The Seed of Chucky review by The Grim Ringler
There really is an art to the trashy film. Sure, sure, plenty of filmmakers make movies that are trash, and some have elements of trashiness, but few ever really reach the upper echelons of trash cinema. I would imagine that were there a patron saint of the trashy movie, it would be director John Waters, so it’s fitting that he appears in Seed as nosy paparazzi. Personally, I have never had a great appetite for trashy films, they just never seem to be my cup of gristle, yet, from time to time there comes a film that is so over the top and proud of that fact that you have to applaud it. Such is the case of The Seed of Chucky. A film so raucous and offensive that you can’t help but laugh as you are cringing. And parents…this is certainly not a film for the kiddies.
The film begins with a strange, moderately disturbing looking doll (it looks like Ziggy Stardust, seriously) that has found itself to be alive and serving a cruel master. The nameless doll is the dummy in a crass ventriloquist’s act and just doesn’t have the temperament for this kind of work. What it really wants is to find its mother and father and be part of a family. While watching the television the doll sees that a film is being made about the dolls that had been present at a series of serial killings – the dolls being Chucky and his bride Tiffany. The doll runs away from its master and makes its way to Hollywood where, with the help of an inherited amulet, it is able to revive its dead parents and finally be with his own kind. The reunion isn’t what he’d expected though as he hadn’t realized his mother and father were homicidal maniacs, his father perhaps the worse of the two with his insistence that killing wasn’t addictive and that he could stop anytime he wanted. The doll – who I won’t name here since there is a bit of silly mystery concerning an aspect of its nature – is soon knee-deep in bodies as Chucky and Tiffany try to find suitable bodies for themselves, and in the process, a woman they can impregnate with Chucky’s ‘seed’ so the three of them can finally become humans and live happily ever after. The plot thickens though when Chucky and Tiffany break their vows to one another to halt their killing – for the sake of their child, who is repulsed by the murders – and this sets the stage for a very violent, surprising ending that pits the two dolls against one another in a bitter custody battle that is sure to end in murder.
While not a great film at all, this is a heck of a fun one. And my god, this is one of the goriest movies I have seen on the big screen in ages. I mean, you see stuff here I didn’t know you’d ever see – i.e. a disembowelment that is actually worse than the one that got cut in Scream. First time director and father to Chucky, Don Mancini knew what he was doing here though, he has forgone the horror of the first three (really first two to be honest) entries in this series and has taken his killer dolls into the world of satire and sass. Crude and crass humor, celebrity digs, over-the-top violence, and gross out gags a’plenty, this one has it all. The funny thing is that the most interesting character is the child of Chucky, which is sad as poor old Chuck, and his voice – Brad Dourif – is given the short shrift. This one is more about Tiffany, the kid, and Tiff voice – Jennifer Tilly. It is odd to note that TWO cast members from the Lord of the Rings series are in this film – Dourif and Bill Boyd. Weird. There are a lot of bad jokes here, the ending is surprising but seems like it was literally the kitchen sink after they’d thrown everything else in, but it does work. This film works best as a party film I would wager – something to rent with friends and just have a blast with. I like the movie but not as much as I might have had there not been about fifteen KIDS in the theater when I went with a friend to see it. It’s hard to laugh at semen gags when you have a row of seven year olds behind you. But then, that’s what the director wanted – to offend and amuse and see if he could get the goat of a jaded movie audience that has by now pretty much seen it all. Well, we almost have after this one.
The direction is good, the acting is spirited, the gore is great, but the man of the hour is truly John Waters, who truly does steal the show. And three cheers for Tilly for going full bore into this film and being willing to rag herself and her career. Nicely done. The store is thin though and the plot has a lot of holes, but then, you are watching a movie about killer dolls, so this shouldn’t worry you in the least.
Not at all groundbreaking, and probably the death-knell for this venerable franchise, I can say this, of the five films, only one of them was bad, and that’s saying a lot. A trash good time, I’d see this cheap if you can, you’ll enjoy it more. And leave your inhibitions behind.
…c…
7 out of 10 Jackasses blog comments powered by Disqus
