Since U Didn't Axe Me: "Cult of Chucky" (2017) Review

On the heels of "Curse of Chucky" comes its irregular follow-up, "Cult of Chucky." After the traumatic events of "Curse," Nica is committed to a mental institute, but Chucky plans to track her down and finish the job. The latest installment in the series places our favorite killer doll in a new environment, and inserts some rather unconventional elements into the usual "Chucky" formula fans are used to.

"Cult of Chucky" is a 2017 sequel written and directed by (once again) Don Mancini. Fiona Dourif returns as Nica, Adam Hurtig (as Michael or Malcolm), Grace Lynn Kung (as Claire), Elisabeth Rosen (as Madeline), Michael Therriault (as Dr. Foley), and Jennifer Tilly (as Tiffany), and Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky...naturally. This transformative sequel steers the franchise in a new direction, but oftentimes feels drawn out instead of fluid. There are some really cool callbacks and cameos in this one, though!

With just four years between its predecessor, this direct-to-video slasher is quite comparable to "Curse of Chucky" in terms of production value. There's more blood and kills here, but they feel spread too far apart.

The setting of the film has a cold and desaturated look, and the absence of much of its music (Chucky's theme is cool though!) takes a lot of the tension out of the film. There's a lot of typical jump scares in place of the creepy vibe found in "Curse." A lot of the time, Chucky is in plain sight, and he never sneaks around hunting his victims. Every hallway is lit up, every corridor is long and empty--there's no surprise.

"Cult of Chucky" follows Nica as she's brought to a mental institution, and she's introduced to a bunch of patients all suffering from various disorders. The actors don't do the best job at portraying their respective disorders (Multiple Malcolm isn't convincing, and neither is Claire... so she gets angry...that's it?!) When Chucky arrives to finish off Nica, he dispatches her "crazy" friends with the a few new tricks up his sleeve.

Don Mancini, the stalwart of the series, once again does a good job directing, but again the problem lies in the script. The film's characters were not likable, there were unnecessary scenes that filled out the runtime, and it weighs the movie down. Characters who were in one scene seems to disappear, and then reappear near the end only to get killed by Chucky. The script needed to be tightened up, and it's a shame it wasn't cleaned up a bit.

Without giving too much away, I will say that there are multiple Chucky dolls in this film. So big props go to the special and visual effects teams for the fantastic work they did on "Cult." Chucky moves, emotes, speaks, and kills with ease, and the men and women behind the scenes deserve their due credit. Aside from the doll effects, "Cult of Chucky" is once again on par with "Curse." There are gorier kills in this one, and the blood and guts effects are very good--especially if you watch the unrated version. There is one really CGI-heavy scene in a dream sequence, but the use of effects just saps all the scariness out of it. I was personally happy to see that the use of CGI was lessened for this one--good choice!

"Cult of Chucky" is a sequel that sets Chucky down a new and interesting path. It has its cool moments, and the cameos and returning characters redeem this movie a bit. I'd be down to watch what's coming up next for Chucky. The main problems with "Cult" is its script, characters, and pacing. When the film is moving fast, its great, but when those filler scenes come in, things just slow down.

If you love the "Chucky" series and are ready for some curveballs thrown at you, check out "Cult of Chucky." It's not a bad watch, and the callbacks to previous entries are really fun and exciting, but this sequel is quite uneven. Have fun guys!

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