By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I love the CHILD’S PLAY (1988) franchise. Of the series, BRIDE OF CHUCKY (1998) is my favorite. When it was released, I saw it in the theater five times. The only films that I’ve seen in a theater more often are ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) and SUICIDE SQUAD (2016).
This has everything a cult-film chick like myself wants. It’s dark, weird, insane and a lot of fun. We start with a dirty police officer stealing Chucky, who had been sitting in an evidence locker. He then meets up with Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), Chucky’s ex girlfriend, to sell the doll. Tiff makes a sneak attack on the cop and retrieves the mangled plastic mess. Insanely devoted and still in love, she sews Chucky back together and does an incantation to bring him to life.
Goth-Nut Damien (Alexis Arquette) comes by to seduce Tiff, but she’s too preoccupied with Chucky. Unbeknownst to Damien, the doll is alive and doesn’t like being insulted. Tiff is ecstatic he’s back and takes joy in the torture, he dishes out. When Chucky springs to action and shows how badass twenty-nice inches of rubber can really be, Tiff becomes giddy like a school girl.
The honeymoon is short-lived because loving Chucky is a bit complicated! His anger often gets the better of him. After a fight with Tiff about marriage, he kills her. He then transports her body into a female doll, which is fittingly in a wedding dress. As one could imagine, she isn’t happy. Still, Tiff is a remarkably forgiving gal. In just a few short scenes, she’s back believing they can score a fairytale ending together.
The duo team up to get the amulet needed to transfer the souls from them to new human bodies. The only issue is that the necklace was buried with Chucky’s actual body in New Jersey. They concoct a scheme and hire Tiff’s teenage neighbor Jesse (Nick Stabile) to bring them to the cemetery. Jesse believes that he’s delivering two dolls to a location for quick cash. He has no clue that his psycho neighbor and her murderous boyfriend’s souls are not only in the dolls, but plan on taking over both his and his girlfriend Jade’s (Katherine Heigl) bodies. For the record, I’m on team Chucky and Tiff from jump.
Things are already bad enough for Jade and Jesse. Jade is an orphan. She lives with her domineering uncle, Police Chief Warren Kincaid (John Ritter). Warren doesn’t like Jesse and forbids the duo from attending a school formal. She tries to pull a swerve and enlists the help of her gay best friend David (Gordon Michael Woolvett) to pick her up an act like her date. Kindcaid seemingly buys the act, but later follows them and uses his police authority to ruin their lives.
Later when Tiff offers Jesse the cash, he jumps at the chance to propose to Jade. The two young lovers go on the run, while Chucky and Tiff start increasing the body count.
BRIDE OF CHUCKY (1998) is such a fun, in-your-face, over-the-top ride. The banter between Chucky and Tiff is awesome. Chucky’s sarcasm and wit mixed with Tiff’s flamboyance and strength makes them irresistibly entertaining.
The entire cast is fantastic. Brad Dourif is masterful in his voice-work within the entire franchise. His performances as an actor are magnificent. There isnt enough space for me to list all of his contributions as an actor, but if you’re looking to get your Dourif on, some underrated and virtually unknown gems include HORSEPLAYER (1990), SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION (1990), CHAINDANCE (1991) and DEATH AND CREMATION (2010). His filmography is spectacular and I could name a dozen more fantastic films he’s done, but those are good place to start, if you can find them all.
There is no more perfect woman alive than Jennifer Tilly that could have portrayed Tiff. She plays it up with the confidence of a 70s horror film femme fatale and the heavy metal spunk of an 80s rock star. Together it works marvelously . Even today, the fashion and attitude inspire many. I adore her.
The rest of the cast is great as well. I do get a bit sad when I see John Ritter and Alexis Arquette. They were magnificent performers taken far too early.
In the next year, a CHILD’S PLAY reboot will be made without the involvement of creator Dan Mancini and I’m not looking forward to it. Mancini made a spectacularly bizarre series that nearly always celebrates the villain. For all of us at home who for years, rode with the devil, it was nice to see the bad guys have so much fun. I don’t think anyone other than Mancini and Dourif can truly capture the essence of what Chucky is. They are what separates Chucky from all other possessed dolls. Without them, what’s the point?
Scared Stiff Rating: 8.5/10
