Curse of Chucky (2013)

Directed by Don Mancini [Other horror films: Seed of Chucky (2004), Cult of Chucky (2017)]

For the first time since 1991, we have a good Chucky film, and luckily for us, barring a few minor problems, this is rather better than Child’s Play 3.

The story was appropriately dark and had a rather somber tone, something we’ve not seen in this series since at least the third movie. Taking place entirely over the course of one night, it’s an atmospheric and confined movie, even more so because our main character, Nica (played by Brad Dourif’s daughter Fiona) is wheelchair-bound. It’s a nice change of pace from Bride and Seed, and even Chucky’s antics seem very much muted.

Pretty much everyone in the film did a good job, with my highest compliments going to Fiona Dourif, who played her character amazingly. Danielle Bisutti did the whole bitchy sister act really well, and playing a bit of an airhead with a secret, Maitland McConnell stood out also. Everyone else was fine, but these three deserve the highest praise.

Filling in Chucky’s background a bit was nice, and I thought it worked out decently well, but there are portions which seemed to disregard previous movies (such as Tiffany’s account in Bride of Chucky vs. what we saw here). That’s not a big deal, especially considering that this movie is better than Bride by a long shot, but I still couldn’t help but notice it.

This is a tense, dark movie, which is certainly a great addition to the series and a great viewing to any horror fan. While gore wasn’t the strongest point of the film, there were still solid instances that stood out. The endings, with a few surprise guests, were also nice, but the post-credit scene seems to disregard the sequence right before it, at least as far as I could tell.

Some small continuity issues aside, Curse of Chucky is the third-best entry to the series, with the first two edging it out. I liked it when I first saw it, and am glad to report that, to me, at least, it still stands strong.

8.5/10