Dourif remains the main event player of the series, and the rest of the cast do well with their scenes, and create some interesting moments once they unite together and the story kicks into gear. One of the negatives in the film, though, are some of the effects, namely the ones added in digitally. The gore effects with those don’t look right, and lose a bit of the impact of the scenes. Also, the ones used for scenes with the doll later on go into some strange “uncanny valley” territory, but it might be up to you on how it goes. Overall, though, the effects don’t get into the way and it delivers an impactful return to the franchise of it’s old ways.
The release also comes with a good amount of extras, depending on which media you get it on. Both versions of the movie, DVD and Blu, come with a commentary track with the Don Mancini, the writer and director, as well as actress Fiona Dourif and puppeteer Tony Gardner. There’s also a making of feature, gag reel, and some deleted scenes. The Blu -Ray has a few more, with short videos on the storyboards, the effects in making the doll move, and an overall history of the series.
The Verdict
With a revert in tone, the series goes back to it’s roots and delivers a new entry that helps to revitalize the series. There’s enough to make fans of the series happy, and entertained. It’s worth a recommendation to check out before the Halloween season ends.
Contact the author on Twitter @mcoello1
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