When I first saw the trailer for this straight-to-DVD release, I did not even think to believe that this film was to be any better than the previous which had come. I thought this film was going to be cheesy and just not exciting. Again, I anticipated what was not...
"Curse of Chucky" may have had it's flaws (which it has some), but for me it was a kill-joy ride into seeing the crazy, sadistic doll we know and love since 1988. Now 25 years later, he's come back with a big slash to a victim's backside! Before I properly start writing what I liked/disliked about the film, I would first like to say that Don Mancini, the cast and crew did an excellent job of bringing Chucky back to his horror roots, and attempting to make the concepts and elements of the story and doll creepy/suspenseful. I would say this it's an improvement over both "Bride and Seed of Chucky", though I still didn't find this film too scary for the most part. I also knew that this film was not going to match up to the ambient suspense of the original 1988 horror flick which I still cherish today. I also didn't find this one to be better than "Child's Play 2" or "3".
So firstly the bad sides of this film (I'd rather get this done first):
1: The aspect I noticed most is that Chucky is not remotely scary or frightening. He sometimes appears as a game model while at other times his head's the size of a turnip. His clean look doesn't look to great, where its too plush and playful. His clean look needs to play off the themes that he can be a frightening vision. The stitched look was a slight improvement. Brad Dourif's excellent voice talents for the doll are the only thing that keep Chucky going.
2: The only other small problem I would have to state about the film, was that when the filmmakers were working on production, there was note that the film was to be set after "Child's Play 3" and to be a prequel to Bride. And then there was info flying around that it was just set after Seed. So the film at times made it a little unclear whether it was set in the mid 90's or if it was the 2000's but then again, when I saw cell phones and laptops it quickly striked me that it was set in 2013. Weird hey....
On to the positives for this film: 1: Firstly, the film's soundtrack score now composed by Joseph LoDoca is just magically listen-able. It's one of the best soundtrack scores I've heard in a while and especially for a Chucky lover like myself, I was having high expectations on the soundtrack score. The last Chucky film to have good to decent music was probably the 3rd one, then again the last really good time was the 2nd one. He does an excellent job of creating a creepy atmosphere with the soundtrack score, whilst adding various elements I found which include; ambiance, circus, creepy, bouncy kind of stuff, and even a bit of funky rock with chimes. There were many elements of the music which made it a joy to listen to. My favorite parts of the music especially are the 9th and 19th tracks of the album. I found it to be very Danny Elfman like.
2: The actors were a well-rounded cast and did good at what they did. Their death scenes were also funny (not so scary) to watch as Chucky seemed to have pick up a thing for hurting people's eyes. But overall I just think that Mancini worked well around the characters to develop them to the full extent that they needed to be at, in order for us to do the typical thing that many horror fans do. Love or hate certain personalities and root for certain characters to do hideous and horrifying things to our conscious expectations. I especially loved Fiona Dourif's character as I felt I was able to connect closely with the way she was feeling about her mother's death, as well as what she thought about Chucky and her well out of whack sister.
3: The location was a well picked choice and quite a wise one at that. Very spooky and creepy house, just standing on it's own where elevators, attics, bedrooms, wide hallways and open spaces is all the necessities of a building a suspenseful atmosphere and putting the victims in danger. It was great to see this because there also hadn't been a great location for a Chucky film in a while since "Child's Play 2". They just kept it simple which I found nice this time.
Overall, that is all I can say about this well made, and quite rich sequel which unexpectedly hit audiences with many surprises. I once read an article that someone had stated "that it was the best direct-to-DVD film they had seen, and it was saying a lot". I tend to agree with the person who wrote that very much because it's also the best of straight-to-DVD horrors I have seen. For example, the "Wrong Turn" films (3-5) all sucked hard. I also find it hard to believe that "Curse of Chucky" would not get a cinema release, but instead "TCM 3D" would hit the cinemas??? That film was terrible where it had no depth at all.
But anyways, "Curse of Chucky" deserves a 7/10. It's not an award-winning flick and certainly isn't the best or the brightest of the bunch of horror films (as well as in it's own franchise), but it is a step up from most recent horrors I've seen. Give it a try... You may be surprised what pops out of the box.
"Curse of Chucky" may have had it's flaws (which it has some), but for me it was a kill-joy ride into seeing the crazy, sadistic doll we know and love since 1988. Now 25 years later, he's come back with a big slash to a victim's backside! Before I properly start writing what I liked/disliked about the film, I would first like to say that Don Mancini, the cast and crew did an excellent job of bringing Chucky back to his horror roots, and attempting to make the concepts and elements of the story and doll creepy/suspenseful. I would say this it's an improvement over both "Bride and Seed of Chucky", though I still didn't find this film too scary for the most part. I also knew that this film was not going to match up to the ambient suspense of the original 1988 horror flick which I still cherish today. I also didn't find this one to be better than "Child's Play 2" or "3".
So firstly the bad sides of this film (I'd rather get this done first):
1: The aspect I noticed most is that Chucky is not remotely scary or frightening. He sometimes appears as a game model while at other times his head's the size of a turnip. His clean look doesn't look to great, where its too plush and playful. His clean look needs to play off the themes that he can be a frightening vision. The stitched look was a slight improvement. Brad Dourif's excellent voice talents for the doll are the only thing that keep Chucky going.
2: The only other small problem I would have to state about the film, was that when the filmmakers were working on production, there was note that the film was to be set after "Child's Play 3" and to be a prequel to Bride. And then there was info flying around that it was just set after Seed. So the film at times made it a little unclear whether it was set in the mid 90's or if it was the 2000's but then again, when I saw cell phones and laptops it quickly striked me that it was set in 2013. Weird hey....
On to the positives for this film: 1: Firstly, the film's soundtrack score now composed by Joseph LoDoca is just magically listen-able. It's one of the best soundtrack scores I've heard in a while and especially for a Chucky lover like myself, I was having high expectations on the soundtrack score. The last Chucky film to have good to decent music was probably the 3rd one, then again the last really good time was the 2nd one. He does an excellent job of creating a creepy atmosphere with the soundtrack score, whilst adding various elements I found which include; ambiance, circus, creepy, bouncy kind of stuff, and even a bit of funky rock with chimes. There were many elements of the music which made it a joy to listen to. My favorite parts of the music especially are the 9th and 19th tracks of the album. I found it to be very Danny Elfman like.
2: The actors were a well-rounded cast and did good at what they did. Their death scenes were also funny (not so scary) to watch as Chucky seemed to have pick up a thing for hurting people's eyes. But overall I just think that Mancini worked well around the characters to develop them to the full extent that they needed to be at, in order for us to do the typical thing that many horror fans do. Love or hate certain personalities and root for certain characters to do hideous and horrifying things to our conscious expectations. I especially loved Fiona Dourif's character as I felt I was able to connect closely with the way she was feeling about her mother's death, as well as what she thought about Chucky and her well out of whack sister.
3: The location was a well picked choice and quite a wise one at that. Very spooky and creepy house, just standing on it's own where elevators, attics, bedrooms, wide hallways and open spaces is all the necessities of a building a suspenseful atmosphere and putting the victims in danger. It was great to see this because there also hadn't been a great location for a Chucky film in a while since "Child's Play 2". They just kept it simple which I found nice this time.
Overall, that is all I can say about this well made, and quite rich sequel which unexpectedly hit audiences with many surprises. I once read an article that someone had stated "that it was the best direct-to-DVD film they had seen, and it was saying a lot". I tend to agree with the person who wrote that very much because it's also the best of straight-to-DVD horrors I have seen. For example, the "Wrong Turn" films (3-5) all sucked hard. I also find it hard to believe that "Curse of Chucky" would not get a cinema release, but instead "TCM 3D" would hit the cinemas??? That film was terrible where it had no depth at all.
But anyways, "Curse of Chucky" deserves a 7/10. It's not an award-winning flick and certainly isn't the best or the brightest of the bunch of horror films (as well as in it's own franchise), but it is a step up from most recent horrors I've seen. Give it a try... You may be surprised what pops out of the box.
