Bride Of Chucky

1991 was an epic failure for the Child’s Play franchise, the third installment was the one that divided most Horror fans and critics. Until 1996, Wes Craven directed a film called “Scream,” earning critical and commercial success. After a long hiatus,  Don Mancini felt encouraged to write Bride Of Chucky due to the popularity of Scream.

Bride Of Chucky was released in 1998. The movie was a box office success, however, it received mixed reviews from critics and Chucky fans alike.

The following review contains potential SPOILERS. Read at your very own risk!

Pros & Cons

Pros: Brad Dourif & then newcomer to the series, Jennifer Tilly, (Bonnie Swanson from Family Guy) both did a fantastic job on their respective performances.

Katherine Heigl, Nick Stable, & the late John Ritter also did an ok job on their performances.

Fun Fact: John Ritter’s son Jason, (Dipper from Gravity Falls) worked with Ronnie Yu, the director of Bride Of Chucky, in another film called Freddy Vs. Jason.

Chemistry between Chucky & Tiffany felt appropriate, similar to Joker & Harley Quinn.

Opening Sequence starts with an evidence building filled with familiar items including Jason’s hockey mask, Leatherface’s chainsaw, Freddy’s claw glove, and Michael Myers’ mask. Does this mean all the bad guys from their respective franchises are now part of a cinematic universe? If so, I hear by dubbed this shared universe, “The Slasherverse.” I need to find someone to copyright this word. Please Hollywood make this a dream come true to all the Horror movie fans out there!

Tiffany says the line, “Well Hello Dolly!” Another toy related film called Small Soldiers said a similar line with one of the members of The Commando Elite saying the line. Small Soldiers came out the same year as Bride Of Chucky.

During The Opening Credits, Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl,” is played in the background. Dourif went on to partake in Zombie’s Halloween remake.

Unsympathetic characters meet their fates.

Creative Kill Scenes felt organic and brutal at the same time.

Chucky’s Best Line in the movie is, “A true classic, never goes out of style.”

We finally get to learn that Chucky is from New Jersey.

Charles Lee Ray/Chucky’s death scene is similar to his death in the first film, when he gets shot in the heart.

Charles Lee Ray’s gravestone labels the year he “died,” is 1988. The year when the first film takes place and sets up the chain of events.

The Ending sets up the next film, it has something to do with Chucky, claiming if his soul stays in doll form, he’ll turn human as time passes. The clue has something to do with a human element and I refuse to tell you.

Cons: If you’re a lifelong fan of Child’s Play since the very beginning, The Tone in this film has gone from a serious psychological horror thriller into Meta Comedy. I’ll have to double down the points for turning something scary into a class clown.

Plot Hole Number 1 starts with a scene involving Tiffany bringing Chucky back to life, by using a Voodoo For Dummies manual. In the first film, Chucky learned his voodoo from his teacher prior to being gunned down. I thought Chucky gave Tiffany the secret code before he ditched her. I have no choice but to Double Down this flaw for making Chucky stupid.

Plot Hole Number 2 reveals a Plot Element involving a magical amulet Chucky used to transfer his soul into the doll. During the course of the previous three films, Chucky somehow forgets to put the amulet in his pocket after the switch. He became so stupid on not realizing he’s missing the one thing he would’ve successfully transferred his soul into his main adversary, Andy.

Plot Hole Number 3 shows Chucky successfully transfers Tiffany’s soul into her doll form. Care to explain the amulet again?

A Writing Error with Chucky saying “Chapter 6, 217.” One shot later, the exact page is labeled Chapter 11. Filming 101, double check on the final cut to see if there’s an error, otherwise you’ll never have a chance to reshoot a specific scene. Is Chucky blind like Stevie Wonder?

Nobody mentions Andy Barclay throughout the entire duration of the film or his mother!

Very few Dutch Angles are often used. This predates Battlefield Earth before it came out in 2000.

The Final Verdict: C for CANTANKEROUS!

Another disappointment for me and the lifelong fans of Child’s Play. However, this was a slight improvement to the sequels, but this ain’t on the same level as the original. If you’re interested in this movie, go ahead and give it a watch.

By the way I’ve invented the word, “Slasherverse.”