Raven Cassidey (Rated 18): Halloween Countdown (Day 19: Good Luck Chuck)

I mentioned in a previous blog entry that I was looking for two DVDs in town, and since I couldn't find them anywhere, I went on the net to purchase them. One of them was Rob Zombie's "Halloween 2", and the other is the subject of this blog post. Oh yes, there will be spoilers.

There were two reasons why I wanted to watch this. The first of which is that it's the only Chucky movie that I haven't seen. The second is that the soundtrack looked awesome. Granted not every soundtrack album features songs from the film, but it was enough to make me check it out. However, I was never really a fan of the "Child's Play" series. Sure they were entertaining enough to watch, but I never really took to the horror aspect of it because, let's face it, it's a psychotic "My Buddy" doll killing people.

Before I move on, I just want to mention that my brother and I had this doll when we were children. So my godmother rented this for us to watch, along with my mother, but when Chucky started killing people, they both quickly turned it off. I'm guessing it was my godmother, as she was the one who rented Robocop for me and my brother, and we were left alone to watch it. My mum was horrified when she actually watched it herself afterwards.

Okay, WHY did you pick this film?

Along with the reasons earlier on in this article, I had also seen "Seed Of Chucky" a few years ago, and I remembered it being cheesy and quite entertaining to watch. I preferred this to the rest of the "Child's Play" series, so I wanted to see "Bride Of Chucky" since I gathered it was along the same lines. Surprised that it has taken this long to get around to, now that I think about it.

I posted on my Facebook page that I was about to watch this, and I got this mini review from someone on my friends list:

"It's contrived, childish, cliched and completely lacking in any redeeming factors whatsoever...I highly recommend it :)"

As if I needed any more convincing, really.

Well, Jennifer Tilly would also do.

89 minutes later.....

The verdict is in: hands down, this is my favourite Chucky flick.

I have read that fans of the "Child's Play" series didn't like the direction of this film, but it's the self referential, pisstake, slapstick horror that I think suits the character. I've always thought Chucky was too witty, funny and ridiculous to be horrifying as a movie villain.

The film already won me over in the first five minutes with glimpses of movie monster mementos in a police evidence room (Jason's hockey mask, Freddy's glove, Myers' white William Shatner mask), Jennifer Tilly as a cop killer in an eye popping.....I mean, catching outfit, and Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl" playing during the opening credits. This sets the tone of the movie, letting the viewer know what to expect for its 90 minute duration.

I also didn't know the late John Ritter and Katherine Heigl had roles in this movie. Now that I think about it, has Katherine Heigl been an any notable movies since "Knocked Up"? I don't even know what she's doing nowadays. Is she still on "Grey's Anatomy"? But I digress.....

And now I'll throw in a screenshot of Kath.....I mean "Bride Of Chucky", for good measure.

Speaking about the characters, they are.....well, I guess I have nothing much to say about the supporting cast. I suppose Katherine Heigl did a good enough job, considering the type of movie she's in, and John Ritter is an interesting throwback to family films in the 80s and early 90s. Other than that, the rest of the cast are nothing to talk about. Hell, even Kathy Najimy was more memorable than the rest of them. And I bet most of you are going to check the net to see who the hell is Kathy Najimy.....I did just to get her actual name.

But why have a strong supporting cast when most of them meet their end by killer dolls in gruesome but hilarious ways. And that of course is the whole point of this film. The film pokes fun at itself in relation to the nature of violence in previous films, along with Chucky's previous status as a horror icon. And of course, we now have Tiffany, who is just as crazy and demented as her undead boyfriend.

Their relationship is a twisted one, which goes back and forth from love and hate, via twisted actions and normal everyday domestic strife. The characters are fun to watch, and of course Brad Dourif does a good job bringing Chucky to life with his recognisable voice, bringing menace and humour to the character, which is helped now that the series has gone the comedy route.

As for the "Bride Of Chucky" herself, Jennifer Tilly was a good casting choice, as her squeaky voice is well suited to the Tiffany doll. Also she is fun to watch.....and before you start fining some innuendo in that statement, what I mean is her treatment of Chucky in the first part of the film, along with her twisted mindframe, which is compatible with the love of her life. And it was around the point where she gets murdered onscreen by Chucky that my hand was out of my pants.....no no no, it's not what you think.....

Why do motorboats suddenly come to mind?

I couldn't remember how long it was meant to be between the events of "Child's Play 3" and this film, but at first I questioned whether Tiffany would have been old enough to be Chucky's squeeze when he was alive. But then again, Jennifer Tilly is now in her 50s, and old enough to be a love interest to Kelsey Grammar in an episode of "Fraiser", so I guess her looks defy her age. Hell, she doesn't look that much different nowadays to when she was in the likes of this and "Bound".....what? "Bound" was a good movie, you sick freaks.

Moving swiftly on, the film was fun, and gave me the inspiration to have a look at "Seed Of Chucky", as I don't remember much of it, other than the "adorable" couple's son, and a certain actress who turns out to be Tiffany's idol. You don't need to rack your brains to guess who that would be.....and yes, that was a terrible pun.

And now onto the part of the blog entry where I add extra padding: my top five tracks from the film. There were actually a fair few tracks from the soundtrack CD which were used in the movie (notable exceptions for me were Type O Negative and Motorhead). Not only was I surprised by that, but I got a kick out of recognising tunes that were relevant at a time when my musical tastes moved on from indie to hard rock. I would buy the CD if it wasn't for the fact that not only I own half the tracks elsewhere in my CD collection, but it's expensive to buy nowadays.