Masturbating Dolls
The Chucky / Child’s Play series of films is of the same horror sub-genre as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street movies that were so prevalent in the 1980s and early 1990s. Essentially these films reject psychological terror in favour of cheap ‘Boo!’ moments, extreme, unrealistic gore, a little nudity and colourful villains impossible to kill (Most film-makers seem to have given up trying to explain the repeated resurrections, with audiences expected to simply accept them as fact).
The latest Chucky film, Seed of Chucky, continues this trend.
With deliberately cheesy puppetry, gore and special effects, the film chronicles the adventures of sexually ambiguous, extremely ugly doll child, Glenn / Glenda (voiced by Billy Boyd), as he strives to be reunited with his plastic parents, Chucky (voiced as always by Brad Dourif) and Trish (voiced by Jennifer Tilly).
Most of the action takes place in Hollywood on film sets and mansions, as the dolls centre their murderous schemes on actress Jennifer Tilly and rapper Redman (both playing themselves).
Needless to say the setting, and continual mixing of the real and fictional result in a lot of wink-wink, self-referential moments. Commentary on the film industry’s treatment of aging, plump actresses sits alongside nods to other horror films, including Psycho and The Shining.
Then there’s the novelty of doll sex. Bride of Chucky, the precursor to this sequel, actually featured a prolonged sex scene with lots of stroking of plastic moulded body parts. This time around there’s puppet masturbation, and an opening sequence involving doll sperm, conception and birth.
Clearly no one in Seed of Chucky is taking the film seriously.
So don’t expect scares. Don’t expect developed characters you care about. Don’t expect a coherent plot. If you are amused by the genre, a R7 Half-Price Tuesday might make it worthwhile (it’ll be cheaper than hiring it on DVD later).
However, for a superior take on foul-mouthed, sexually active puppets, unrealistic violence and digs at the film industry, watch the hilarious Team America: World Police. Fuck yeah!
The latest Chucky film, Seed of Chucky, continues this trend.
With deliberately cheesy puppetry, gore and special effects, the film chronicles the adventures of sexually ambiguous, extremely ugly doll child, Glenn / Glenda (voiced by Billy Boyd), as he strives to be reunited with his plastic parents, Chucky (voiced as always by Brad Dourif) and Trish (voiced by Jennifer Tilly).
Most of the action takes place in Hollywood on film sets and mansions, as the dolls centre their murderous schemes on actress Jennifer Tilly and rapper Redman (both playing themselves).
Needless to say the setting, and continual mixing of the real and fictional result in a lot of wink-wink, self-referential moments. Commentary on the film industry’s treatment of aging, plump actresses sits alongside nods to other horror films, including Psycho and The Shining.
Then there’s the novelty of doll sex. Bride of Chucky, the precursor to this sequel, actually featured a prolonged sex scene with lots of stroking of plastic moulded body parts. This time around there’s puppet masturbation, and an opening sequence involving doll sperm, conception and birth.
Clearly no one in Seed of Chucky is taking the film seriously.
So don’t expect scares. Don’t expect developed characters you care about. Don’t expect a coherent plot. If you are amused by the genre, a R7 Half-Price Tuesday might make it worthwhile (it’ll be cheaper than hiring it on DVD later).
However, for a superior take on foul-mouthed, sexually active puppets, unrealistic violence and digs at the film industry, watch the hilarious Team America: World Police. Fuck yeah!
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