Seed of Chucky

The 1988 Child's Play was, despite its risible premise of a homicidal doll, a genuine thriller, but as the series proceeded through three sequels (the most recent being 1998's Bride of Chucky), the films became progressively campier, and now this fifth entry goes whole hog into John Waters territory (in fact, the cult director himself makes an appearance as a guest victim). Basically a random collection of over-the-top gags and florid scare moments, Seed of Chucky is a wink-and-nudge disaster that only a fanatical movie buff could love: it's crammed with joke references to horror flicks from Halloween to Psycho and Carrie to The Shining (though they add up to very little). In the messy excuse for a plot, a sweet-tempered, androgynous creature working as a ventriloquist's dummy learns he's actually the offspring of the murderous Chucky and his “wife” Tiffany (voiced by Jennifer Tilly), and escapes to California to reunite with them. From this point on, the picture becomes a garish showbiz spoof, with the “couple” trying to impregnate ambitious actress Jennifer Tilly (playing herself on the set of the film Chucky Goes Psycho) in order to have another child. Meanwhile, their existing kid struggles to determine whether it's male or female while trying to resist the urge to follow in its father's violent footsteps. Splattered with blood and gore but not scary in the slightest, while straining for laughs that never come, this misfire should really be called Bomb of Chucky. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Don Mancini and costar Jennifer Tilly, a “Conceiving the Seed of Chucky” making-of featurette (19 min.), a 14-minute storyboard comparison segment, a TV interview with the Seed of Chucky stars (5 min.), a “Family Hell-iday Slide Show” in which the family looks at slides of their vacation and notice Chucky murdered in each area--oops!(4 min.), a deleted scene (4 min.), a “Heeeeere's Chucky” interview with the titular evil doll (2 min.), Tilly on The Tonight Show (2 min.), and three brief promo clips (2 min.). Bottom line: a handsome extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)