Four years after her friends and family were viciously slaughtered, Nica Pierce has been spending her time inside of a madhouse, having been wrongfully jailed for their murders. Due to an extensive amount of therapy, she believes these false accusations to actually be true, and that Chucky, the evil doll that she claims was the true culprit, is merely a figment of her imagination and an exaggerated extension of her psyche. When she begins to show signs of "normalcy," she is transferred to a medium security asylum. In no time, she familiarizes herself with the rest of the patients, and her group therapist starts to incorporate new techniques into their meetings, such as bringing the infamous "Good Guy" doll to a session. Admittedly perturbed by this decision, Nica finds it even more startling when she is paid a visit by her niece's caretaker, who delivers yet another doll to her as a gift. With tensions mounting inside of the mental hospital, Nica believes that something is amiss, and that perhaps her memories are far more akin to what they initially were before she was committed. Elsewhere, one of Chucky's first foes suspects that his friend has some new tricks up his tiny sleeve, and he may have to search for his newest victim before it is too late.
Years ago, I missed the opportunity to review writer/director Don Mancini's project Curse of Chucky, which was the sixth entry in the Child's Play franchise. I found the flick to be a shockingly good return to form for a slasher icon whose fate had seemingly been resided to pure comedy and mediocrity (that isn't to say that I still can't get some enjoyment from Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky). Thankfully, Curse was a well-shot, well-acted, and just plain sinister little film that I feel was unfairly dumped onto the home video market when it could have made a killing in theaters around the time of Halloween. As luck would have it, it appears that the flick made enough, though sadly not all of its tiny budget back, so we have been blessed with another chance to have some fun with good ol' Charles Lee Ray.
A first for the franchise, nearly ninety percent of the seventh entry is set inside of a cold, at times morose-looking hospital that shows little-to-no signs of sunshine or even temporary happiness. The decision to set almost the entirety of Cult inside of a mental institution works wonders in creating utter paranoia and moments that come close to claustrophobia. The fact that Nica is a paraplegic also means that, like in Curse, she can't fall victim to some of the clichés that most other "final girls" do (running away or full-fledged defense in particular). She's also arguably the best addition to the Child's Play universe in what feels like an eternity, and I do hope that Fiona Dourif continues to receive more roles in the future because of her performances in this series. She just has a terrific amount of spunk and energy that is exactly what these pictures need, and you feel every emotion that she expresses throughout its running time, be it sorrow, disgust, or sheer terror. The supporting cast is fine too, but even after giving us time to grow attached to them (Elisabeth Rosen's character of Madeleine, a mother who smothered her child, garners some sympathy), one just suspects that they will very likely end up as mere victims and nothing more. But boy oh boy do their deaths rank up there with some of the series' best. It's nice seeing series alum like Jennifer Tilly and Alex Vincent also pop back up, which gives the entire audience a nice feeling that they actually give a damn about these movies. I'm a fan of intertwining flicks and direct sequels (i.e. you don't have to use a completely new cast), and seeing that Mancini made the wise decision to have them return is kind of fantastic.
Not everything in Cult works to its favor though. Some of the plot details and connections can potentially give you an aneurysm if you try to think hard about it too much, but hey, these are slasher pictures involving a killer who stands barely above your knee and helped kill John Waters only thirteen years ago. There is also a subplot involving one of Nica's new friends suffering from multiple personality disorder that doesn't seem to go anywhere and feels slightly unnecessary. Finally, the film is riddled with almost too much black comedy, and it almost detracts from some of the more legitimately uneasy scenes, including a moment where Chucky argues with....someone else about who will get to kill one of our protagonists. It's amusing, sure, but feels slightly forced. I do understand the argument to keep these movies filled with a strange sense of humor though, because the concept alone is silly enough to most average moviegoers.
It is quite astonishing to see a franchise this late into its run produce what could arguably be considered some of the strongest material since its inception, especially in the realm of horror. Most long-running series tend to drive right off of a cliff and make you forget what made them so good in the first place (I'm looking at you Hellraiser), but Cult of Chucky is a solid reminder that such a thing is possible when you set out with good intentions, passion, and determination. Despite some of the problems found throughout, I can not recommend this enough and urge that if you are to seek this out, you should spend some money on it. I would stronger prefer that your hard-earned cash go into the pockets of someone like Don Mancini than say, Victor Salva (and no, I will not be reviewing Jeepers Creepers 3). The film is currently streaming on Netflix, but that version is essentially what can be considered a "theatrical" cut; removing necessary footage and a wonderful post-credits sequence. Instead, why don't you head down to your local Redbox or fire up your on-demand library and take a look for it? Or better yet, pick up the Blu-Ray on Amazon for a surprisingly cheap amount? Why, there's even a recently-released box set which contains every piece of long-running media that Chucky has been involved with!
Okay, save for that infamous moment where he and Rick Steiner appeared to be setting up a feud in WCW.
.....no wonder this company went out of business.
Tomorrow, it's a triple dose of material involving Ron Perlman, a pint-sized creature, and the lone DVD purchase that I made at Monster Mania in Maryland!
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