Curse of Chucky

There’s a new Chucky movie? Even hardcore fans of the killer doll series may be surprised that there’s a new Chucky movie; they’ll be even more surprised at how good it is. The film is less a continuation of the story than a reboot, with the cornball antics of the last few films (Chucky getting married too another doll and having a kid?!?!) tossed out for a return to old fashion scary stuff. The doll, voiced by veteran character actor Brad Dourif, is still creepy as hell to look at and it’s a lot of fun to watch him be all cute in the beginning because you know what Chucky can – and will – do. The cast does a pretty good job selling it, too, especially Dourif’s daughter, Fiona, as the girl in the wheelchair. The real star here, though, is writer/director Don Mancini (director of some of the less than stellar Chucky films) who has developed the sense to let the doll do what it does, while concentrating on tweaking the tension levels in the rest of the film. This time, he really gets it right.