Curse of Chucky
Home video release poster
Directed byDon Mancini
Written byDon Mancini
Based onCharacters
by Don Mancini
Produced byDavid Kirschner
Starring
CinematographyMichael Marshall
Edited byJames Coblentz
Music byJoseph LoDuca
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Studios Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • September 24, 2013 (2013-09-24)
(VOD)
  • October 8, 2013 (2013-10-08)
(DVD/Blu-ray)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]

Curse of Chucky is a 2013 American slasher film[2][3] and the sixth installment of the Child's Play franchise. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created the franchise and wrote the first six films. It stars Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Brennan Elliott, Maitland McConnell, Chantal Quesnelle, Summer Howell, A Martinez, and Brad Dourif. The film grossed $3.8 million in DVD sales.

Curse of Chucky sees a return to the franchise's source material, bringing back the straightforward horror elements found in the first Child's Play film, as well as Chucky's classic appearance. The film, which went into production in September 2012, is the first direct-to-video installment of the series. In the U.S., it premiered via VOD on September 24, 2013, followed by a DVD and Blu-ray Disc release on October 8, 2013. The film was also turned into a scare zone for 2013's annual Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Though Curse of Chucky was made with a direct-to-video release in mind, it was also seen theatrically in several countries, like Brazil. The film was followed by Cult of Chucky in 2017.

Plot

At the isolated home of Sarah Pierce and her paraplegic daughter Nica, a mysterious package arrives in the mail containing Chucky - Sarah throws the doll in the rubbish, unimpressed by the doll. That night, Nica awakens to Sarah's screaming and finds her stabbed to death with a pair of scissors - the death is ruled as a suicide. The next day, Nica is visited by her older sister, Barb, alongside her husband Ian, daughter Alice, their live-in nanny Jill, and Father Frank, a priest, to help support her. Nica and Barb argue over whether to sell the house to afford Alice's private school, meanwhile Alice discovers Chucky and bonds with him.

That night, Nica and Alice cook chili con carne for dinner, but Chucky secretly spikes one of the bowls with rat poison. Father Frank eats the poisoned chili, gets sick, and excuses himself to drive home - later that night, Frank is killed in a traffic collision alongside two other civilians. Meanwhile, as the family watch films from when Sarah was pregnant with Nica, Nica recognizes Charles Lee Ray in the footage. Alice loses track of Chucky and asks Jill to look for her, during which it is revealed that Barb and Jill have an affair.

Nica finds Chucky and returns her to Alice, but she reveals that Chucky has been talking to her about death. Concerned, Nica researches Chucky and finds that he was sent from an evidence depository, and discovers news reports of all his previous murders as well as Andy Barclay's lawsuit against Good Guys - a thunderstorm cuts the phone lines soon afterwards. Meanwhile, as Barb and Jill have a video call from across rooms, Chucky sneaks into Jill's room and spills a bucket of rainwater onto a power socket, fatally electrocuting Jill and cutting the power.

Barb leaves to investigate, but awakens Ian, who reveals he placed a hidden camera in Chucky and knows of their affair. Nica attempts to warn Barb of Chucky's true nature, but she accuses him of being in league with Ian and brushes her off. Investigating Chucky in the attic, Barb discovers a kitchen knife hidden in Chucky's shirt and a peeling layer of silicone covering his scars from Bride of Chucky - in response, Chucky reveals himself and kills Barb, gouging her eye out with the knife.

Nica sees Barb's corpse thrown down the stairs, and awakens Ian to warn him - he leaves her in the garage while he searches for Alice, but Chucky sneaks inside and begins revving the car's exhaust, hoping to suffocate her with the fumes. Nica breaks the car window with an axe to stop Chucky, but Ian finds Nica with the axe and believes she is the killer. Nica is unable to take the strain and has a heart attack, passing out - she awakens bound in Ian's room, who inspects Chucky's nanny cam. Ian discovers Chucky's interactions with Alice just as he attacks them, knocking Ian to the ground and hacking his jaw off with the axe.

Nica is able to free herself from her bonds, and struggles with Chucky before being thrown off of the balcony in the main hall - she survives, but is unable to move without her wheelchair. Asking Chucky why he killed her family, he explains that as Charles Lee Ray, he was a friend of the Pierce family and obsessed over Sarah - he murdered Nica's father and kidnapped Sarah, presenting her flowers (which she would later compulsively paint), but was discovered by the police. Believing Sarah led them to him, Charles stabbed her in the stomach, resulting in Nica's paraplegia, and escaped, leading to his death as depicted in Child's Play (1988).

Nica stalls Chucky by mocking him about his inability to kill Andy Barclay, enabling her to grab Chucky's knife and stab him. Chucky flees the house as Officer Stanton, who discovered Frank's death, arrives in the house - seeing Nica holding the bloody knife in the elevator, she is arrested; Nica is found guilty of the murders in court and remanded to a mental asylum. Later, as Stanton leaves to deliver Chucky to an unknown buyer, he is murdered by Tiffany Valentine (still possessing Jennifer Tilly's body), who takes Chucky and mails him to Alice, who is now living with her grandmother. After smothering the grandmother to death with a plastic bag, Chucky begins his voodoo chant to transfer his soul into Alice's body.

In a post-credits scene, Chucky is mailed to Andy Barclay, now an adult after graduating from military school. As Andy is on the phone to his mother, Chucky cuts his way out of the package, but Andy catches on and blows Chucky apart with a shotgun.

Cast

Live action

Production

In an August 2008 interview, Don Mancini and David Kirschner spoke of a planned reboot of the Chucky franchise, to be written and directed by Mancini. They described their choice of a remake over a sequel as a response to the will of the fans, who "want to see a scary Chucky movie again... to go back to the straightforward horror rather than the horror comedy." They indicated that Brad Dourif would return as the voice of Chucky.[5]

In a subsequent interview, Mancini described the remake as a darker and scarier retelling of the original film, but one that, while having new twists and turns, would not stray too far from the original concept.[6] At a 2009 horror convention, Dourif confirmed his role in the remake.[7] At a reunion panel at the Mad Monster Party horror and sci-fi convention, the cast and crew from the original film confirmed that both a remake and a spin-off are in development. Writer Don Mancini and producer David Kirschner worked on a sequel then titled Revenge of Chucky.[8]

A sequel entered the production in 2012, entitled Curse of Chucky, and was intended for a direct-to-video release.

Filming

The film began production in early September 2012 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,[9] and ended in mid-October.

Release

Curse of Chucky had its world premiere on August 2, 2013, at the Fantasia Festival,[10] in Montreal, and its European premiere at the London FrightFest Film Festival on August 22, accompanied by screenings of the original trilogy of Child's Play films.[11] The DVD/Blu-ray was released on October 8, 2013, and domestically grossed $3,821,602 in the first month.[12]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 20 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critics consensus states: "The franchise hex of disappointing sequels is broken by going back to basics in this chilling entry, restoring a sense of playfulness to the Chucky saga."[13] According to Metacritic, the film received "mixed or average reviews" based on an average score of 58 out of 100 from 5 critics.[14]

An early review posted on Bloody Disgusting on August 2, 2013, was very favorable of the film. In it, Brad Miska stated, "Curse of Chucky may just be the best home video sequel since Wrong Turn 2. It's alarmingly good, which puts pressure on Universal to answer as to why they didn't let Mancini shoot this for theaters." He continued to say, "Chucky fans should rejoice... Curse of Chucky is clearly going to re-ignite the franchise for years to come."[15] Ryan Larson of Shock Till You Drop also wrote a mostly positive review, saying, "the movie does so much right that it's easy to overlook the very few flaws it has. The pacing and writing coincide to create a fun blood-soaked jaunt that never gets boring or dull." He goes on to praise the director, pointing out that "Mancini (pulling double duty as writer as well as director) does a great job at introducing and ushering off characters in a fashion that doesn't bog the film down with a bunch of characters who get three minutes of film time before getting the axe, or butcher knife in this case. The kills are kitschy, but in the best way possible, waxing nostalgic of the slasher films of the late eighties and early nineties."[2]

In Brazil, Chucky inspired two episodes of the "Hidden Camera" (Câmeras Escondidas) show broadcast by the local SBT channel.[16][17]

Accolades

At the film's world premiere at the Montreal Fantasia Festival, it received a Gold Award for Best International Feature.[18]

The film also received a nomination for Best DVD or Blu-ray Release at the 40th Saturn Awards.

Sequels

The film was followed by Cult of Chucky in 2017, a remake of the first film and the TV series Chucky in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "FrightFest 2013 - Don Mancini & Fiona Dourif Discuss Curse Of Chucky". YouTube. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Larson, Ryan (26 September 2013). "Review: Curse of Chucky". Shock Till You Drop. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ Mooney, Darren (14 January 2022). "Chucky Has Always Been Mass-Produced and One of a Kind". The Escapist. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Actress Debbie Lee Carrington, 'Total Recall,' 'Bride of Chucky' Dies at 58". 25 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Quint chats up Don Mancini, David Kirschner and Michelle Gold about the CHILD'S PLAY REMAKE and the new DVD!!!". Ain't It Cool News. August 19, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Child's PlayMancini&Kirschner". ShockTillYouDrop.com. CraveOnline Media. September 8, 2008. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  7. ↑ "MGM Gets Rolling On A 'Child's Play' Remake". 25 March 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  8. ↑ "The Cynical Optimist: Child's Play spin-off Revenge of Chucky in the works!". March 28, 2012. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Curse of Chucky Starts Production in Winnipeg". ComingSoon.net. September 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Curse of Chucky". Fantasia Festival. Archived from the original on July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ "2013 Film4 FrightFest-Curse Of Chucky". London FrightFest Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Curse of Chucky (2013)". The Numbers. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Curse of Chucky (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Curse of Chucky". Metacritic.
  15. ↑ "[Fantasia '13 Review] 'Curse of Chucky' Recalls Old School Wrath of 'Child's Play'! - Bloody Disgusting". bloody-disgusting.com. 3 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "A Maldição de Chucky - Curse of Chucky - Susto no ponto de ônibus". YouTube. 26 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "O Culto de Chucky 2 - Cult Of Chucky Prank 2". YouTube. 10 July 2019.
  18. ↑ fantasia-13-curse-of-chucky-wins-audience-award-big-bad-wolves-for-best-film
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