Curse of Chucky (2013)

I hate to do this film so recently after doing Child's Play 2, but I've came to a point where I've been thinking a lot about it, and I feel I have some valid things to say. I will start by saying that this is a great resurgence to the series. Exactly what it needed: a sharp return to horror. Let's face it, Seed of Chucky was a ridiculous film, and I'm glad that they decided to turn the series around back to it's original horror roots. That was the absolute best thing they could've done. I will also say that Fiona Dourif, daughter of Brad Dourif, who has played Chucky since the original Child's Play, really sales this film. She makes it what it is. If they had cast any other actress as Nica, it would not have been what it was. I've always been a huge fan of Brad Dourif, not only for his work in horror films, but in all of his work. I feel like everyone has something natural about themselves that are meant to do in life, and for Brad Dourif, I feel like he is a natural actor and is meant to be an actor. He has phenomenal range, and an energy level that hardly any other actor has. He's a very intense actor, and I'm glad to see that Fiona has inherited all of his great acting abilities. Curse of Chucky has been the first film I've seen her in, and she certainly did not disappoint. I sincerely hope that she manages to have as successful and as broad of a career as her father. She is absolutely fantastic. And for being a spawn of Brad Dourif, while looking primarily like him, she's incredibly beautiful. Which makes me question my sexuality. On to the film, itself. Like most films, there are things that I liked and things that I didn't like. The things I didn't like primarily derived from the low budget aspect. I mean, that's fine. I love low budget, B horror films. But sometimes the budgetary concern has affects on the film in a way that doesn't necessarily jive with my particular taste. Curse of Chucky is one of those films. On the whole, I thought it was a great horror movie and great piece of cinema. But I would be lying if I said that I liked every bit of it, because frankly, I didn't. The majority of the things I didn't like had something to do with the special effects. I'm a firm supporter of practical effects. Perhaps it's my love of old, cheesy horror films with an excessive amount practical effects that give the film its charm, which makes me love them. And unfortunately, Curse of Chucky used more CGI effects than practical effects. There were instances of practical effects, but that were strongly overshadowed by CGI. It may just be me, but I feel that practical effects give the film a certain quality that nothing else can really capture. A charm, as I will say again. Very similar to the quality that stop motion animation gives to a film. Even if it's obviously fake, it still has a great cinematic beauty about it. It's still real. It's still very much there. Whereas, CGI effects are not there. They're invisible; they're hollow. It's literally nothing. So in my opinion, the practical effects strongly outweigh the CGI. Especially, if you have a smaller budget. I don't know exactly why this is, but I know that smaller budget equals worse CGI effects. So my advice to filmmakers would be that if you have a low budget film, use more practical effects, and if it's absolutely necessary for you to use CGI, do so as little as possible. Remember, obviously fake practical effects look better on camera that obviously fake CGI effects. But this aside, Curse of Chucky was an absolutely great sequel/reboot, depending on your stance of what it actually is. The acting was great, especially Fiona and Brad Dourif, but all others in the cast, as well; the writing was... decent, I'll say. It had its problems as well, but nothing terribly bad. The directing was great and the cinematography was surprisingly amazing. I was shocked at how great the cinematography was, and because I found it to be so great, I will mention who's responsible. Michael Marshall was the cinematographer on Curse of Chucky, and I'm somewhat upset that he won't ever get the credit for it. A lot of times, the director of a film will receive all the credit, when, in fact, a lot of other people deserve just as much credit. Don't get wrong, Don Mancini was a very suitable director. He had written every installment in the Child's Play/Chucky series and had directed the last two. Nobody is more fitting to direct a Chucky film than him. But others who worked on the film deserve credit. And I think that a fair amount of credit should go to Michael Marshall; he's a genius. I love the overall look of the film, as well as the camerawork--all thanks to Mr. Marshall. I will end by saying that the plot is poorly derived, yet excellently carried out. The idea of the whole film, although somewhat unlikely, considering the past two installments, is very weak, I feel. Mainly for the fact that it is unlikely when you take Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky into consideration. But in the attempt of rehabilitating series, it's a pretty damn good start. So it's all about perception. The film ends with Chucky being sent to Alice's (Summer H. Howell) grandmother's house, where the girl is staying following the events of the film, and then playing a healthy game of Hide The Soul. I think that's a very strong, fitting end. It's not happy. There is absolutely no resolve. Chucky wins. That's great. I am very satisfied with that ending. But before that, there's a scene with Tiffany (Jennifer Tilley) that is just pure bullshit that completely unwinds the whole rest of the film. It's goal seems to be just to give Tiffany her introduction into the film, and possibly show her role in the plot--a little cameo for the fans to enjoy. But nonetheless, it should never have been filmed. The real ending is after Inca is sent away to the mental hospital, Chucky makes his way to Alice and begins the ritualistic chant, and then fade to black. Credits roll. The end. That's the ending I wanted to see. Forcibly shoving Tiffany into a film that she had absolutely no business being at all was extremely insulting to the rest of the film. I do applaud their after credit sequence featuring Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) though. That was great and would've been an equally acceptable finale. Either Chucky wins or Chucky gets his head blown off by his original adversary in the first three Child's Play films. Just as long as you don't senselessly throw Tiffany into the mix, I'm fine. My short recap: Curse of Chucky is great.

"You know, you remind me a lot of Andy Barclay. He was a whiny little bitch just like you."

J. L. Pilkins