‘Cult of Chucky’ FrightFest Premiere Review: A Good Guy Fun Ride!

Chucky is back! Join 1428 Elm as we *SPOILER FREE*  review ‘Cult of Chucky’ and geek out at how awesome it was to see its world premiere in London.

The Intro:

Back at the start of July I managed to secure tickets to the opening day of FrightFest 2017. As soon as I heard Cult of Chucky was going to be having its World Premiere there, I jumped at the chance and paid money for a day pass… even though this was the only movie on Thursday that I REALLY needed to see. Like hell was I risking the single tickets not being available and me missing the chance to see Chucky back on the big screen. Anyway, enough babble! on to the reason you’re all here for….

The Plot: 

Like I said above, this review is going to be spoiler free so I won’t be disclosing any major plot points or twists. I will mainly be focusing on tone, pacing and the film in general. The official plot synopsis as per the FrightFest website:

"Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane for the past four years, Nica Pierce is erroneously convinced that she, not Chucky, murdered her entire family. But when her psychiatrist introduces a new therapeutic “tool” to facilitate his patients’ group sessions – an all-too-familiar “Good Guy” doll – a string of grisly deaths begins to plague the asylum, and Nica starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t crazy after all. Andy Barclay, Chucky’s now-grown-up original nemesis races to Nica’s aid. But he’ll have to get past Tiffany, Chucky’s bride, who will do anything, no matter how deadly or depraved, to help her beloved devil doll."

The Positive

Like all of the Chucky films, Brad Dourif is an absolute delight as the voice of our favourite killer doll. I really felt that the events that transpired in the movie aided in showing how much passion Mr. Dourif still has for voicing the character and the range he has as a voice actor. I’ll keep my praise in the family and say that I was a huge fan of Fiona Dourif as the returning character Nica, who has some VERY interesting character development throughout the movie whilst coming to terms with her actions in Curse of Chucky and facing Chucky once more.

Unlike most sequels that seem to throw continuity out, this movie does great job at throwing back to the previous entries in the franchise in subtle, yet fun, ways! (there may even be a cameo or two).

Future, Gore, Effects Galore

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One thing I was extremely happy about was the amount of gore and practical effects used in the movie. There is no noticeable CGI Chucky like the one in Curse and it looked like the majority of the Chucky doll scenes were done using animatronics and puppetry.

The gore in the movie is on point and not overused to the point of overkill. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are some pretty brutal kill scenes, but not gallon upon gallon of blood spilt and spraying all over the place.

Don Mancini was so passionate about the franchise he built when he was doing the Q&A and urged the fans in the room to go out and support this one so that they can continue telling the story we were left with at the end, although I won’t be divulging that information until October.

Up to his old tricks… (via Universal)

 The Negative

My main gripe with the movie is that it felt lacking in the plot department. A lot of new concepts were introduced but with little explanation, although Don did say these would be addressed in a future installment if this one performs with the fans.

Fans of Bride and Seed will be happy to know that Chucky is at his witty best, but I know that a lot of fans take issue with the mixture of both humour and horror. Although the effects were great, there were still one or two set pieces that looked a little off but I can appreciate that this is a low budget affair when you compare it to current Hollywood horror movies.

‘Child’s Play’ — Courtesy of Universal

 How was the film overall?

IMDB usually works on a star rating out of 10, so I’d give this movie 8 stars out of 10 stars. It is a solid entry in a franchise that is already six installments strong and it also manages to breathe new life into what most may think is a tired concept. I firmly believe both fans of the original Child’s Play series and Bride, Seed, and Curse of Chucky will be very happy at what is on display in this installment and will be begging for another one come closing credits.

 When can I see it?

Cult of Chucky will find its way into your horror collection Oct. 3. The film will lbe released on Blu-Ray, DVD and VOD. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer below. Red Band of course!

Although we also promised a spoilery review of the film, Don Mancini himself urged people in attendance not to leak any important details from the movie. So, for now, you won’t find any spoilers here. Trust me Chucky fans, it’s worth the wait!

Next: The Graveyard: Digging up Anthony Perkins’ Psycho III

Pleased or unhappy regarding my thoughts on the movie? Do you plan on picking it up when it is released? Let us know in the comments below or via our social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.