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Seed of Chucky
(2004) |
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1996's Bride of Chucky turned out to be a slightly amusing horror-comedy against the odds with the Chucky-Tiffany combination providing some crackling chemistry – enough to get by as a horror pastiche if nothing else. Seed of Chucky has had a troubled journey to the screens as Universal (once again!) developed cold feet about their subject and the film lay in limbo for a while before finally reaching the finishing line. This time around the 5 th instalment of the Childs Play franchise has Glen – the progeny of Tiffany and Chucky causing some mayhem that seems to come naturally to him. Yet he pines for his real parents though and is growing up a thoroughly mixed up kid before his hopes are realized and he discovers by finding his “Made in Japan ” label who his real parents are. Soon the sickly creature tracks the killer couple – his parents – and manages to reanimate them by chanting the trusty sacred black magic chant that always seems to do the trick. Moments later Chucky and Tiffany are back to their full majestic glory though they are both startled at discovering they produced a sickly androgynous child. The new family try to settle down and lead a “normal life” but circumstances and their primal instincts lead to gruesome consequences time and again and the nobly intentioned bid for normalcy and a life without the joys of killing fails miserably. Complications and conflicts arise when Tiffany decides she would rather be a Hollywood star rather than a plastic doll and exchange bodies with Jennifer Tilly while Chucky is more than happy to remain in his adopted “made in Japan” body that he has obviously grown to love. The couple are also locked into a tussle over their progeny and are hell bent on moulding it to their own requirements, which just adds to confuse the hapless creature even more. The family struggles to come to terms while the body count mounts and eventually a breaking point is reached and Chucky tries to take matters into his own murderous little hands. The film plays like an infantile fable and the novelty of having the usual dysfunctional family being played out by Psycho dolls is only amusing on a surface level. It's painfully evident that Chucky needs a new direction or a well deserved rest until a really juicy script is devised. This formula has definitely run its course – but having said that, at least it isn't another Japanese or Korean remake or a 70's classic with an MTV makeover. It ought to be remembered that along with the laughs intrinsic to a horror film about a killer doll, the initial Childs Play had some genuine shocks and scary sequences – this aspect sadly is no longer given any emphasis while one-liners and outlandish death sequences are evidently worth a lot more attention. Even die hard Chucky fans will find their patience being tested with this 5 th well intentioned but misguided chapter.
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