Hmmmmm….. well I had to wonder just what to expect from yet another film about the murderous doll named ‘Chucky.’ It’s been 17 years since the release of the original “Child’s Play” movie, which introduced us to serial killer Charles Lee Ray (played by the ‘ever perfect as a serial killer’ Brad Dourif). In that original film, directed by Tom Holland, Ray (as he lay dying) was able to transfer his soul into a doll. Played for very few laughs, it was a favorite horror flick of mine at the time. Chucky was actually a pretty frightening little creature. Fast forward several years and four sequels later, Chucky is now somewhat of a phenomenon, but not because he is necessarily frightening, but more so because he has become a parody of himself. By the time “Bride of Chucky” came around in 1998, the franchise was played mostly for laughs, and while it shot the character into the stratosphere of popularity with the teen party crowd, horror fans were… well… horrified.

Writer Don Mancini is the guy responsible for all of the Chucky outings, and knows a good thing when he sees it, so this time he steps into the role of director for “Seed of Chucky.” With this new film, Mancini takes the next obvious step in the evolution of the character (now characterS with the addition of Tiffany – Chucky’s Bride) by giving them a child. Needless to say, being a horror film fan, I was not really excited about this evolution. However, I opted to check out the DVD and see for myself what has become of Chucky and found that as an all around movie, it’s not so bad.

While it doesn’t create the elements of fear that made the original so great, “Seed of Chucky” does successfully blend the ideas of humor and horror well enough to make it a fun ride. Fans of the original film simply need to disassociate themselves from “Child’s Play” completely and enjoy it for what it is. The film is full of one-liners, and the premise itself is rather interesting, with Chucky and his bride getting mixed up with the filming of a movie about him. The whole ‘film within a film’ premise has done before with Freddy Kruger, and here it plays almost as well. Over all the film comes off as more of a comic book, with the deaths and blood being so much more exaggerated than usual.

Universal is releasing a couple of different versions of “Seed of Chucky”, one being just the theatrical release and a few extras, while the other one is called the ‘Uncut and Fully Extended’ version (sexual innuendo intended). This latter version is an excellent release, even if the film is a little less so. There are a ton of extra features, all of which are quite fun, whether or not you end up liking the movie itself.

There are two separate audio commentaries, the first by writer/director Mancini and actress Jennifer Tilly. This particular commentary was a lot more fun to listen to than I expected as the two go on an on in a very relaxed conversational manner. The second teams Mancini up with puppet expert Tony Gardner and this one I especially enjoyed being that I am really into special effects and puppeteering. You’ll also find a running text commentary that pops up little bits of information on the screen while you’re watching the movie.

There is also a “Making of…” featurette and several short interview segments filmed just for the DVD. These are a fairly hit and miss proposition as to their humor, but worth checking out overall. Once you get past these, check out the excerpts from Jennifer Tilly’s diary as well as the ‘on-set’ diary that was filmed for the Tonight Show. Add to these some storyboards of the opening sequence and you have quite a full DVD.

Again, I had really mixed feelings about “Seed of Chucky”, but mostly because I missed how scary the character was back in the original film, “Child’s Play.” I really wish it were possible for Mancini to go back to the character’s roots and make him a frightening figure all over again.

Directed by: Don Mancini
Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Redman, Hannah Spearritt, John Waters (Voices of: Brad Dourif and Billy Boyd)
Extras: Audio commentary with Don Mancini & Jennifer Tilly, Audio commentary with Don Mancini & Tony Gardner, Trivia Track, Deleted scene with optional commentary,
Interviews with cast, Making of featurette, Holiday slide show, Fuzion Up Close interviews with cast, Excerpts from Jennifer Tilly diary, Video diary from Jennifer Tilly for Tonight Show, Storyboard to film comparison, Trailers, Cast & Crew biographies and filmographies
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 6/7/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
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We'll give Seed of Chucky a C+.