Curse of Chucky is a 2013 horror film directed by Don Mancini. It is the sixth installment in the Child's Play franchise. The film follows the story of a possessed doll named Chucky, who terrorizes a family after being sent to them by mail. The main idea of the film is the resurrection of the Chucky character and the continuation of the horror franchise. The film starts with a young woman named Nica receiving a mysterious package in the mail. Inside the package is a doll named Chucky, who is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.
mancini tries to reroute away from the postmodern wackiness of his previous entries and back towards the simple commercial slasher origins of the child's play films while still incorporating the gleefully, graphically violent antics and bizarre lore he's built for himself over 6 movies now. not all of it works but i was impressed at how much effort is put into making all these movies fit together narratively (though the inclusion of what feels like 4 post-credits stingers gets a bit much), and the back-to-basics approach to the suspense sequences and creepy gothic house setting really lets him show off his low-budget visual wit. loved all the split and reflection imagery! brad dourif is also still having a blast in…
While they are staying over for a couple of days, they find out that the Good Guy doll is actually Chucky, and not only has he come to kill them but he has ties to their family. I katara tou Chucky, La maldición de Chucky, Child s Play 6, 커스 오브 처키, Child s Play 6 Curse of Chucky, Проклятието на Чъки, Chuckyho kletba, Η κατάρα του Τσάκι, La Malédiction de Chucky, קללת צ אקי, Chucky átka, La maledizione di Chucky, チャイルド プレイ 誕生の秘密, 처키의 저주, Čakija lāsts, Klątwa Chucky, A Maldição de Chucky, Blestemul lui Chucky, Проклятие Чаки, Chuckyjevo prekletstvo, คำสาป แค้นฝังหุ่น, Chucky nin Laneti, Прокляття Чакі, Ma Búp Bê 6, 鬼娃回魂6 鬼娃的诅咒, 鬼娃魔咒.
Inside the package is a doll named Chucky, who is possessed by the soul of a serial killer. Nica's mother eventually falls victim to Chucky's murderous ways, leading Nica to suspect that the doll is alive. Throughout the course of the film, Chucky begins to target and kill Nica's family members one by one.
Curse of Chucky (2013)
After her mother’s unusual death, a woman begins to suspect that the Good Guy doll that was sent to her by mistake might be alive and murderous.
My Thoughts:
This is a strange change of pace for the Chucky series, but it is in no way a bad change. More than anything, “Curse of Chucky” feels like a soft reboot; it has all of the elements of the original film and really returns to it’s slasher roots, but it also incorporates scraps of the sequels. As a pseudo-fan of the series, I found that I really enjoyed this approach to Chucky. While many of the sequels thus far have focused more on the comedic aspect of Chucky’s character, this film begs us to take Chucky seriously again, and it works pretty well. Chucky is easily at his most frightening in this movie, far more so than even the original “Child’s Play”.
“Twenty-five years… must be the slowest murder in history!”
Shortly after Nica’s (Fiona Dourif, “The Master”) mother Sarah (Chantal Quesnelle) dies a mysterious death, Nica’s older, b*tchy sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti, “Insidious Chapter 2”), Barb’s husband Ian (Brennan Elliott, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb”), their daughter Alice (Summer Howell, “Cult of Chucky”), and their live-in nanny Jill (Maitland McConnell) all come to visit Nica thinking she’ll need their help preparing for the funeral. Nica gives Alice a Good Guys doll that was mistakenly delivered to their house, and soon after creepy and unexplainable things start to happen.
I mentioned above that this film sort of feels like a soft reboot of the franchise, and really, that’s sort of what surprised me the most about this particular entry. Don Mancini, whom has written the Child’s Play series since the beginning, finally got his chance to direct with “Seed of Chucky”, which I found to be one of the better, crasser, funnier entries in the series. Mancini gets Chucky’s character, as well he should, as he’s the one who created him, but more than that, Mancini actually seems to care about the series, wants to see it succeed, and has a plan on where he wants the story to go. That earnestness bleeds through many of the moments in this movie.
This entry is all over the place chronologically; there are moments that happen pre-“Child’s Play”, other moments that fall in between “Child’s Play 3” and “Bride of Chucky”, and then a flash forward at the end of the film happens after “Seed of Chucky”, finally pushing the series towards the conclusion (or latest entry) “Cult of Chucky.” Honestly, that’s kind of the film’s greatest strength and weakness. For fans or even casual viewers of the series, this kind of fan service are great- it helps us to make all of the connections through the Chucky universe that might not have been obvious before. For people whom haven’t seen the other entries in the series, I expect these scenes will feel like long, pointless, boring exposition dumps that really have no effect on the overall story. I suppose this series is kind of like the Marvel Universe at this point; you don’t need to see every entry in the MCU in order to catch most of what’s going on, but it certainly helps.
I mentioned that Chucky is at his scariest in this film, and I’ll take that a step further: he’s also at the pique of his brutality, and some of the things he does in this film are beyond cruel. They really lean into the evil behind Charles Lee Ray, and focus more on the serial killing aspect in a gruesome manor. If you remember in the last entry, “Seed of Chucky”, killing people became sort of a joke. “It’s like my hobby,” Chucky says. They even go to the point of having Chucky’s bride Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, “Tideland”) swear off killing as if she was an alcoholic trying to swear off drinking. They play up those moments for laughs, and there’s none of that in this film. The gore effects are more realistic (to the point where I actually let slip an exclamation during one scene), the atmosphere is tenser, and the overall story just wants us to take it a bit more seriously, and, it works. Way to go Don Mancini! You should keep making these movies, because I’m enjoying them more and more.
There are some issues with special effects, particularly one scene where Chucky walks down the stairs and it’s totally apparent he’s CGI. All of the other films use practical effects for 90% of the time Chucky is on screen, and the other 10% of the time they use camera tricks to make people look like Chucky. This film, being the first straight to DVD feature in the series, obviously had a lower budget to work with, and it shows. There are quite a few scenes where you can clearly tell that the person in the frame is a person, not a doll. It never really took me out of the movie too much, but it is noticeable.
Some of the acting is, admittedly, pretty bad, but mostly from the side characters. I’m delighted to say that Fiona Dourif, who is Brad Dourif’s daughter, did a fine job as Nica. As much as I’m usually against nepotism, I actually think it’s kind of cool that they kind of kept this series in the Dourif family for so long that it ended up staring a second generation. (SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW) It was sort of cool to see Tiffany/Jennifer Tilly pop back up at the end of this film, though, if I’m being honest, I wish Tiffany were in it more; she’s was a great part of the last two entries, and I’m hoping she has a bigger part in “Cult of Chucky.” I did find it a little weird that in the post-credits scene Alex Vincent (“Child’s Play”) shows up to reprise his role as Andy Barclay. Not that the cameo wasn’t appreciated, but it just felt a little shoehorned in, especially since when we end this film Chucky arrives at Alice’s home, and as the credits roll, he begins to play “Hide the Soul”, meaning, if all went well, he should be in Alice’s body now.
Whatever, this series has always had logic problems; I’m not going to pretend like it doesn’t.
Verdict:
The “Child’s Play” series overall contains a lot of middling entries, but the more I’ve watched them, the more I’ve come to appreciate them for what they are: silly, gory, weird slasher films. None of them even come close to being great films, but surprisingly the later entries show a little more finesse than the earlier ones. If you like Chucky, then this one entry in the series is one you wont want to miss. If you don’t like Chucky, well, it’s really up to you if you want to see this or not. It’s certainly not a terrible film, but it’s not great either.
I mentioned above that this film sort of feels like a soft reboot of the franchise, and really, that’s sort of what surprised me the most about this particular entry. Don Mancini, whom has written the Child’s Play series since the beginning, finally got his chance to direct with “Seed of Chucky”, which I found to be one of the better, crasser, funnier entries in the series. Mancini gets Chucky’s character, as well he should, as he’s the one who created him, but more than that, Mancini actually seems to care about the series, wants to see it succeed, and has a plan on where he wants the story to go. That earnestness bleeds through many of the moments in this movie.
As the bodies pile up, Nica becomes more and more determined to stop Chucky and uncover the truth behind the doll's evil actions. The film is a return to the more horror-focused roots of the franchise, as opposed to the more comedic tone of the previous films. It features gruesome deaths and a tense atmosphere, with Chucky being portrayed as a truly sinister and threatening presence. The main idea of the film is the resurrected Chucky and the terror he brings to Nica and her family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its return to the horror genre and others criticizing its lack of originality. However, it was generally well-received by fans of the franchise, who enjoyed seeing Chucky back in action. Curse of Chucky also sets the stage for the next film in the series, Cult of Chucky, which was released in 2017. In conclusion, Curse of Chucky is a 2013 horror film that resurrects the iconic character of Chucky. It follows the story of a possessed doll who terrorizes a family, with the main idea being the return of Chucky and the continuation of the horror franchise. Despite mixed reviews, the film was generally well-received by fans of the series and sets the stage for future installments..
Reviews for "The Final Girl's Journey: Analyzing Nica's Role in Curse of Chucky"
1. John - 2/5 - As a longtime fan of the Child's Play franchise, I was highly disappointed with "Curse of Chucky." The movie lacked the suspense and thrill that made the previous installments so enjoyable. The storyline felt predictable, and there were no real surprises or twists. Chucky's character development was also incredibly weak. Overall, it felt like a cheap attempt to cash in on the success of the original series, without adding anything new or innovative to the plot.
2. Sarah - 1/5 - I found "Curse of Chucky" to be incredibly boring and uninspiring. The acting was mediocre at best, and the dialogue felt forced and cringeworthy. The scares were few and far between, and when they did happen, they were predictable and lacked any real impact. The movie seemed to rely heavily on jump scares, rather than building genuine suspense. I was left feeling disappointed and underwhelmed by the lackluster execution of what could have been a creepy and engaging horror film.
3. Mark - 2.5/5 - While "Curse of Chucky" had its moments, overall, it failed to deliver as a horror movie. The pacing was slow, and the plot lacked cohesion. The attempts at creating tension and fear fell flat, as the scares were few and far between. Chucky himself felt more comical than menacing, which took away from the overall atmosphere the film was trying to create. It just didn't live up to the standard set by previous Chucky movies, leaving me feeling disappointed and unenthused.