Paul Brian McCoy" />
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      Paul Brian McCoy
      January 17, 2022
      Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      John E. Meredith
      January 17, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

      John E. Meredith
      January 16, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

      John E. Meredith
      January 15, 2022
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • X (2022)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      April 22, 2022
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • X (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      April 22, 2022
    • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      April 15, 2022
    • The Adam Project (2022)

      Nate Zoebl
      March 16, 2022
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • X (2022)
  • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
  • The Adam Project (2022)
  • The Batman (2022)
  • Entropy (2022)
  • Killer Sofa (2019)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
DVD/Blu-ray

Advance Review: Curse of Chucky Blu-ray

Paul Brian McCoy
October 6, 2013
DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, Reviews

In a world where classic horror films of the 80s are being remade, reimagined, and rebooted every few months, Writer/Director Don Mancini brings back his creation, Chucky, in a no-holds-barred return to his straight-horror roots and does a damned fine job in the process with Curse of Chucky.

Chucky Axe

This is the second feature film Mancini has directed, the first being the hilariously demented Seed of Chucky, but it’s the sixth Child’s Play movie he’s written. Yes, the sixth. As in, he’s written every single Child’s Play film since 1988. It’s pretty rare for one hand to be behind every installment of a franchise that runs for more than three films (Paul W. S. Anderson’s Resident Evil franchise and Don Coscarelli’s Phantasm series are the only other ones I can think of off the top of my head), and it lends credibility to this straight-to-video film.

Yeah. I said straight-to-video. It seems Universal doesn’t quite trust in Mancini and Chucky as much as the rest of us do.

Curse of Chucky is the first film in the franchise to be shot digitally instead of on film, the first to not get a theatrical release, and has the lowest budget in the history of the franchise (5 million). Universal has essentially washed their hands of Chucky, but aren’t ready to let go of its money-making capabilities. Luckily, even with these limited resources and the lack of confidence from the studio, Don Mancini isn’t ready to leave Chucky to the wolves.

Chucky Bed

In order to make the most of the limited budget, Mancini has opted to satisfy fans who thought the last two Chucky films had veered too far into comedy and return the homicidal doll to his roots, while keeping the action almost entirely contained in a single setting, an old creepy house. By keeping the focus of the story in the house, production designer Craig Sandells was able to spend a healthy chunk of the budget on the multi-level soundstage house set. Another chunk of change went to special-effects mastermind Tony Gardner and a small crew of puppeteers who, with the help of CG masking, were able to really get up-close and in the action for the first time ever.

The Film:

As for the film itself, Curse of Chucky not only rolls back to the more direct horror of the original trilogy, it also takes a look back at the origin of Chucky and Brad Dourif gets to do more than just voice the titular character this time around. In a move that should also get a lot of support from the fanbase, Dourif’s daughter Fiona Dourif is cast as the paraplegic lead, Nica. There’s a lot less wise-cracking than we’ve seen from Chucky in a while as he puts Nica, her sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti), Barb’s husband Ian (Brennan Elliott), daughter Alice (Summer H. Howell), and nanny Jill (Maitland McConnell) through the wringer after killing Nica and Barb’s mother Sarah (Chantal Quesnelle).

Oh, and 80s/90s heart-throb A Martinez plays the doomed Father Frank.

Chucky Victims

Mancini’s script is still clever when it counts and inventive when it comes to the killings, so on just a rudimentary level, Curse of Chucky is successful as a slasher-horror film. Where it goes above and beyond is with the quality of the effects-work and the overall direction. Despite having a miniscule budget (as far as studio horror films are concerned) the puppeteering of Chucky puts a lot of bigger budget films to shame. Because the puppeteers were able to actually get in close this time (as opposed to having to build sets six-feet off the ground and find creative ways to mask cabling in the shots) the performance of Chucky himself is much more believable and threatening.

And the kills are brutal, bloody, and violent. The quality of the gore effects is amazing given the shoestring budget. There’s a beheading in this movie that has one of the best fake heads I’ve ever seen on film. It really looks like the victim. In fact, the reliance on practical effects for this film is another of its strengths. While there are CG touches here and there, most of the computer work went toward erasing the puppeteers from shots and providing slight enhancements to shots.

Chucky Pissed

Although, according to the director’s commentary, there’s an early exterior shot of the house and surrounding woods that is entirely CG and it’s amazing. And there are a couple of shots where Chucky was too scary for the 6 year-old Summer Howell and he had to be added to the shot digitally later. But that says more about the quality of the practical effects work than anything I could.

Mancini’s direction is sure-handed and effective, from the choice to shoot most of the film from Nica’s wheelchair-bound eye-level to the choice of music cues. There were a couple of jump scares that I didn’t care for, but that’s a personal preference. They did what they were supposed to do, so there’s that. It’s a solid and praiseworthy entry in the slasher/monster genre that should please even the most jaded of fans.

But it’s the final moments that really won me over. There’s a twist ending (or two), bringing back a secret guest star (or two), that made me very happy. Despite going back to revisit the night that transformed Charles Lee Ray (and his very bad wig) into Chucky, this is definitely a continuation of the story rather than a reboot. If you’re a fan of any iteration of Chucky over the years, Curse of Chucky has something to satisfy you until Universal decides to let Mancini continue taking his brainchild into new and entertaining directions.

Chucky Nica

The disc itself is a 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that is spotless. Shooting on digital really agrees with Chucky. Mancini’s choices to keep the colors muted in blues, greens, yellows, and browns doesn’t affect the pristine clarity or the lifelike skin tones. The deep shadows are solid blacks with no fuzziness or noisy encoding problems.

The audio is likewise about as good as it can get, with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that really delivers a nice blend of sharp shocks and subtle ambient unease. The jump scare music cues were a bit loud for my tastes, but they did inspire the jumps they were intending.

All in all, this just a very well-put-together film with a very well-put-together Blu-ray transfer.

Chucky Family

Bonus Features:

R-Rated and Unrated Cuts: The R-rated cut is 95 minutes and the Unrated cut is 97 minutes. While I don’t know exactly what the difference is between the cuts, I’d say just stick to the Unrated. Although I’m sure the R cut is fine, too.

Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Don Mancini, puppeteer Tony Gardner, and lead actrss Fiona Dourif chat all the way through the film and it is a treat. There are plenty of stories from behind-the-scenes, as well as insight into some of the directorial choices Mancini made. Everyone involved seemed to be having fun and that made listening to the commentary a fun experience, too.

Deleted Scenes: Six deleted scenes are included and none of them really made much of an impression on me. Which, I suppose, is part of the reasoning behind the cuts.

Chucky Flashback

Gag Reel: If you like [REDACTED], then this will make you chuckle. Otherwise, it’s fairly light.

Playing with Dolls: The Making of Curse of Chucky (16 min.): Behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Curse of Chucky with interviews from the cast and crew. It’s a very nice look at the motivations behind this one and the return to the franchise’s horror roots. As a fan who enjoyed Bride and Seed of Chucky more than the earlier efforts, it’s a little frustrating, but what can you do?

Blu-ray Exclusive Features:

Living Doll: Bringing Chucky to Life (9 min.): Just like it says, this looks at all aspects of putting Chucky on film, from design to construction to performance. There are some good bits in here that give you a good idea where the money went. For a low-budget, direct-to-video film, there’s a very high level of quality to the effects and set design.

Chucky Mood Lighting

Voodoo Doll: The Chucky Legacy (7 min.): A look at Chucky as a horror icon. It’s fairly entertaining, if a little light. All in all, there’s not a lot of substance to the extras, but they are enjoyable.

Storyboard Comparisons (25 min.): There are four storyboard to film comparisons here with introductions by Mancini. Interesting if you like that sort of thing.

 

Curse of Chucky was released as a VOD/Digital Download on September 24 and will be released on Blu-ray/DVD October 8, 2013.

(Visited 208 times, 1 visits today)
Advance Review: Curse of Chucky Blu-ray
4.0Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Blu-rayBrad DourifChuckyCurse of ChuckyDon Mancini

31 Days of Halloween: Day 06 – Resolution
Robot Chicken Season 6 Blu-Ray Review

About The Author

monsterid
Paul Brian McCoy
Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver

Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

Daily Top Ten

  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Lego DC Batman: Family Matters Blu-ray ReviewLego DC Batman: Family Matters Blu-ray Review by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Uzumaki (2000)Uzumaki (2000) by Matthew Fantaci
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • Beautiful Creatures: Aqua Teen Hunger ForceBeautiful Creatures: Aqua Teen Hunger Force by Dan Lee
  • Women in Horror: They Call Her One-Eye, or Thriller: A Cruel PictureWomen in Horror: They Call Her One-Eye, or Thriller:… by John E. Meredith
  • Superman II (1980)Superman II (1980) by John Clark
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers Advance DVD ReviewThor and Loki: Blood Brothers Advance DVD Review by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Battleship DVD ReviewBattleship DVD Review by Danny Djeljosevic
400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

Weekly Top Ten

  • Page to Screen: The Boys Season OnePage to Screen: The Boys Season One by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy”Adventure Time 6.06 “Breezy” by Dave Hearn
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Big Eyes Smart Mouth: Porco RossoBig Eyes Smart Mouth: Porco Rosso by Serdar Yegulalp
  • Women in Horror: They Call Her One-Eye, or Thriller: A Cruel PictureWomen in Horror: They Call Her One-Eye, or Thriller:… by John E. Meredith
  • Advance Review: Russian Yeti – The Killer LivesAdvance Review: Russian Yeti – The Killer Lives by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • The Watcher (2016)The Watcher (2016) by Jessica Sowards
400x400 UA Affiliate Banner

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Latest Reviews

  • X (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    April 22, 2022
  • Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    April 15, 2022
  • The Adam Project (2022)

    Nate Zoebl
    March 16, 2022

psychodrivein

Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E38 - Greg And Joel's Favorite Modern Figures, Part 1

Greg & Joel (@OrderOfBattlePod) break down their favorite modern figures from the first half of the line. 
---
Listen to the guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #OrderOfBattle @AnythingJoesPod #GIJoe #Habro
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 415: Remaking Gilligan's Island

Gilligan’s Island was escapism comedy, with everyday and weird science devices made from bamboo and coconuts. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#GilligansIsland #LostInTranslation #BobDenver #AlanHaleJr #JimBackus #NatalieSchafer #TinaLouise #DawnWells #RussellJohnson
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Unboxing Kotobukiya's Dawn Moreno (Snake Eyes II) & Mighty Jaxx's Off Werk Snake Eyes Vinyl!

Greg takes a quick look at two new releases in the world of GI Joe statues and collectibles!
---
Watch Greg at the link in our profile!

#GIJoe #AnythingJoes @AnythingJoesPod #DawnMorano #SnakeEyes2 #SnakeEyes #Kotobukiya #MightyJaxx #OffWerk
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 414: I Love You, Colonel Sanders! (2019)

The game has a heart, and that heart is Colonel Sanders.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#ColonelSanders #KFC #LostInTranslation #ILoveYouColonelSanders
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 413: Cloak & Dagger (2018)

Cloak & Dagger is a coming-of-age story with superheroes, a teen drama with superheroes, and works as such.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #MarvelComics #MarvelTelevision #CloakAndDagger #AubreyJoseph #OliviaHolt
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Popcorn Cinema Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Popcorn Cinema 48: THE MULTIVERSE IS MADNESS

POPCORN raises his hands, putting them together in front of his face. He then pushes his face slowly through them as if he's giving birth to himself. 
---
Read more of John's reviews at the link in our profile!

#DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness #EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce #SamRaimi #Daniels #BenedictCumberbatch #MichelleYeoh #ElizabethOlsen #JamesHong #JamieLeeCurtis #KeHuyQuan #StephanieHsu
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E37 - G.I. Joe #12 / Three Strikes For Snake-Eyes!

It's the start of one of the most iconic Joe stories in it's entire history, and it includes the return of two pivotal characters from the past! Join Greg and Jaren as they venture into Rio Lindo to root out Cobra's next devious plot!
---
Watch Greg and Jaren at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes @anythingjoespod #GIJoe #MarvelComics #SnakeEyes
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 412: Good Omens (2014 BBC Radio Dramatisation)

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch was first published in 1990 and was a comedy about Revelations and Armageddon.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #GoodOmens #NeilGaiman #TerryPratchett #BBC #MarkHeap #PeterSerafinowicz #JimNorton #AdamThomasWright #JosieLawrence #Charlotterichie #ColinMorgan #CliveRussell #JuliaDeakin #BBCRadio
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E36 - Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2022

Greg & Jaren recount their experience meeting Larry Hama at the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention 2022. Plus, the latest news, recent acquisitions, and listener mail!
---
Listen to Greg and Jaren's podcast at the link in our profile!

@anythingjoespod #AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Mezco #LarryHama
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Latest Columns

  • Anything Joes: S01E38 – Greg And Joel’s Favorite Modern Figures, Part 1

    Greg Engle
    June 24, 2022
  • Lost in Translation 415: Remaking Gilligan’s Island

    Scott Delahunt
    June 24, 2022
  • Anything Joes: Unboxing Kotobukiya’s Dawn Moreno (Snake Eyes II) & Mighty Jaxx’s Off Werk Snake Eyes Vinyl!

    Greg Engle
    June 15, 2022

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Oliver Ghingold
Oliver Ghingold - 2/18/2022
Muppet Madness: You’re the Director
Do you still have these tapes? I've been looking everywhere for them! I loved the Interactive Vision...
white swan
white swan - 12/22/2021
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
I enjoyed the article though I would never call brutality gorgeous.
Shawn EH
Shawn EH - 10/26/2021
13 Days of Halloween Day 12: Halloween Kills (2021)
Very disappointing, it's true. And very mean-spirited murders of nobodies. And I don't even see how...
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: