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Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: October 8th, 2013.
Director: Don Mancini
Cast: Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Maitland McConnell, Chantal Quesnelle
Year: 2013
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The Movie:
Directed by Don Mancini, the man behind the original Child's Play film, 2013's Curse Of Chucky is a return to the series' roots of sorts, at least when compared to the more experimental Bride Of Chucky and Seed Of Chucky entries. You've got to hand it to Mancini for continuing with the continuity already established in the popular series, rather than taking the easy way out with the all too common remake approach we're seeing done to death in horror movies these days. Though Curse Of Chucky is the first in the run to go straight to video, fans of the series shouldn't let that dissuade them. This movie is actually pretty well done.
The story focuses on a young woman named Nica (Fiona Dourif) who is paralyzed from the waist down and who is bound to a wheelchair. She lives in a creaky old house with her mother, Sara (Chantal Quesnelle), who has some obvious problems of her own. As the movie starts, a delivery man shows up with a large parcel. They open it and low and behold, inside there's a familiar looking Good Guys doll - but who sent this doll here and why? Later that night Nica hears screaming and after making her way downstairs she finds her mother lying dead on the floor in a pool of her own blood.
Shortly after, her money grubbing sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti) shows up with her husband Ian (Brennan Elliott), their daughter Alice (Summer H. Howell), a nanny named Jill (Maitland McConnell) and the local priest (A. Martinez) in tow. Barb is insisting they sell the house and put Nica in a home but she's defiant and wants to stay on her own. When Nica makes them all dinner, we see the doll come back to life and go about its business and before you know it, the priest has had a healthy dose of rat poisoning, enough so that it affects his state of mind and he gets into a fatal car accident on the way home. Alice, however, has taken quite a shining to Chucky and is insisting that not only is he alive but that he's talking to her. As the night goes on, it starts to look like Alice is right and as the family's dysfunction comes to a boil Chucky grabs a knife and gets up to his old tricks…
This installment takes place almost entirely in the old house, which makes it almost as much of a haunted house movie as it does a slasher film. While the movie isn't as gory as some of the earlier films, there are a few creative scenes of carnage here to earn the film it's R-rating (or it's unrating, as both versions are included on the same disc, though really, even the unrated one isn't that strong) but there's a bit more emphasis on atmosphere this time around than on bloodshed. Of course we get a few jump scares too, it's almost like they're required.
When you boil it down this movie simply puts a spooker killer in a house and follows a simple line - kill off the priest first to make it know that the killer is evil, setup the rest of the characters as likeable or unlikable, kill of the unlikeable characters and then in the last half hour or so keep the likeable ones in a constant state of peril. This isn't anything we haven't seen done countless times before but the film builds rather nicely and is quite well shot. The effects are pretty decent and though there are a few moments of dodgy CGI, these are easy to look past in favor of some impressive practical effects. There's good use of shadow and light here, the location works really well and lends itself well to the story while the script keeps things going at a good pace. The changes in Chucky's appearance give him a slightly more human look, he's not quite as we remember him here, but by the time that the story finishes, this is explained in a logical way and actually turns out to be a clever twist.
Performances are good, almost too good in the case of Danielle Bisutti. You're not supposed to like her character (that much is obvious) but she's just flat out irritating and you'll find yourself wanting to be rid of her quickly. Maitland McConnell is fine in her supporting role as are Chantal Quesnelle and Brannan Elliot. Young Summer H. Howell does quite well in her role but the scene stealer is Fiona Dourif who delivers very good work here in the lead. It sort of goes without saying that her old man, Brad Dourif, is great as the voice of Chucky, though in a couple of flashback scenes he actually appears on camera as Charles Lee Ray, the killer who possessed the doll in the first movie that started all of this.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Curse Of Chucky looks good on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition widescreen framed at 1.78.1. Detail is nice throughout the presentation. As most of the movie takes place inside an old dimly lit house this isn't the most colorful looking movie you'll ever see but shadow detail is pretty solid as are black levels. The reds and blues of Chucky's outfit look nice and skin tones always look nice and natural. There are no obvious compression artifacts or noise reduction issues nor is there any serious edge enhancement. As the movie was shot on digital video there aren't any problems with print damage or debris either. All in all this is a nice, crisp, clean and detailed presentation, one which fans should appreciate.
The English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is pretty solid. It doesn't use the rear channels quite as often as you might hope for but there's definitely a lot of fun surround activity here and some appreciable depth to the mix as well. Dialogue is always perfectly easy to understand and as you'd expect from a new movie like this there are no issues with hiss or distortion at all. The score has some good range and power behind it and the sound effects are mixed in nicely and help punctuate a few of the more active set pieces. A Spanish language DTS 5.1 Surround Sound mix is also available as is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix in French with optional subtitles offered up in English SDH, French and Spanish.
Extras kick off with a commentary track from director Don Mancini, leading lady Fiona Dourif and puppeteer Tony Gardner. This is a decent track with a good amount of activity and given that we get the man in charge, a tech guy and the leading lady involved, it makes sense that this would cover as many bases as it does. Mancini has more to say than everyone else but the other two aren't really ever at a loss for words. We learn about what went into getting the story right, Fiona's character and how she prepared for it and the challenges that this part incurred and what went into getting Chucky 'right' on screen.
From there we a few featurettes starting off with Playing With Dolls: The Making Of Curse Of Chucky, a fifteen minute piece that gives us a look at what it was like on set and which features some cast and crew interviews as well as some clips from the movie. We also get a bit of background info on some of the earlier entries and what the filmmakers were going for with this latest picture. The next featurette is Living Dolls: Bringing Chucky To Life, a nine minute piece that features more cast and crew interviews as well as a bunch of backstage footage that shows off the animatronics used to make Chucky seem alive in the movie. It's interesting to see what all goes into this and the different parts that are required not just for movement but to create expression as well. The scenes that aren't done with animatronics are done with a little guy in a suit too, and we get to check him out in action as well. The third and final featurette is Voodoo Doll: The Chucky Legacy, which runs seven minutes and gives us an overview of the series from the beginning to this current installment with some cast and crew interviews in there to add context..
Rounding out the formal extras are six deleted scenes (Getting Dress, Taking A Break, Looking For Chucky, Dad Gets A Ride, Burned and Ancient Egypt - six minutes or so in total), a one and a half minute gag reel and storyboard comparisons for four scenes (Electrocution, The Attic, Ian's Death and Nica Vs. Chucky).
The disc also includes animated menus and chapter selection and as this is a combo pack release we also get a DVD version of the movie and an Ultra Violet digital copy. The Blu-ray case fits inside a slipcase that features identical front cover art.
The Final Word:
Curse Of Chucky is a return to the series' roots that doesn't take away from the later, less traditional, entries in the series which makes it the right mix of old and new. The performances are solid and there are some cool effects set pieces and the movie is nicely paced and surprisingly atmospheric, all of which results in one of the better sequels in the run. Universal's Blu-ray is pretty stacked with extras and on top of that it looks great and sounds great.
Note: this movie is also included in the Chucky: The Complete Collection Blu-ray boxed set, also being released by Universal Studios on October 8th, 2013.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
