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The first and most well-known killer doll is back, and this time he’s bringing some friends. “Cult of Chucky,” directed by Don Mancini, continues the story from the last movie in the franchise, “Curse of Chucky.” But is it a worthy addition to the franchise or is it a bomb? Going through the maniacal laughs and the many kills that take place in the film, we can look and see what Chucky has in store for the audience.
The story takes place after the “Curse of Chucky’s” end credits scene, where Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) shoots Chucky (Brad Dourif) in the head. He is keeping the battered, shot, and very much alive, head of Chucky. The film then cuts to Nica (Fiona Dourif), from the previous movie as well, who has been in a mental institution for four years for the accused murder of multiple family members and friends. After years of intense therapy, she has been granted permission to move into a medium security mental institution.
Once at the new institution, she meets a bunch of weird and mentally insane individuals who feel wary of her due to their belief that she was responsible for the murders of her family. Nica is then called into the head office to meet the stepmother who took care of Nica’s niece, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly). It is obvious to fans of the franchise that this woman is the girlfriend/bride of Chucky; the presumption quickly shows as she tells Nica her niece has died, but that she left one present for her Aunt, a Chucky doll. Nica is taken aback by the news and expresses that she wants nothing to do with the doll.
She soon comes to find that the doll is possessed by Chucky as he begins a killing spree and instead of killing Nica, frames her with every murder to make her look guilty. Cutting back to Andy, he is confused after reading a headline about some of the killings going on at the mental institution and how it could relate to the Chucky doll. He wonders how there can be two Chucky’s at the same time, seeing as he has the original still alive. He loads up and heads for the institution to save Nica from the other Chucky. Now it’s a race against time to rescue Nica before Chucky finishes off everyone in the institution and focuses on killing her.
The comedy in this film is well balanced and excellent, with Chucky having some hilarious lines, while still being threatening. The effects in the movie are also pleasant, as they go back to the roots of the franchise and use more practical ones. The way they go about some of the kills is also good, some even very artistic. For example, one death was by a skylight of glass breaking and decapitating an individual while snow fell on their body from the outside.
Brad Dourif does a fantastic job at bringing the doll’s character to life. The same goes for Andy Barclay, as he does an excellent job at playing a screwed up adult Andy who has gone through so much throughout the franchise. Jennifer Tilly is also a charm, even with the small amount of screen time she gets, she relishes in playing the messed up and sexy Tiffany.
While this movie has a lot of great things going for it, there are some issues with the continuity of the film. As seen in the story, it cuts back and forth between Andy and Nica, which can be confusing and random at times. Another issue is the lack of screen time and usage of Andy’s character. While it does make fans happy to see the return of the formerly targeted victim from the first three films, Andy gets very little screen time. It is a letdown that he didn’t play a significant part in the film; it felt like he was shoehorned in at the last second.
Altogether, “Cult of Chucky” as a slasher film has a lot going for it and has a fresh twist at the end that makes it worth seeing. This movie is perfect for fans of the franchise who are ready to see Chucky back in action.
