Bride of Chucky

Well everyone, we have now come to the 1998 sequel, “Bride of Chucky.” Dustin Putman started his review out by admitting, “Although the original "Child's Play" was an intelligent, surprisingly well-crafted horror film, I have never been that big a fan of the series. I mean, it's hard to make a 3-foot doll scary, and by the time 1991's "Child's Play 3" rolled around, the series felt pretty much dead and buried. But old slasher series' die hard, and since there has been a recent horror resurgence, it was inevitable that Chucky would indeed be back for a third sequel.”

“Bride of Chucky” has a really silly story, and is “way” more original than the past entries. The film begins with Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly, a kind of trailer chick, who finds what is left of the almost disembodied Chucky doll, which happens to have the soul of her ex-boyfriend, Charles Lee Ray. She stitches it back together to bring Chucky back who decides to kill Tiffany and transfer her soul into a female doll. What they find out is that for them to transfer out of the dolls, they require a necklace that Chucky buried somewhere in New Jersey. Through some goofs and the usual gags, this bickering doll couple catches a ride with a couple, Jude (Katherine Heigl) and Jesse (Nick Stabile), who are runaways. Is everyone following alright?

Putman admitted, “"Bride of Chucky" has one of the most absurd plots of the year, and some sequences are downright silly (a love scene involving the Chucky and Tiffany dolls immediately springs to mind), but I have to admit that I do admire the filmmakers for trying something a little bit different, rather than recycling the same exact storyline for each sequel. In fact, the film is basically a "Chucky" road movie, which is actually quite intriguing, but it never really follows through with its aspirations. Just as in the recent, "Halloween: H20," the movie felt much too short, as if there was a rush to get to the ending. If another ten to fifteen minutes had been added to the running time, it would have been much more satisfying.”

Putman goes on to say, “I must honestly admit, however, that there is a lot to like in the film. For one, the screenplay is far more sharply written than the other sequels in the series, and there are a lot of clever in-jokes and sharp lines of dialogue.” Also in the beginning, they shoot in a building which has something that is the signature to all of the slasher villains in a storage room, and before we see Chucky, we see Jason’s hockey mask and Michael Myers’s mask.

Putman also admits, “Another element I liked in the film is the realistic love-hate relationship between Chucky and Tiffany. Even though they are dolls, they act exactly like humans do, and are always fighting, but still love each other.” I will admit that the two have some hilarious fights, especially one about Martha Stewart.

As being the third sequel in this horrible franchise, it is nice to see some of the people signed on for this movie. Director Ronny Yu is heavily praised in China, and this film is his American directorial debut. Tilly can be a great actress (and was nominated for an Academy Award), and in the first act of the film when she is a human, she really gives it her all. Peter Pau’s cinematography is nicely put together and well-done.

Sadly, if you were to look at “Bride of Chucky” as a horror film, and it is, the film falls flat. There is a lot of madness in the story and dialogue that, like the others, fails to scare or give anyone suspense (besides one part with Tilly and her boyfriend, Alexis Arquette). The movie never really does what it was supposed to do, and when it was getting to that exact point, it wasn’t successful since it was just too hasty. Putman recommended, “If you are looking for a scary horror film during this Halloween season, then my recommendation would be to see "Urban Legend," which is far, far better.” I know the people who made “Bride of Chucky” were trying to make it more like the other horror movies that were being made around that time, like “Scream” (which we will get to later in the month), what came out was another 80s slasher film. Putman ended by saying, “You know, the type that usually wouldn't even get grandma's ticker going.”

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see why they needed to keep making sequels to the “Child’s Play franchise.” There was nothing that was needed to continue this except to beat a dead horse. This series is just horrible, but if you like it, great. This is not how I would define a horror movie.

Believe it or not, they decided to make another sequel, which I will look at tomorrow.