The Horror Show
Cult of Chucky
by Don Mancini
If you Google “fear of dolls” you get the definition of Pediophobia and next to it is a picture of Chucky. That should give you an idea of how the Child's Play franchise has shaped our pop culture world. Sure, there have been other killer dolls, but none of them hold a candle to the ultimate of voodoo dolls. His name is Charles Lee Ray, but you can call him Chucky.
Cult of Chucky begins a few years after the events of Curse of Chucky, where we are reintroduced to an adult Andy Barclay. We see him trying to adjust to a normal life. When the girl he's dating shoots him down because of his past, he goes back home to unwind with a little bit of herb and a whole lot of torture. He's kept the head of the Chucky doll that was sent to him at the end of Curse. You can see all the scars and damage he's inflicted on the evil doll.
We then get some exposition on Nica, who returns after having her entire family killed. She has been arrested and put in a mental hospital. She's making progress, admitting that Chucky isn't real and she was jealous of Alice, her niece and only surviving member of the massacre, and that's why she murdered her family. Because of her breakthrough, the doctors have decided to move her from high security to medium security.
She arrives and meets the rest of the patients and staff. It's a basic set up for mayhem in a hospital situation. These people are just there for Chucky to make quips about and to murder. During the first group with Nica, Dr. Foley brings out a Good Guy doll. Nica says she isn't uncomfortable. One of the patients, Madeline, is convinced that the doll is her baby. She takes it and treats it as if it was her child.
Tiffany finally shows up, still in the body of Jennifer Tilly. She tells Nica that Alice is dead. Tiff gives Nica another Good Guy Doll telling her that it was Alice's from her therapy and Alice was convinced that it would help Nica recover. There is an amazing shot of Madeline and Dr. Foley passing each other in a stark white hall, each of them holding a Good Guy doll. It is probably my favorite scene in the movie just because it invokes the terror of the fact that there are two Chucky dolls in this hospital, and one of them could be a murderer.
This is one movie that I want to talk more about, but I really don't want to spoil it because it is such a fun roller coaster! I feel if I go any farther into the story I will ruin it. There are call backs to earlier movies and even references to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Brad Douriff's first movie.
The story is great. It fits in so well as a continuation of Curse of Chucky. Brad Douriff as Chucky is always a delight. He's one of my top favorite character actors of all time. Jennifer Tilly is wonderful, Fiona Douriff is great. There are times when she gets a look on her face that you know that she's Brad Douriff's daughter.
The worst part of this movie is when you go from practical effects to the really bad digital ones. The up-close shots of the doll are so smooth. The far shots with the CG Chucky are not. This doesn't take away too much from the film, but it did make me cringe a bit.
This is absolutely a campy, fun evil doll movie. It's not the best in the franchise but it is definitely not the worst. That award belongs to Seed of Chucky hands down. Cult of Chucky is on Netflix right now. My suggestion is to find the unrated version to get another amazing after credit scene. This Halloween, throw this on, pop some popcorn, and break out your best voodoo spell. Ade due Damballa! Give me the power I beg of you!
Robin Thompson, HMS
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