Curse of Chucky 2013 - REVIEW

I remember it being 1988 and hearing about Child's Play coming to theaters. The story of a killer doll who traumatizes a single mother and her young son. I knew this was one I absolutely HAD to see and when I was finally able to, it didn't disappoint. I can't say the same for the ones that came after but I guess they weren't ALL bad. I was able to stomach them for the most part at least until Seed of Chucky hit theaters some sixteen years later that I was over the franchise. I'm not sure what they were thinking with that one but..... *heavy sigh* So, here we go again with another addition to the franchise that, like Chucky, never seems to die.

Nica (Fiona Dourif), disabled since birth, lives in a decrepit old house with her mother, Sarah (Chantal Quesnelle). When Sarah mysteriously dies, the rest of the family gathers for her funeral. When    Alice (Summer H. Howell), Nica's niece, comes across a doll that arrived days before they become inseparable. One mysterious death after another and Nica finally starts putting two and two together and realizes that the doll, Chucky (Brad Dourif) is responsible. Left to fend for herself, Nica must now figure out how to defeat Chucky and stay alive.

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I heard about this one. I did however know that it would be hard to disappoint an audience after the blasphemous vile that was Seed of Chucky. "Curse" does go back to it's darker roots as well as offering a bit of the dark comedy. Now, what I struggle with is this... do I compare it to the original since it's not a remake or do I simply take it as just another sequel in a long forgotten franchise? It's hard NOT to compare it to the original, especially after watching it and seeing how it all ties together so let's just start there and see what happens.

The acting was very well done. I was completely unaware of Fiona Dourif until now. She's a phenomenal actress who puts a lot into her work. I loved her in this. And of course, you can't have Chucky without Brad Dourif voicing him so it was good to see him back. Little Summer is a peach and just as cute as can be and very talented.
What I didn't much care for was the look of Chucky. He looked like he was in drag most of the time so that was disappointing. The connection to the original film felt a little like an afterthought and wasn't all that believable for me. "Curse" also went on about 10 minutes too long making for an odd end to a slightly above mediocre film. It did have it's high points though. The creepy, dark feel of the film was spot on but I would've liked to have seen it spread out over a longer period of time and in different locations. It got a little redundant watching them chase each other in and out of rooms like a Scooby Doo cartoon. There are copious amounts of blood (even though two of the deaths are off screen) so that will definitely be appeasing to the genre fans. If you're a fan of Chucky, I have no doubt you'll dig it. As I said, it's far, far better than "Seed" so you really can't go wrong with that.