It’s a Child’s Play retrospective this week as we take a look back at the franchise that enjoyed a series of successful instalments and raised the character of Chucky to the upper pantheon of horror franchise icons.
Chucky is an interesting thing. A murderous doll possessed by the spirit of a voodoo practicing serial killer is at its heart a ridiculous concept, any threat suggested being stripped away when confronted by the absurdity of the visual of a talking doll. There were factors that allowed the series to thrive such as the consistency of the writing by Don Mancini, the vocal performance of Brad Dourif who transformed the inanimate object into Charles Lee Ray (perhaps the biggest a-hole of the franchise killers), and of course the transition of the films from late 80′s genre sensibilities into the self-referential perspective of the 90′s.
Things may have gotten a little too on the nose with Seed of Chucky but Ronny Yu’s switchup to playing with the inherent nonsense at the heart of the series with Bride of Chucky was perfect timing. Now we have a five film franchise that strikes a balance between an earnest twist on the slasher formula, and satirical stabs into the tropes of the genre. All pulled off with respectable direction, writing and a well performed antagonist, unlike other franchises say for example… Leprechaun.
As always we welcome your comments:
Email: horroretc@gmail.com
Voicemail: (206) 337-5324
If you enjoy the show, please consider giving us an iTunes review … we appreciate the support and all efforts to help spread the word about the podcast.
Hey, enjoyed the retrospective especially as I’ve just had myself a Chucky marathon myself to get in the mood for Curse Of Chucky.
Have to say the franchise still stands up pretty well – and in all honesty I had forgotten just how good the franchise actually was. Can’t wait until Curse is upon us…..
Great! Haven’t listened to it yet, but am very excited to hear you cover this.
Hey guys, good job on Childs play. I own the first three and enjoy them a lot. Chucky is an interesting character because of Brad Dourif. I look foward to more great shows, and more laughs. I have a shlock corner for, in you tube type in law offices of lando calrissien .I hope I spelled that righ,lol. Take care.
Things may have gotten a little too on the nose with Seed of Chucky but Ronny Yu’s switchup to playing with the inherent nonsense at the heart of the series with Bride of Chucky was perfect timing. Now we have a five film franchise that strikes a balance between an earnest twist on the slasher formula, and satirical stabs into the tropes of the genre. All pulled off with respectable direction, writing and a well performed antagonist, unlike other franchises say for example… Leprechaun.