Child’s Play Franchise Breakdown

The Child’s Play franchise kind of fascinates me. Personally, as a kid of the late ‘80s–early ‘90s, the first three films were staples of my childhood. I also think it’s very unique (and kind of great) for a horror franchise to run for 26 years without including a remake, prequel or reboot. But most of all, rarely has the overall tone of a horror franchise varied so drastically. The Child’s Play films have gone from dead serious to moderately humorous, silly to absurd, parody to dead serious (again). And look, by no means am I saying that these films are good, I’m just saying that, more often than not, I tend to have fun with them.

Child’s Play (1988)

The franchise begins with a cop (Chris Sarandon) gunning down serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) in a toy store. Before Ray dies, he uses voodoo to transfer his soul into the hottest toy on the market, a Good Guy doll. Chucky, as the doll is now known, quickly learns that to escape from the doll, he must transfer his soul to the first person he told about his new soul possession, which happens to be a young boy named Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent).

So basically, Child’s Play is about a doll killing a shitload of people all in an effort to take possession of a kid’s body. One of the best things about Child’s Play is that for the first several minutes, you’re not sure if the Good Guy doll is really possessed, or if this Andy kid is just seriously whacked. Now, of course we all know that Chucky is the one wreaking havoc, but I respect the filmmakers for trying to throw us off, if only for a few minutes.

Best kill: Chucky offing his witchdoctor with a voodoo doll is arguably the best kill of the entire franchise.

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

Two years later: Andy is living in a foster home while his mother withers away in a mental institution. Chucky, invigorated with a new doll body, manages to track Andy down and the game of possession starts yet again. Child’s Play 2 is essentially more of the same, that is until its amusing conclusion set inside a Good Guy doll factory. As Andy and his foster sister try to outrun Chucky within a maze of dolls, we’re playfully reminded of the end of The Shining. The camera position, the wide angle lens, the gliding movement – it’s actually a pretty solid and respectable homage.

Best kill: I can’t decide between two. The first is Chucky beating Andy’s teacher (Beth Grant) to death with a… yard stick (I mean really), and the second is a factory worker falling onto a conveyer belt and having his eyes replaced with Good Guy doll eyes. Poor bastard.

Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Okay guys, we’ve reached a milestone. The first time I watched Child’s Play 3 remains a key moment in my movie-obsessed life. And here’s why. Child’s Play 3 was the first R-rated film I ever watched. I’ll never forget seeing the VHS tape sitting alone next to the VCR. Confusing Child’s Play 3 with the family-friendly Problem Child films, I put the movie in and hit play. I was transfixed – the blood, the cursing, the danger of it all. My world was opened, and I couldn’t get enough.

The movie itself, set eight years after the conclusion of Part 2, wherein Chucky tracks the teenage Andy down at military school and continues to terrorize him, is often regarded as the weakest of the Child’s Play films. Franchise creator Don Mancini has even publicly stated that it’s his least favorite Chucky film. And while I get where he’s coming from, for better or worse (as silly as this sounds), I'll always be indebted to Child’s Play 3.

Best kill: Easy, torturing the CEO of the company that makes Good Guy dolls using various toys. “Doooon’t fuck with the Chuck.”

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Bride of Chucky is a romp that doesn’t, for a second, want to be taken seriously. Because really, any flick that shows two talking dolls getting high and having sex isn’t looking to be considered for awards attention. The one thing Bride of Chucky, and its immediate successor, Seed of Chucky, asks of its audience is that they lessen their expectations and try to have a little fun.

The movie is about a former girlfriend of Charles Lee Ray, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), who summons Chucky back to life and is herself turned into a doll. The two soon venture to Jersey to find an amulet that will return them to human form once and for all, killing any and everyone who gets in their way. Again, Bride of Chucky is a complete farce whose sole intention is to make money (which it did) by shocking people with B-movie gore, and making them laugh with cheap toilet humor.

Best kill: A cop takes a bunch of nails to the face. It’s awesome.

Seed of Chucky (2004)

The out-and-out comedy, Seed of Chucky, is Child’s Play’s answer to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. That is, a meta take on the franchise itself. In Seed of Chucky, Jennifer Tilly plays an actress named Jennifer Tilly who is starring in a movie adaptation of Chucky and Tiffany’s crime spree. Chucky and Tiffany’s child, an asexual doll called Glen by his father and Glenda by his mother (get it?!), accidentally resurrects his lifeless parents, and watches as they continue their wave of terror. Chucky and Tiffany’s first order of business is to transfer their souls to the real Jennifer Tilly and rapper-turned-director Redman (playing himself). So yeah, it’s that kind of movie.

And if the flick sounds absurd, that’s because it intends to be. I haven’t even mentioned the artificial insemination via turkey baster, the killing of Britney Spears, John Waters’ perfect cameo, and on and on. If Seed of Chucky works, it’s because it unapologetically owns up to itself. And I respect that. I’ve see a lot of very bad horror films that take themselves far too seriously, so a movie like Seed of Chucky can be oddly refreshing. If nothing else, the film is a ridiculous farce that never pretends to be anything but.

Best Kill: Spoiler alert – Gotta be Waters getting a bottle of acid poured onto his head. His death scream is hilariously unconvincing.

Curse of Chucky (2013)

Curse of Chucky is the type of straight-to-DVD, take-me-seriously modern horror film that Seed of Chucky so openly mocked. Curse of Chucky was shot digitally, is bathed in cold hues, accompanied by an eerie musical score, and is set in a generic haunted house, making it virtually indistinguishable from the dozens of cheap horror films released every year. No fewer than 48 minutes pass before the relevance of this film is understood in the world of the franchise. Before then, there’s literally no mention of anything that has happened in the previous films, which means we spend half the movie wondering what the hell is going on (and why). But I suppose it’s hard to hate on Curse of Chucky’s drastic tonal shift. The film was directed by franchise creator, Don Mancini, who also directed the absurd Seed of Chucky. With Curse of Chucky, Mancini clearly wants the franchise to be taken seriously again. Fair enough. Shifting the franchise back to horror isn’t the problem. Making a lame movie rife with horror clichés is. And the film’s laughably tidy conclusion is far too neat for its own good.

Best Kill: A hatchet to the face splits a man’s tongue in half. The severed side comes flopping out and everything. Pretty wicked.

My Rankings (best to worst)

Child’s Play 3

Child’s Play

Seed of Chucky

Child’s Play 2

Bride of Chucky

Curse of Chucky

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