Review of Curse of Chucky (2013) by Mario R — 21 Oct 2013

One can't really call this a return to form for the Child's Play franchise. It's a departure from the goofy Bride/Seed of Chucky movies but it comes across as a spiritual remake of the original Child's Play. Plot-wise it's a sequel, but it rings of that "What if this horror movie were first made today" vibe. A modern day interpretation of a classic. It goes through familiar motions but the film technique is painfully modern and doesn't build the tension and the payoffs are minimal and underwhelming.

The film takes place almost entirely within a single house, a format more suited for ghostly horror than a rampaging maniac. But Chucky has a personal vendetta with the people living in this house. And as the history of horror has taught us time and again, once you start looting the killer's past for plot devices you're on the verge of running completely out of gas.

Chucky himself lacks the same charisma of the previous installments. In fact, he doesn't get many good lines at all, which kind of defeats the attraction of Brad Dourif returning to the role. The violence is often silly and unrealistic, and I swear, there is a moment in the movie where no less than three of the five residents of the house are using their laptop computers. A by-product of contemporary culture or just lazy writing? You decide.

Watching the unrated version of the film, I was frankly disappointed by how tame it was. A bit of splatter, an electrocution and a lesbian make-out scene, but ultimately very disappointing and undeserving of the "unrated" designation.

For the truly curious or die hard Child's Play fans, I recommend renting this one if you must. But it's not worth retail price by a long shot.