James R | On 31, Oct 2017

Director: Don Mancini
Cast: Allison Dawn Doiron, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Certificate: 18

Chucky, everyone’s favourite sadistic, homicidal doll before Annabelle came along, returns to our screens for a seventh outing. For this series to even have reached that high a number might seem unlikely, or spark concerns of a lazy cash-in, but Cult of Chucky sees the franchise at its most confidently entertaining.

The film picks up after the last Chucky film with Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) in an asylum, where she has been kept for four years. Taught by her doctors that she was responsible for killing her family, and that Chucky is only a product of her mind, she is slowly beginning to reach some kind of resolution. But we know it’s only a matter of time before that theory is dispelled – and, sure enough, her doctor comes up with a new tool to help with group therapy: a Chucky doll. What could possibly go wrong?

The ensuing carnage is, of course, inevitable, but it’s testament to just how well Cult of Chucky serves up its slashing that it never feels predictable: Don Mancini has been handling the franchise so long that you get the sense he’s now just having fun with all the possibilities it opens up, as, one by one, the other members of the group become aware that Chucky is very much alive and real.

Dourif is fantastic as Nica, protesting her innocence with enough intensity to make her seem almost unbalanced. Throw in Jennifer Tilly (naturally) and Alex Vincent as possible ally Andy and you have an ensemble that perfectly balances silliness with straight-faced murder – topped off by Michael Therriault as the enjoyably clueless Dr. Foley. The deaths themselves, meanwhile, are inventive enough to keep you squirming, coupled with some superbly stylish cinematography, gliding down the pristine white corridors and over the top of the walls. Is it a genre classic? No, but it doesn’t need to be. Darkly funny and aware of exactly what its fans want, this sequel is a rip-roaring piece of twisted fun. Even if you haven’t been following the previous six entries, Cult of Chucky may well leave you converted.

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