Ranking Chucky’s best movies is as easy as Child’s Play. The original Child’s Play started life as a script called Batteries Not Included by writer Don Mancini, which was later retitled Blood Buddy. The initial concept was that a boy named Andy was given a doll that was filled with fake blood, which would later come alive when Andy accidentally mixes his own blood with the doll. The doll - dubbed Chucky - would come to life when Andy went to sleep and act out his unconscious desire to kill. The story was intended to be a mystery too, with viewers unsure if its Chucky or Andy carrying out the murders.
When Tom Holland (Fright Night) came onboard to direct Child’s Play the concept was changed, with a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray transferring his soul into a Chucky doll just before his human body dies. With his soul trapped in a toy he needs to transfer to a human body or else he’ll be trapped in the doll for good, so he selects Andy as a host. The movie was a hit and Chucky would return many times in the years that followed - though the tone and genre of each sequel would vary wildly.
With a 2019 remake presenting fans with a fresh take on Chucky, voiced by Mark Hamill (Star Wars), let’s take a look through the franchise to date and rank each entry worst to best.
8. Child’s Play 3 (1991)
Probably the only entry in the franchise that’s a true disappointment is 1991’s Child Play 3. This sequel was released a mere nine months after the second movie, and this rush to shoot a new sequel hurt the final product. The premise finds Chucky coming back to life 8 years after part two and tracking his old nemesis Andy to a military school. While the setting is unique and Brad Dourif (Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers) is typically excellent as Chucky’s voice, the third movie is lacking in suspense and new ideas. Outside of the occasional inspired touch like a showdown in a funhouse, Child’s Play 3 is a dud.
7. Seed Of Chucky (2004)
Seed Of Chucky was series creator Don Mancini’s directorial debut and he decided to completely embrace a cartoony tone, instead of making a straight-ahead slasher. Seed picks up after the ending of Bride Of Chucky, which featured Chucky’s girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) giving birth to a baby doll. The movie has been accurately described as a farce, with numerous meta touches such as Tilly playing both herself and Tiffany, and cameos from John Waters (Feud) and Redman. The film is consistently over the top but while it’s silly fun in its own right it barely feels like a horror movie at all, which is why it’s one of the lesser loved entries.
6. Cult Of Chucky (2017)
Don Mancini returned for 2017’s Cult Of Chucky, which finds the survivor of the previous film Nica, played by Fiona Dourif (The Purge TV series), in a mental institution. Cult is probably the most experimental of the series and features bizarre visuals and creative deaths - probably inspired by Mancini’s time working on the Hannibal series. The movie also features surprise cameos by previous cast members and ends on an intriguing note that sets up a further story, but while Cult is a solid, suspenseful entry, it feels a little underwhelming after the home run that was Curse Of Chucky.
5. Child’s Play 2 (1990)
Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise landed at a curious time in the slasher heyday, with key players like Halloween and Friday The 13th starting to wind down after one sequel too many. Child’s Play 2 picks up two years after the original, with Andy taken in by a foster family and trying to get back to a normal life. The toy company behind Chucky decide to rebuild the destroyed doll, which soon comes to life and seeks Andy out. Child’s Play 2 embraces a more comic tone and features a number of fun setpieces, including Chucky coming after a mean teacher and a Terminator-style showdown in a toy factory. The sequel doesn’t color too far outside the formula, but its a lean, energetic follow-up.
4. Child’s Play (2019)
The Child’s Play remake has proven somewhat controversial, with creator Don Mancini distancing himself from it while he focuses on a forthcoming Child’s Play TV show. The movie also marks the first time Brad Dourif hasn’t voiced Chucky, with Mark Hamill taking over. Despite this drama, the remake is a surprisingly fun reinvention. It takes the basic concept of a lonely boy being given a doll, with this Chucky having advanced A.I. and control other over gadgets, and building an oddly touching bond between them.
Needless to say, the defective doll takes offense to anyone hurting Andy and starts offing victims in blackly comic - and remarkably gory - ways. The cast is also great, especially Gabriel Bateman (Light’s Out) as the new Andy. The humor can be too broad at times and the actual reason Chucky turns evil is dubious, but Child’s Play 2019 is a reboot that’s much better than early word would have suggested.
3. Child’s Play (1988)
After a decade of slashers with a unique gimmick like A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, Child’s Play introduced murderous doll Chucky to the world. The original movie is quite low-key for much of its runtime, playing like a suspenseful thriller than a bloody horror flick. The central relationship between Andy and his mother is sweet and Tom Holland - and no, not THAT Tom Holland - milks a good amount of tension from the stalking sequences. The movie might be a touch slow for modern tastes, but Child’s Play is still a great little thriller.
2. Bride Of Chucky (1998)
Following the lukewarm response to Child’s Play 3, the series appeared effectively done. Horror movies, in general, entered a weird time in the 1990s and it wasn’t until Scream reenergized the genre that studios took an interest in them again. This led to Bride Of Chucky, where Charles Lee Ray’s former girlfriend Tiffany brings him back to life once more and they have a romantic killing spree. Bride has all the gore and creative kills fans could ask for, but the comic interplay between Dourif and Tilly and director Ronny Yu’s (Freddy Vs Jason) energetic direction is what makes it click. The movie also introduced Chucky’s now iconic scarred look and is arguably the most popular entry outside of the 1988 original.
1. Curse Of Chucky (2013)
Following the box-office disappointment of Seed Of Chucky, Mancini considered remaking the original and revisiting his Blood Buddy idea. When untangling the rights proved too difficult, he instead opted for Curse Of Chucky, a tonal reboot that was also the first to go straight to DVD. Where this has spelled the death of other horror franchises like Hellraiser it resulted in the best entry in the Child’s Play series to date. Everything about Curse Of Chucky just works; Fiona Dourif’s strong new heroine Nica, the gothic tone, the family drama, the stalking setpieces and the surprising links to past entries. It’s a love letter to the series and to fans and proved Chucky actually could be made creepy again. There are nits to pick, such as flashbacks to a visibly older character and certain gags don’t land, but in all the ways that count, Curse Of Chucky rocks.
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