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Child's Play/Chucky (doll films)

Started by madhair60, December 16, 2019, 01:31:55 PM

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madhair60

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on December 18, 2019, 07:52:03 PM
Until reading this thread, I had no idea they'd made so many Child's Play films. I haven't seen any of them.

I'm going to have to watch them all now, aren't I? Thanks, guys.

Yes and please review them in this thread - thanks

oy vey

CP3 done. Starts off really well. Chucky's resurrection makes more sense (can't believe I just typed that). I was glad it moved to teenage Andy. I had kid versus serial killer fatigue (Halloween 4/5 all over again). Unfortunately, another kid is swapped in later as the target. Adults are all dicks/bad actors. That military principle is no Lance Henriksen, but the climax is much better than Omen 2. A funfair, why not? Chucky's demise not as much fun as 2 but despite the middle dip "it's watchable" and you can quote me on that.

My order so far:
Childs Play
Childs Play 3
Childs Play 2


SteK

Quote from: SteK on December 18, 2019, 08:44:41 PM
Fuk me yeah, that's it, Jesus.....

Actually no it's not - scary tho....

I sometimes think I make these things up in my mind. I film I rmember was all normal re: the dummy until right at the very end, when it didn't go mad or stupid, just came alive and was relatively normal, cos it wasn't alive, it was the ventro imagining it was in his state of mind...

Bunch of arse!

An tSaoi


oy vey

Bride of Chucky was great fun. Ridiculous but knowingly so. The tonal shift to comedy was needed to sell the plot but it just about works, and it's still edgy when it needs to be. Lots of laughs - Voodoo for Dummies, Chucky's reaction to "I thought you were going to ask me to marry you" (love Brad!!!), the Martha Stewart references, the "made of rubber" scene, etc. The sequels are getting better, but I'm guessing it's downhill from here.

Childs Play
Bride of Chucky
Childs Play 3
Childs Play 2

oy vey

Seed of Chucky. Where to begin? We're into insane territory, and there are logic holes a plenty. Thanks to the comedy-horror tone it's not a problem. Once you go with the insanity I think it's a riot. There's a clear Tim Burton influence (even an Ed Wood/Glen or Glenda reference). Disclaimer: I don't like Tim Burton (except for Ed Wood) but I loved this. Starts out excellent, stays up, and ends well. It's B-rate Burton with balls, but it's shot well enough to transcend the straight-to-tv style that tainted CP3. I'm guessing it also influenced American Horror Story.

It's true a few jokes are dumb/corny but overall it's solid, self-aware and the hit rate is enough for me. I wasn't sure about Jennifer Tilly after Bride but she won me over. Billy Boyd from LOTR plays Glen/Glenda - "Sometimes I want to be a boy, sometimes I want to be a girl. Can't I be both?" There's a hint of gender identity issues but not really a focus - has Glinner seen this? Glen/Glenda is slightly annoying in the 1st act but gets more interesting.

My biggest criticism is not enough Chucky until the 3rd act - funny flip-out speech by Brad and a worthy ending. Perhaps he's wasted in the first half, relegated to corny one-liners. Apparently Roger Ebert gave it 2/4 saying it's two movies, one wretched, one funny. I say it's the best sequel so far and well worth a go.

Childs' Play
Seed of Chucky
Bride of Chucky
Child's Play 3
Child's Play 2

lipsink

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 16, 2019, 04:02:09 PM

Child's Play 2 - A disappointing and largely uninteresting sequel which is somewhat redeemed by a wonderfully grim and gory finale, which feels as though it was guest directed by David Cronenberg.  I'd bump the score up by 1 because the movie features Jenny Agutter, but alas, she remains fully clothed throughout, so the score shall remain at...

4 mangled dolls in an industrial machine out of 10


I haven't seen Child's Play 2 since I was a kid but always found it really depressing and cruel largely due to the fate of the foster parents.

Wet Blanket

Quote from: SteK on December 18, 2019, 08:49:32 PM
Actually no it's not - scary tho....

I sometimes think I make these things up in my mind. I film I rmember was all normal re: the dummy until right at the very end, when it didn't go mad or stupid, just came alive and was relatively normal, cos it wasn't alive, it was the ventro imagining it was in his state of mind...

Bunch of arse!

Wasn't Magic with Anthony Hopkins was it?

SteK

Quote from: Wet Blanket on December 20, 2019, 01:38:10 PM
Wasn't Magic with Anthony Hopkins was it?

Looks good actually but no - the one I have in my mind's eye was black and white and very 50's early 60's.....


Jim Bob

Magic is an ace film and generally underappreciated.  I recommend giving it a watch some time.

oy vey

Curse of Chucky:

Brad Dourif's daughter in the main role? Super. I'll avoid a shit Seed of Chucky joke.

I was all set to hate this at the outset:

* Chucky arrives in the post - check
* Apparent continuity error - no facial stitches on Chucky
* Recipient thinks Chucky is ugly and throws him in the bin - check
* Young kid appears and befriends Chucky - check

Then the dinner scene arrives and we get something we were missing for a long time - suspense. Though it's out of kilter with the previous two movies I like that Chucky doesn't reveal himself for a while. This is obviously a soft reboot with a deliberate shift back to scary. While I enjoyed the silliness that came before I must admit the franchise got a shot in the arm and it mostly works. Zero continuity issues (stitches explained later) and balanced callbacks imply other slasher franchises could learn a lot from this Don Mancini chap.

When Chucky does reveal himself it's suitably nasty. Brad's first line is old-school good. Overall, we mustn't forget Charles/Chucky are bad bastards and this movie reminds us. Fiona Dourif does well in the lead. Back-story reveal is okay. The movie has issues - the uneven music betrays it as a TV movie - otherwise it looks and plays fine. The end is fine.

These sequels keep getting better.

Child's Play
Curse of Chucky
Seed of Chucky
Bride of Chucky
Child's Play 3
Child's Play 2

DukeDeMondo

Really enjoying reading these reviews, Oy. I've agreed with you all the way. I think it's the most consistent and most consistently inventive and surprising horror franchise of the lot. Just keeps shooting left when you might expect it to go right, and vice versa, and it always works. And then the remake happened and killed the series stone dead. For the meantime, anyway. I hope they allow Mancini to pick up where Cult... left off at some point. Interested to see what you make of that one, an all.

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 18, 2019, 03:57:27 PM
You reassuringly are.  My response was meant as nothing more than loving.  I genuinely enjoyed reading your post.  Please forgive me if you took what I said as anything other than truthful.  I did not mean to be sarcastic.

Ah ok, well in that case sorry for misreading what you wrote. And thank you. I didn't say very much but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Jim Bob

Quote from: DukeDeMondo on December 20, 2019, 07:04:01 PM
...then the remake happened and killed the series stone dead. For the meantime, anyway. I hope they allow Mancini to pick up where Cult... left off at some point. Interested to see what you make of that one, an all.

Don Mancini is currently making an 8 part Chucky TV series for the Syfy channel, which acts as a continuation of Cult.  It should be airing sometime next year.

DukeDeMondo

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 20, 2019, 07:12:26 PM
Don Mancini is currently making an 8 part Chucky TV series for the Syfy channel, which acts as a continuation of Cult.  It should be airing sometime next year.

Oh, I didn't know it was picking up from Cult... Well that's heartening. Although I dunno how the hell it's going to work. But then that has been the cry throughout the whole series. "I can't see how the hell this is going to work," but then work it does.

oy vey

Thanks Duke. Any more insights/interesting titbits from your interview with Mancini? Anyway good info from yourself and Jim Bob (you weren't kidding on that chili con carne scene). I just read Brad is back for the TV series. I hope it's true.

I don't think I can bring myself to watch the reboot and I'm now lamenting only one Mancini movie to go...

Jim Bob

Quote from: oy vey on December 20, 2019, 07:36:47 PM
I just read Brad is back for the TV series. I hope it's true.

It is.  His daughter's returning for it as well.

buzby

As an aside, Tony Gardner's effects company Alterian, Inc. took over the animatronics work for Chucky from 'Seed Of...' onwards (prior to that it had been done by Kevin Yagher Productions, the original creator of Chucky). Alterian are more well-known as being the company that designs and makes Daft Punk's helmets, but they also did the special effects work on Daft Punk's film/long form music video Electroma and a couple of their music videos - Prime Time Of Your Life (which got banned to post-midnight showings due to it's graphic content) and Technologic, which features the skinless skeleton of the Chucky animatronic from 'Seed Of.

DukeDeMondo

Quote from: oy vey on December 20, 2019, 07:36:47 PM
Any more insights/interesting titbits from your interview with Mancini?

I don't know how insightful any of it is - this happened away back in 2005, I didn't really know what I was doing - but if nobody minds I'll post the pertinent bits here for the site on which the interview was initially published fell to the flames a long time ago.

So here is most of what was said:

Me: How influential were the likes of Scream in your decision to adopt a much more ironic, self-referential tone for Bride Of Chucky?

Don Mancini: Very influential.  In fact, it really was the success of Scream in 1997 which prompted Universal to make another "Chucky" film. That said, I had already flirted with said ironic tone in several early screenplays. For example, the first draft of Child's Play 2 in 1990, included the scene in the evidence depository, where we glimpse Freddy's glove, Jason's hockey mask, Leatherface's chainsaw, and Michael Myers's mask.  The scene was never filmed, but I recycled it for Bride, just in time to take advantage of the post-Scream era's vogue for self-referential horror flicks.

Me: Was there any opposition from the studio or the fans, with regards this radical turnaround, from the relatively straight-ahead slasher fare of the first three pictures to the pitch black meta-comedy of the fourth?

DM: Yes, there was. Some genre fans seem adamantly opposed to mixing comedy with horror, and the studio is wary of alienating that faction -- justifiably so, since they represent a significant portion of the audience.  But after the first three Child's Play films, I felt that we'd tapped out the concept's potential for truly disturbing scares, and besides, I didn't want to go on repeating myself; I wanted to do something different.  So we decided to embrace the inherent absurdity of the concept, while taking advantage of the opportunity to explore Chucky as a more fully-rounded character. Some people prefer the earlier, more straightforwardly scary films; others prefer the black comedy of Bride and Seed.  I like both, and the nice thing is, by creating and exploring these characters, I've had the opportunity to make five very different films.  I mean, Child's Play and Seed of Chucky represent virtually different genres of filmmaking.

Me: What did you make of the controversy surrounding Childs Play 3 a decade or so ago over here in the UK, when it was effectively, if unofficially banned in the wake of the murder of Jamie Bulger?

DM: No one wants to feel even tangentially connected to such a tragedy, and I was relieved when it was revealed in court that the two children had not, in fact, seen Child's Play 3. But regardless, these films carry "restricted" ratings for a reason: they are not meant for young children, and it is the parents' responsibility to exercise discretion in these matters.

Me: Brad Dourif has been part of the series since inception. How important is he to the character of Chucky, far as you're concerned?

DM: Brad is indispensable -- a great actor who has made the role his own.  And when it came time to write the sequels, I was certainly influenced by Brad's performance in the first film.  Like Jennifer Tilly (and now Billy Boyd), Brad doesn't condescend to the material, as many actors might; he treats the character very seriously.

Me: Barring an episode of Tales From The Crypt, Seed Of Chucky is your first directing gig, right? I absolutely loved it, it seemed almost like a gothic fairy-tale at times, particularly the early scenes where Glen / Glenda is embarking upon his quest. Like some sort of androgynous Pinocchio character. Visually, what were you aiming for with this? It's a lot more lavish than earlier entries, I would venture, even though much of the action takes place in fairly confined environments.

DM: Actually, I didn't direct that Tales From the Crypt -- I don't know how that rumour got started. I co-wrote the episode, and it was directed by Jack Sholder (The Hidden, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2).  I had directed some second-unit stuff on Bride of Chucky (including the birth of the baby at the end), and that led to my getting the gig on Seed.  I'm glad you saw it as a "gothic fairy tale"; I was certainly aiming for that sort of thing. I wanted to create a somewhat stylized world for the dolls to inhabit, since the dolls themselves are, after all, sort of stylized distortions of human beings. (For that matter, so is Jennifer Tilly!) This sort of material wouldn't really work in a  completely naturalistic-looking environment.  It's interesting and gratifying that you saw the film as being "more lavish than earlier entries," because Seed was the least expensive of all the "Chucky" films, and FAR less expensive than Bride. With limited money and resources (we shot in Romania), we had to figure out a way to  turn this liability into an asset. Setting sixty-to-seventy per-cent of the story inside one house was key, but given that constraint, it was important to somehow provide constant visual interest and variety.  So, Jennifer's house is a  massive, Spanish Colonial-cum-Gothic space, with huge rooms looking onto other huge rooms in the background, all with bold, contrasting colors -- Argento's Suspiria was an inspiration here. 

Me: One of the more striking things about Seed Of Chucky, and Bride also, is that, as you yourself have stated, they really aren't horror films, but kind of comic horror riffs on particular sub-genres, i.e., the lovers-on-the-run flick and, in this case, the palpably acidic family-in-crisis drama. Like Kramer Versus Kramer or whatever. Care to elaborate on this?

DM: With both of these movies, I tried to approach the story in terms of character.  The addition of Tiffany in Bride, and now Glen in Seed, allows us to see new sides of Chucky's character.  That was the most important thing.  Bride could also be called "Chucky's In Love," and since both characters are serial killers, it seemed that the best, most FUN way to explore that dynamic was by spoofing the venerable "criminal lovers-on-the-run"  genre.  Since Seed is about families, I couldn't resist the opportunity to parody the prestigious "family drama"  genre, with its extended dialogue scenes, as family members argue and shout, and stalk around rooms.  Doing  this sort of thing with puppets seemed funny and, just as important, original.

Me: Another of the many great things is the continued presence of Jennifer Tilly. What was her reaction when she read her "real-life" character in Seed? And also, has Julia Roberts responded?

DM: Before I could begin writing Seed, I of course had to make sure Jennifer was into this idea. We'd become  friends by this point, so I was pretty sure she'd embrace it. But I was surprised -- and thrilled -- by how gleeful she was about spoofing herself. She pushed me to go farther and farther with the character's outrageousness; at times, we had to pull back, in order to ensure that the character would remain sympathetic to the audience! (Jennifer recounts a few details in her hilarious on-set diary, which will be featured on the DVD.)  We haven't heard anything from Ms. Roberts, although in the scene in which Jennifer accuses Julia of sleeping with her director, the studio advised us to add Hannah Spearritt's line "Jennifer, you know that's not true," in order to avoid truly offending Her Highness.

Me: Seed seems to offer a conclusion to the saga, of sorts. Is this the end of the line for Chucky and Tiffany?

DM: God, I hope not. I want to remodel my house.

Me: Far as I can see, the reaction to the character of Tiffany since Bride has been hugely positive on the whole. Did you envision the character being so popular, or was it initially just a kinda gimmick for that instalment, to be dropped far side of the closing credits?

DM: I wrote the part of Tiffany with Jennifer in mind. I knew that if she played the role, Tiffany could become Gracie Allen to Chucky's George Burns. I hope that they'll remain a venerable demonic duo.

Me: Far as I can tell, Bride Of Chucky got off with a PG rating in Singapore, yet Seed has been rated M18. Something of an achievement, right there. You succeeded where Ronny Yu failed. 

DM: The violence in Bride was intentionally stylized and aestheticized in a De Palma-esque manner. (Example: Tiffany's electrocution in the bathtub, with the soap bubbles wafting through the air. I originally wrote that scene in my first draft of Child's Play.  It took me over a decade to get it on-screen, and Ronny did a great job with it.)  With Seed, in my quest to do something new with the series, I wanted to make a movie in the tradition of Evil Dead II and Dead Alive -- something so gory and splatterific, it makes you laugh.

Me: As Kit Du Bois, you penned the seminal Cellar Dweller. What about a sequel to that right there? Maybe something about all these comic book movies getting made, and someone makes a Cellar Dweller flick and  then for fuck sake, all hell breaks loose next?

DM: Keep it quiet, man!  I used a pseudonym on that flick for a reason!



And that's that.

Jim Bob

Great stuff, DukeDeMondo.  I really enjoyed reading that.

(and no, I'm not being sarcastic)

DukeDeMondo

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 21, 2019, 01:10:40 AM
Great stuff, DukeDeMondo.  I really enjoyed reading that.

(and no, I'm not being sarcastic)

Thank you, Jim Bob, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

oy vey

That was a little bit of geek heaven, thanks Duke! That made Seed even better for me.

I just finished Cult...

It's clear Mr. Don's been evolving and flexing his producing, directing and writing chops. He's constantly trying new things throughout these movies and it's been a joy. I don't think there's been a fuck-up at any point. CP2 was a little derivative but I forgive it due to the factory climax. Cult was not quite Curse for me but it was compelling (if a little choppy). There's not quite enough Brad but that's not fair of me to complain about given the fact it's effectively an ensemble piece. Actually, there's plenty of Brad in a couple of scenes at the end, hehe.

The asylum setting was reminiscent of John Carpenter's The Ward but thankfully there was a lot more to bite into. I won't spoil the new idea Mancini brings to Chucky's antics but it worked really well. He used established characters effectively. I'm not entirely sure about Alex Vincent (continuity geek-out aside) - he felt a bit wooden (and he disappeared for a while). Otherwise I loved the beginning and climax and how his character tied into it. Fiona Dourif is great. Genetics innit? Jennifer Tilly also superb (aging well, isn't she?).

The original music is better than Curse and the pace of the story is zippy. I like that these movies are lean and mean at approx 90 minutes each. To be honest, an 8-episode TV series is the next logical step. I have full faith in Don Mancini. He seems to be on fire when he gets to do whatever he wants. The Chucky franchise is one of the best (if not best) horror franchises out there: no continuity issues between movies, steady build of interesting characters, wild mix of styles, Brad.

"He'll be back. He always comes back."

Child's Play
Curse of Chucky
Seed of Chucky
Cult of Chucky
Bride of Chucky
Child's Play 3
Child's Play 2

Replies From View

Quote from: oy vey on December 18, 2019, 08:43:21 PM
CP3 done. Starts off really well. Chucky's resurrection makes more sense (can't believe I just typed that). I was glad it moved to teenage Andy.

I liked the furnace scene where the toys were like AH MAN WE ARE SOLEMNLY FACING DEATH HERE and then they were rescued.

madhair60

Would argue this is the best slasher series honestly.

Jim Bob

Quote from: madhair60 on December 23, 2019, 06:09:54 PM
Would argue this is the best slasher series honestly.

It's probably the only slasher series I have any interest in.  I can't think of another, off the top of my head.

EDIT: Unless The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho count as slashers?

madhair60

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 23, 2019, 06:42:02 PM
It's probably the only slasher series I have any interest in.  I can't think of another, off the top of my head.

EDIT: Unless The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho count as slashers?

I wouldn't under my incredibly nebulous criteria, but I will say that I rate Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 more than most.

I've got time for Nightmare on Elm Street, as well. Mostly 1 and 3. And 7. Bye

oy vey

Best slasher for sure, and I would include Psycho and Texas. All the slashers I'm familiar with have some dogshit movies and occasional continuity issues. Halloween is the worst for both of those. 2, maybe 3 good flicks.

The Scream movies flow but there's no memorable antagontist/protagonist to form a central spine (sorry Neve Campbell). I haven't seen the TV series. Friday 13th has 3 decent flicks maybe?

Opening out from slasher to general horror I only hesitate to crown Chucky for my love of the Evil Dead franchise. But with continuity issues again, CP wins points. I'll wait for the TV series to fairly compare. And hey, does there have to be a favourite?

Sorry to harp on continuity but when it fails it does feel like producers/writers/directors are either lazy, ill-informed or couldn't give a fuck. Don Manchini proves you can write your way out of any corner, and that every plot development is a later opportunity. I'm really glad I did the marathon.

I'll get around to the remake, but what now for fucked up doll recommendations... Are the Annabelle movies any good?

Jim Bob

Quote from: oy vey on December 23, 2019, 07:50:05 PM
Opening out from slasher to general horror I only hesitate to crown Chucky for my love of the Evil Dead franchise.

Oh heavens!  If we're ranking the Chucky movies alongside all of horror, then they wouldn't even break the top 50 for me.

oy vey

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 23, 2019, 08:03:13 PM
Oh heavens!  If we're ranking the Chucky movies alongside all of horror, then they wouldn't even break the top 50 for me.

As whole franchises? Which ones are you thinking of? Alien?

madhair60

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 23, 2019, 08:03:13 PM
Oh heavens!  If we're ranking the Chucky movies alongside all of horror, then they wouldn't even break the top 50 for me.

The way I see it you've got horror and you've got horror, where one is "prestige" and actually scary, and you've got goofy horror like Chucky, NOES, etc. If we're talking silly shit I put Chucky pretty high on the list!