'Cult of Chucky' does not deserve to be this good nor does any part 7 in a film series but somehow writer/director Don Mancini managed to go above and beyond and bring us fans an early Halloween present. Now set a few years since 'Curse of Chucky' we have wheelchair bound Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif returning) confined to a mental hospital after killer doll Chucky placed all of the previous film's murders on her and escaping. Now convinced that she was in fact the murderer and Chucky only being in her head, Nica attempts to get help at the facility only for a familiar red head to make his way into her group therapy sessions. Now Nica must fight to survive as Chuck's old nemesis Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) tries to track him down and face off once and for all.
This film is a love letter to a guy like me, a fan of the 'Child's Play' series since I was but 4 years old and that old TNT broadcast of 'Child's Play 2' kept me up all night. It gives fans everything they want and adds so much more that I hope the series keeps going for another decade like this. In a world where 'Flatliners' (which only made $9 million worldwide this weekend and has a whopping 3% on Rotten Tomatoes) can make it to over 2,000 theaters and 'Cult of Chucky' is direct to DVD is baffling to me. This is a high quality horror flick, with gorgeous and unique cinematography, great practical and doll effects, and really the best acting out of the whole series. How is this not a theatrical film?! Mancini had worked previously on the amazing 'Hannibal' television series and here you really get that feeling here. The pure white hallways mixed with the dimmed lighting or beautiful falling snow makes you feel like you're watching the show again and hands down 'Cult of Chucky' is the most visually stunning in the franchise.
The story also retains the previous film's darker tones and more vicious mood but luckily it also doesn't forget to throw in a few Chucky one-liners here and there just for some stupid fun. Really I think the humor works better in 'Cult' than it would have in 'Curse' because this one is just brutal with really no mercy or happy ending in sight in just a short running time. I felt it helped out a little even if it felt oddly out of place considering it's 'Child's Play'. Once again 'Cult of Chucky' adds even more to the film lore and really goes in a surprising direction that I have to admit was really clever and pretty unexpected (for the most part anyway). I only wish Alex Vincent had a much larger amount of screen time but hey, there's always room for more sequels right?
In a world where horror movies continue to reboot or remake themselves, the 'Child's Play' franchise manages to follow the better path of not only making direct sequels, but actually giving them some meat and adding to the franchise as a whole. It's amazing to me that out of all the 'Texas Chainsaws' and 'Halloweens', who would have guessed that Chucky is making the best films out there right now? Be sure to check out 'Cult of Chucky' on NETFLIX or like me picking up the Blu-Ray/DVD combo which includes the UNRATED version. P.S. Watch the unrated version if you want to see a fun post credit ending with a familiar 'Child's Play' character.
( A + )
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