Horror Movie Review: Cult of Chucky (2017)

Curse of Chucky was a return to a much darker tone. One that made it feel more like the original Child’s Play movies resulting in a satisfying watch. Cult of Chucky fails to capitalise on that by delivering a disappointing & mostly dull movie.

Cult of Chucky opens with a bang as we see Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) on a date that doesn’t go well. Frustrated he returns home & opens up a safe to reveal that he has the mutilated & still alive head of the original Chucky!

It’s a great opening. Chucky’s head is a mess as Andy tortures him. Regardless though the evil doll is defiant & as cheeky as ever with Brad Dourif still killing it in the role.

The movie then switches to Nica (Fiona Dourif) from Curse of Chucky. She has been in a mental institution for the last four years having been framed by Chucky for the murders of her family. Over the years she has been convinced through therapy that Chucky isn’t real & that she murdered her family.

This ‘breakthrough’ sees her transferred to a less secure institution. Here she takes part in group therapy designed to help all of the inmates. The doctor brings out a Good Guy doll in an attempt to make Nica more comfortable with her delusions but she & a few of the other patients are disturbed by it.

As much as Nica might be convinced she is responsible for her families’ deaths, she still can’t shake off the feeling that the doll is alive. This isn’t helped by a visit from Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) who reveals that Nica’s niece has since died. Tiffany was made the girl’s legal guardian (how & why are never revealed) & has little remorse. She leaves Nica with another Good Guy doll as a final gift from her niece & that night, it wakes up & goes on the prowl.

Now the question is if Andy has Chucky’s head, how is it that he is also in the hospital? This is where the ‘cult’ name comes into play as it transpires that Chucky has found out how to transfer his consciousness into multiple dolls.

Nica, Andy & everyone in the hospital are in more danger then they could ever have imagined.

Truth be told, this plot development is pretty disappointing. With a title like Cult of Chucky it implies the possibility of an actual cult having sprung up around the killer. People obsessed with the stories & wanting to bring him back. The early introduction of Tiffany seems to suggest so. She would likely be the leader but instead it’s just multiple versions of the doll.

While it makes for a frantic finale, the humour associated with multiple versions running about just falls flat.

The acting is mostly solid. Alex Vincent doesn’t have much to do but his expressions of a man accepting that is fate is bound forever to Chucky are good. While Fiona Dourif takes the lead again & does a great job especially at the end of the movie. The supporting cast aren’t particularly memorable & Jennifer Tilly looks a bit bored by her lines though.

Where Cult of Chucky does entertain is with some violent & gory kills. They are well paced & while they rarely shock, the manner in which they occur is fun.

It’s not a terrible movie by any stretch. However, by time the credits roll you can’t help but feel as though so much more could have been done here. It feels very fan-service which is fine in some regard. Unfortunately the forcing in of pointless sub-plots as well as a few too many conveniences means this isn’t going to go down as one of the better entries.

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