By: Jesse Striewski
Everyone’s favorite evil doll Chucky is back in this sequel series that takes place right after the last film, Cult of Chucky. I was initially looking forward to what Don Mancini and co. might be able to bring to the table here, but quickly realized it’d probably be best to just revisit the old films again instead.
Things start off innocently enough; when New Jersey teen Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) finds an old Chucky doll at a yard sale and brings it home, he soon discovers who Chucky really is when his father (Devon Sawa) is killed by the hands of the doll. Jake is then sent to live with his aunt and uncle and their spoiled son, and more carnage is predictably unleashed. Only Jake and a couple of school friends know the truth about the killer doll, and must stop him at all costs.
Fans of the original series might enjoy some aspects of Chucky, such as the return of alumni Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, and Christine Elise, not to mention of course Brad Dourif returning to voice Chucky, and his daughter Fiona adds some much-needed sex appeal by not only reprising her role from Cult.., but even assuming a younger version of her father’s human character in flashbacks from the ’80s (which is both interesting and weird, considering Brad still does the voice in these sequences). For the first time ever, audiences are even given a glimpse at Chucky as a child, too.
But whatever hope of things playing out as another Stranger Things-type show with the teen kids at the forefront as heroes is diminished fairly early on, and bogged down by sub-par acting, crass characters, and an urgent need to make the series unnecessarily humorous and “woke.” The dialogue and special effects are often laughable, and there’s very little time dedicated to actual suspense, just a fast-paced agenda bent on packing in as many sloppy kills as possible.
If not for the previously mentioned flashbacks into the character’s origins, this show would be almost completely unwatchable. Chucky may be back, but the franchise is still suffering from a muddled execution as usual.
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
