Summary
- Chucky is the iconic slasher villain and the main reason viewers keep coming back for more of the Child's Play franchise.
- The franchise follows a consistent storyline that begins with the original 1988 Child's Play movie.
- The Chucky TV show spinoff expands the franchise's plot, bringing back old characters and maintaining Chucky as the central villain.
The Chucky's slasher series. Ever since 1988’s Child’s Play introduced viewers to Chucky, the character has been an iconic slasher villain. Chucky is a doll possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray. Played with gravelly-voiced panache by Brad Dourif, the killer doll is both the villain and arguably the antihero of the Child’s Play franchise.
While the Child’s Play movies technically have human heroes and Chucky is defeated by the end of each outing, there is no confusion about who the franchise’s real hero is. Like A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees, Chucky is the reason that viewers keep coming back for more of the Child’s Play franchise. The later movies played into this, making Chucky a quip-happy antihero and adding more meta-comedy to the mix. SyFy’s TV show spinoff Chucky took this even further, with Chucky acting as its main character.
How To Watch The Child’s Play Movies In Release Date Order
- Child’s Play (1988)
- Child’s Play 2 (1990)
- Child’s Play 3 (1991)
- Bride of Chucky (1998)
- Seed of Chucky (2004)
- Curse of Chucky (2013)
- Cult of Chucky (2017)
- Child’s Play (2019)
- Chucky (2021 TV Show)
Child’s Play (1988)
1988's original Child’s Play is the most serious and straightforward horror movie in the series. The mayhem begins when Andy’s mother buys a bootleg Good Guy doll, unaware that is it possessed by the spirit of a sadistic serial killer. Soon, a string of killings begin and only the young Andy is aware that the killer doll is to blame for this brutal murder spree. Other than 2019’s unrelated Child’s Play remake, every sequel and spinoff follows the storyline that begins with this original movie.
Child’s Play 2 (1990)
Surprisingly enough, Child’s Play 2 doesn’t move on to a new hero like most slasher franchises. Instead, Andy must once again take down Chucky when the company that produced the doll unwittingly revives the possessed toy. Since Andy has barely regained his sanity since the event of the original movie, beating Chucky a second time soon proves trickier than anticipated. However, this doesn't elevate Child's Play 2 very far. Critically dismissed, this inessential sequel lacked the ferocity of the original movie. Still, the ing cast is strong, and the storyline isn’t too predictable.
Child’s Play 3 (1991)
A recast Andy is now a teenager in military school in 1991’s Child’s Play 3. This sequel brings Chucky back again via another unlikely incident at the toy factory and, by this stage, critics were tiring of the franchise formula. It is ittedly a lot harder to worry both Andy’s fate when he has already survived two run-ins with the doll, but there is some fun to be mined from the military school setting, That said, a lack of stakes and innovation means that, for the most part, Child’s Play 3 is a low point for the series.
Bride of Chucky (1998)
1998’s Bride of Chucky was a rare horror sequel that fixed its franchise, as director Ronny Yu’s stylish reboot injected more black comedy into proceedings. A scene-stealing Jennifer Tilly plays Chucky’s equally lethal love interest Tiffany who, through convoluted voodoo rituals, ends up becoming a killer doll like her beau. Tiffany and Chucky embark on a bloody road trip across America accompanied by two clueless teens who unwittingly take the blame for the former's crimes. Gory, silly, and occasionally even a little creepy, Bride of Chucky is a campy delight that elevated the critical standing of the franchise.
Seed of Chucky (2004)
In 2004’s offbeat Seed of Chucky, Chucky and Tiffany’s child Glen resurrects the pair only to be disappointed when they inevitably return to their murderous old habits. Series screenwriter Don Mancini manages to make Seed of Chucky an underrated follow-up that blends gore, brazen meta-comedy, and a surprisingly sincere LGBTQIA+ subplot. While Chucky’s TV show brought back Glen, the character’s introduction was an underrated outing that benefited from hysterical cameos by John Waters, Redman, and Jennifer Tilly as a heavily fictionalized take on herself.
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Almost a decade after the high-camp goofiness of Seed of Chucky abandoned the franchise’s horror roots almost entirely, 2013’s Curse of Chucky was an unexpectedly grim reboot for the series. This was no bad thing since Curse of Chucky is also one of the most effective horror stories in the franchise. An unpleasant family gathers after the death of their matriarch and squabbles over inheritance while, in the shadows, Chucky returns to his bloody antics. Darker and nastier than most of the franchise’s earlier outings, Curse of Chucky was a striking but welcome change of pace.
Cult of Chucky (2017)
While Curse of Chucky was dark, 2017’s Cult of Chucky’s occasional comedy was so bleak that no light could hope to escape it. This outing featured an infamously nasty ending viewers took a while to recover from, but the sequel features plenty of shocks long before that twist. One of the best movies in the series, Cult of Chucky sees its titular villain gaslight Curse of Chucky’s lone survivor Nica while she is confined in a mental institution. Meanwhile, Tiffany cuts a bloody swathe outside the asylum.
Child’s Play (2019)
2019’s Child’s Play reboot doesn’t really have a place in the story of the series since this unrelated project was made without original creator Don Mancini’s involvement. A solid if utterly un-scary horror satire, Child’s Play 2019 focuses not on a possessed doll but rather on a toy whose haywire robotics turn him into a calculating murderer. Aubrey Plaza and Bryan Tyree Henry make this worth a watch but, beyond a few gory gags, Child’s Play 2019 is nothing special. Arguably the biggest issue with the reboot is that it might have benefited from ditching its supposed connection to Chucky’s famous movie series.
Chucky (2021 TV Show)
Two years after 2019’s reboot, Child’s Play received a TV show spinoff with TV’s Chucky. This show picks up the story of the franchise where Cult of Chucky left off, with a new teen coming across the Good Guy doll and befriending the seemingly sweet Chucky all over again. Throughout its two seasons, Chucky has complicated the franchise’s plot even further by bringing back a slew of old faces as well as killing off some fan favorites. However, the Chucky series has managed to hold on to its central appeal by keeping the villain of the Child’s Play franchise at its center.
