''Seed of Chucky'' is a 2004
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...
slasher film
A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...
, the fifth installment of the
''Child's Play'' series, and sequel to 1998's ''
Bride of Chucky
''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, a ...
'' as well as the first film to be distributed by another company since the original ''
Child's Play''. The film was written and directed by
Don Mancini, who created the series and has written all of the films (except the
2019 remake), and stars
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...
,
Redman,
Hannah Spearritt
Hannah Louise Spearritt (born 1 April 1981)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 478 is an English actress and singer. She is an original member of the pop group S Club 7. Spearritt is also known fo ...
,
John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
,
Billy Boyd and
Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...
. With this entry, Mancini made his
directorial debut
This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...
. The film is set six years after ''
Bride of Chucky
''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, a ...
'' and follows a young doll named Glen, the son of
Chucky and
Tiffany, resurrecting his parents, causing chaos.
The film, shot in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, continues the series' evolution from the pure horror genre of the first three films to a hybrid horror-comedy.
It was the last ''Child's Play'' film from the original continuity to be released in theaters, with all future installments to be released
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...
until the
2019 reboot. The film was followed by another sequel, ''
Curse of Chucky
''Curse of Chucky'' is a 2013 American slasher film and the sixth installment of the ''Child's Play'' franchise. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created the franchise and wrote the first six films. It stars Fiona Dourif, ...
'', released on home video and
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
in 2013.
''Seed of Chucky'' grossed over $24 million against a $12 million budget. Like its predecessor, the film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Six years after the
previous film, Glen, the benevolent living-doll son of
Chucky and
Tiffany, has a nightmare in which he murders a little girl's parents. In reality, he is living as a dummy for "Psychs", an abusive
ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is ve ...
in England. Glen sees a preview of
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sa ...
's new horror film ''Chucky Goes Psycho'' on television, which features Chucky and Tiffany dolls rebuilt from their original remains; Glen realizes that he is their son.
Desperate to know his parents, Glen escapes Psychs and tracks the Chucky and Tiffany dolls to a prop room in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
. Glen uses the Heart of Damballa, a
voodoo amulet, to bring them back to life. Chucky faints upon learning he has a son, but Tiffany is overjoyed. When a
special effects technician starts taking Tiffany apart, she and Chucky decapitate him with a wire. Jennifer finds the beheaded body and calls the police. Chucky, Tiffany, and Glen sneak a ride to her home in her
limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...
.
Having witnessed his parents murder the technician, Glen asks them why they kill, as he feels violence is bad. Chucky and Tiffany are taken aback by the question and don't know how to answer, until Chucky replies that it helps them to relax. On the other hand, Tiffany, feeling parental responsibility, agrees with Glen and forces Chucky to agree to stop killing for the sake of their son; Chucky falsely promises to do so. Jennifer tries to get a role as the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
in
Redman's directorial debut. After he tells her she is not right for the part, Jennifer invites him to her home, intending to
seduce him for the role, much to the chagrin of her agent Joan.
Chucky and Tiffany make plans to transfer their souls into Redman and Jennifer. Tiffany knocks them out and uses a turkey baster to
inseminate
Insemination is the introduction of sperm into a female’s reproductive system for the purpose of impregnating, also called fertilizing, the female for sexual reproduction. The sperm is introduced into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of a ...
Jennifer with Chucky's semen, intending to use her baby as a host for Glen's soul. Chucky takes Glen on a car ride during which they drive
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...
' car off the road to photographer Pete Peters'
darkroom
A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...
. Peters had taken pictures of Tilly kissing Redman and of Chucky masturbating. Glen tries to warn Peters that Chucky is about to attack, but Peters bumps into a shelf and causes a jar of
sulphuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular for ...
to fall into his head, accidentally killing him. Chucky is overjoyed, believing Glen did this on purpose, and takes a picture to celebrate, much to the dismay of both Glen and Tiffany.
Jennifer awakens the following morning, realizes that she is pregnant, and claims Redman is responsible. Redman denies this and reveals that he previously had a
vasectomy
Vasectomy, or vasoligation, is an elective surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into the urethra and ...
, leaving Jennifer confused. He also tells Jennifer that, in light of her pregnancy, she is fired from his film. Tiffany
eviscerates Redman in anger, which Glen witnesses. The next day, Jennifer wakes up to find herself with a full pregnant belly, a consequence of the voodoo magic. Chucky captures Jennifer and her
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to special ...
Stan to take Redman's place. Jennifer's assistant Joan tries to help her, but she is killed by Glen's murderous twin sister, Glenda, whose soul shares Glen's body and has taken over. Tiffany smacks Glenda to bring back Glen, who is horrified at what has happened.
Jennifer gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and Tiffany realizes that both Glen and Glenda can inhabit the two children. Chucky, amidst Jennifer screaming for help along with the crying babies and Tiffany screaming at him to initiate the ritual before the police arrive, has a sensory overload and stops chanting the spell. He has an epiphany: Chucky has finally accepted his circumstances as a living doll and no longer wishes to become human. Disgusted, Tiffany rejects Chucky and decides to take Glen with her. Enraged, Chucky throws a knife at Jennifer to stop Tiffany from leaving him, but Stan jumps in the way to save her. The police arrive, forcing the dolls to flee.
Jennifer is rushed to the hospital. Tiffany drugs Jennifer and begins to possess her, but Chucky breaks in and kills Tiffany with an axe. Devastated, Glen snaps and attacks Chucky, striking him with the axe. Chucky assumes it's Glenda again, but Glen reveals it is actually him, finally able to kill in revenge for his mother's death. Glen shouts at his father, asking if he is finally proud of him, as he dismembers Chucky, who praises Glen for his actions, before being decapitated. Realizing what he has done, Glen suffers an emotional breakdown as Jennifer comforts him.
Five years later, at a birthday party for Jennifer's children, a nanny quits her job because Jennifer's daughter Glenda scares her. Jennifer beats her to death with the Tiffany doll body, revealing that Tiffany was successful in transferring her soul into Jennifer's body. Meanwhile, Glen opens a birthday present to see Chucky's severed arm, which springs up to grab him.
Cast
Production
Production on a new film called ''Son of Chucky'' began on October 18, 1998, two days after the successful release of ''
Bride of Chucky
''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, a ...
,'' whose director
Ronny Yu
Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form ( hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to:
* Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
* Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva P ...
was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts. Don Mancini, who is
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and was interested in exploring LGBT-related themes in the next film, decided to write a screenplay inspired by the 1953 cult classic ''
Glen or Glenda
''Glen or Glenda'' is a 1953 American exploitation film directed, written by and starring Ed Wood (credited in his starring role as "Daniel Davis"), and featuring Wood's then-girlfriend Dolores Fuller and Bela Lugosi. It was produced by George W ...
'' in which Chucky's son is an innocent person suffering from
gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used unti ...
. He also decided to continue the shift in the series towards comedy after noting that horror villains such as
Michael Myers,
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character from the ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in '' Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Mi ...
, and
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...
became less scary as they became more familiar with audiences.
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, which produced the previous three films and had expected a more conventional slasher film with the son being a murderous villain, rejected the script with the note "This is too gay." Production ultimately resumed when the project was approved by
Focus Features
Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the U ...
after the successful release of ''
Cabin Fever'' in 2003, and was ultimately released through Rogue Pictures. Mancini claimed in a podcast that prior casting Redman, he had offered to cast
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
as himself but he declined.
''Seed of Chucky'' was filmed almost entirely in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
at
Castel Studios in order to save costs.
Mancini tried to replicate the look of older horror films by shooting the film mostly on sound stages and was additionally influenced by the filmmaking styles of
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
and
Dario Argento
Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ''giallo'', has led him ...
.
All of the animatronic and makeup effects were the handiwork of Effects Designer
Tony Gardner, who also appears in the film as himself in a cameo, and his company
Alterian, Inc.
Release and reception
Box office
''Seed of Chucky'' opened at #4 with $8,774,520 on November 11–14, 2004. When the film closed on December 23, 2004, the domestic gross was $17,083,732 and $24,829,644 worldwide.
In Australia, ''Seed of Chucky'' opened at #8 with $260,958 for the week of February 6–8, 2005 behind ''
Million Dollar Baby
''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...
'' (#2) and ''
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'', often shortened to ''Sky Captain'', is a 2004 science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Kerry Conran in his directorial debut, and produced by Jon Avnet, Sadie Frost, Jude Law and ...
'' (#6). In Australia, ''Seed of Chucky'' was distributed by
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
.
In France, ''Seed of Chucky'' opened at #11 with $694,948 for the week of March 2–8, 2005. It opened behind ''
Le Couperet
''The Axe'' (US title: ''The Ax'') (french: Le couperet) is a 2005 black comedy- drama thriller film directed by Costa-Gavras and starring José Garcia, Karin Viard, and Olivier Gourmet. The film is an adaptation of the 1997 novel ''The Ax'' by ...
'' (#2) and the remake of ''
Assault of Precinct 13'' (#4). In France, ''Seed of Chucky'' was distributed by SND Distribution.
In the United Kingdom, ''Seed of Chucky'' opened at #10 with $202,022 for the week of May 13–15, 2005. It opened behind ''
Monster-in-Law'' (#2), ''
The Jacket
''The Jacket'' is a 2005 American science-fiction psychological thriller film directed by John Maybury and starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It is partly based on the 1915 Jack London novel '' T ...
'' (#8), and ''
A Good Woman'' (#9). In the United Kingdom, ''Seed of Chucky'' was distributed by
Momentum Pictures.
Critical reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds a 34% approval rating based on 77 reviews, with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
of 4.50/10. The critical consensus reads: "Give ''Seed of Chucky'' credit for embracing the increasing absurdity of the franchise — even if the end results really aren't all that funny or entertaining." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, it has an average score of 46/100, indicating "mixed to average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four stating, "''Seed of Chucky'' is actually two movies, one wretched, the other funny."
Awards
Sequels
The film was followed by ''
Curse of Chucky
''Curse of Chucky'' is a 2013 American slasher film and the sixth installment of the ''Child's Play'' franchise. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini, who created the franchise and wrote the first six films. It stars Fiona Dourif, ...
'' in 2013, ''
Cult of Chucky'' in 2017, and the TV series ''
Chucky
Chucky may refer to:
*Chucky (name)
*Chucky (character), a fictional character in the ''Child's Play'' franchise
**'' Chucky: Slash & Dash'', a 2013 video game
** ''Chucky'' (TV series), a 2021 TV series
*Chucky madtom (''Noturus crypticus''), en ...
'' in 2021.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{David Kirschner
2004 films
2004 horror films
2000s pregnancy films
Films shot in Bucharest
Films shot in Romania
Films set in 2004
Films set in 2009
Relativity Media films
Films set in California
Films set in Los Angeles
Metafictional works
2000s parody films
Parodies of horror
American pregnancy films
Slasher comedy films
American sequel films
American slasher films
2000s comedy horror films
Child's Play (franchise) films
American splatter films
British splatter films
Films scored by Pino Donaggio
American LGBT-related films
Films directed by Don Mancini
LGBT-related horror films
Rogue (company) films
2000s slasher films
Cultural depictions of Britney Spears
Films set in Somerset
2004 directorial debut films
2004 comedy films
Films about assassinations
2000s English-language films
2000s American films