Photo: United Artists
Writer Don Mancini and director Tom Holland may have butted heads during the making of 1988’s Child’s Play, but the duo successfully developed one of the most iconic horror villains ever imagined on-screen. Following the original Child’s Play trilogy, Chucky became drastically more playful in the sequels, pushing comedy into the forefront while horror was essentially placed on the back burner (remember that doll sex scene in Bride of Chucky? Yeah. Us, too).
Chucky’s back: Child’s Play 2019 Trailer Breakdown
While Mancini and the original voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif, are hard at work producing a new TV series for the Good Guy doll, Lars Klevberg’s modernized version of the classic 1988 film will be hitting theaters next month. Mark Hamill has taken over voice acting duties for Chucky, and from the most recent trailer, it sounds like we’ll get to enjoy a little of his famous Joker sound in the new iteration.
The best part, though, is that the trailer actually looks scary. Moving away from some of the sillier sequels, the remake appears to be going back to Chucky’s roots by reintroducing horror back into the horror franchise. Excited over the thriller vibes and a unique take centering on Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman) and his new AI Buddi, we decided to rank every Chucky movie based on which films of the series are the most terrifying.
Scary effects: The Live-Action ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Movie Looks Like a CGI Dumpster Fire
Follow Mandatory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Scariest Chucky Movies
-
'Child's Play 2'
Originals are usually hard to beat on any level. When it comes to the scary argument, however, Child's Play 2 takes the cake. The movie brought back our two key characters of Chucky and Andy, introduced a few more friends to slice and dice, gave us that very intense ending sequence in the Play Pals toy factory, and blessed fans with even more face time with our favorite Good Guy. By the second movie we all knew the score and could only watch in fear for poor Andy as the determined bloodthirsty toy continued to hunt the kid relentlessly.
-
'Child's Play'
The original Child's Play movie may be slightly less scary than its follow-up, but make no mistake that this was a classic introduction of a horror character that has terrorized kids (and some adults) for three decades. The first part of the movie builds tension by teasing us with a mostly unseen killer doll -- possessed by murderer Charles Lee Ray -- before the memorable moment by the fireplace when Andy's mom, Karen, learns the hard way that Chucky really is alive. The doll quickly established that around him, no one is ever safe.
-
'Child's Play 3'
Child's Play 3 ventures a little into the absurd at times, but it maintains the balance of Chucky's dark humor with the scary suspense that would disappear in the immediate sequels. The film plays well on teenage Andy's PTSD, who once again has to come face-to-face with his childhood nightmare. It's not the strongest of the original trilogy, but the movie serves its purpose as the last installment of Chucky's true horror era.
-
'Curse of Chucky'
Curse of Chucky may have a few jokes to tell from the wise-cracking psychopathic doll, but this particular movie finally navigated the series back into the horror realm. For the first time since Child's Play 3, Chucky was genuinely scary again -- and not just because of the not-so-subtle new face design.
-
'Cult of Chucky'
Again, the humor that some fans have come to love about Chucky is definitely present in this movie. But the filmmakers continued their efforts of trying to keep their horror movie actually, well, scary. The premise of being stuck in a mental institution with a seemingly unstoppable two-foot killing machine did wonders for the plot. Old school fans were eager to feel terrified of Chucky once again, instead of just always laughing at him.
-
'Bride of Chucky'
Don't get us wrong; Bride of Chucky is a fun, messy time where we get to learn more about Chucky and his dysfunctional love life as we follow him and his wife Tiffany on a bloody journey of mayhem and murder. However, this movie is when fans saw a massive shift from the horror genre into the borderline ridiculous comedy that formed Chucky's on-screen personality post the original trilogy. Funny, in this case, never quite equals terrifying. Except for maybe that birth scene.
-
'Seed of Chucky'
Shit got a little weird here, folks. Seed of Chucky is easily the least scary installment in the entire franchise. Who could forget the breaking of the fourth wall by having actress Jennifer Tilly play herself in the film (even though she voices Chucky's bride and played the human version of Tiffany in the previous film)? Chucky and Tiffany's offspring, Glen/Glenda, may have offered a unique take on growing up in a family of serial killers as a doll, but that was more oddly fascinating and comedic than ever horrifying.
