Saturday 11 January 2014

MOVIE: Curse Of Chucky (2013)


Curse Of Chucky

US 2013, 96m, Universal

Blu-Ray: Universal (UK), Cert 18

When wheelchair-bound Nica takes delivery of a parcel containing a toy doll from the 1980's, people start to die violent deaths. When several family members and a priest come to stay for a funeral, the body count grows. The doll happens to be called Chucky, but why was he sent to this family in particular?

So, in his sixth screen outing, does Chucky have anything new to bring to the table? The answer, thankfully, is a resounding YES! Following the somewhat silly (but admittedly enjoyable) Seed Of Chucky, series writer Don Mancini once again takes the directorial reins, but this time around returns to the darker feel of 1988's Child's Play and its immediate sequel. Sure, Chucky still has an arsenal of one-liners at his disposal, but there is a real feeling that the series has returned to its roots.

Curse Of Chucky also marks something of a departure, as most of the film takes place in one setting, namely the claustrophic environment of a suitably creepy looking house. The result is a pleasing variation on the murders-in-a-mansion-house theme, with strong set pieces and well-paced tension, the dark humour blending well with some real edge-of-the-seat action. There's some superb camera work too, some unusual angles and devices adding extra weight - I especially enjoyed the rotating aerial shot during a dinner sequence, as the viewer is left pondering which of the guests may or may not have been fed a dose of rat poison...

Brad Dourif returns to give Chucky his voice, whilst daughter Fiona plays the lead role of Nica. It's one of several nice touches which acknowledge the series' history - the movie's coda and post-credits scene will please those who have followed the series from day one. However, Curse Of Chucky is no mere exercise in nostalgia. It's arguably a fresh beginning. 25 years after his debut, Chucky looks in fine fettle to enter his next quarter-century. Who'd have believed it?



Original Theatrical Trailer:

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