Storm Informs

If you’ve been desperately waiting for the return of a tired horror franchise about a freaky ass ginger kiddies doll that comes alive with an insatiable bloodlust and manages to slaughter numerous people despite weighing only ten pounds and standing just two feet high, then boy, is today your lucky day.

Chucky from Child’s Play is back, and the runty rotten red-haired serial-killing plastic bastard is set to return in a direct-to-DVD sequel being produced by Universal Home Entertainment.

They’d save a ton on special effects if they just cast Clay Aiken.

The Chucky franchise originally debuted with its first film Child’s Play back in 1988.

While it is by no means a great film, Child’s Play was at least a decent and unique entry into 80′s horror movie lore, which by that time had become so over-saturated with such an abundance of schlocky blood-soaked flicks like Hellraiser, Ghoulies, and the endless amount of Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween slasher sequels that a “horror movie” with a puppet seemed like a great idea.

Still stupid 20 years later.

Also, since the original Child’s Play movie was loosely based on the real-life urban legend of Robert the haunted doll, it’s by far the best film in the Chucky series, a pentalogy in which each sequel became increasingly ridiculous, cheesy, parodic and bizarre.

Unless you consider busty bimbo / mutilated puppet sex mainstream entertainment.

Let’s face it, one movie about a living killer doll was enough, but in order to maximize the life expectancy and profitability of the series, Chucky quickly evolved into one of lamest and goofiest horror villains ever.

But still not as dumb as the rapping pot-smoking evil dwarf in Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood.

The new sequel, Curse of Chucky, is set to begin production in September, and its synopsis is as follows:

Chucky arrives to wreak havoc within a family that’s regrouped for a funeral.  In the wake of her mother’s passing, a young woman – in a wheelchair since birth – is forced to put up with her sister, brother-in-law, niece and their nanny as they say their goodbyes to mother.  When people start turning up dead, the fearless Nica discovers the culprit might be a “strange doll” she was sent a couple of days earlier.”

Sounds like a winner to me.  I mean, come on, how can you go wrong with a villainous protagonist, a multitude of murders, cranky in-laws and a handicapped person?

Just like Breaking Bad … if it was written by idiots.

When you think about it, the Chucky series making the move to direct-to-DVD has been a long time coming, and is also better suited for the type of material.

Perhaps by embracing its B-movie roots the series may get the shot in the arm it needs and can go back to focusing more on creepy suspense than slapstick.  If so, then Curse of Chucky could wind up being one of the better entries in the franchise when cameras start rolling in Winnipeg, Canada later this summer.

Which, according to Rob Lowe, is a film production city that offers a curse of its own.