Reviews
“Chucky” Season 3 Part 1 Review – Chucky’s Back for a Campy White House Bloodbath
By the end of Don Mancini’s “Chucky“ Season 2, orphans Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), and Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) found a new stable home, free from Chucky (Brad Dourif). With Chucky on the lam and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) accosted by the authorities, all seemed well for Hackensack and the franchise’s protagonists, save for one or two loose ends. As for the killer Good Guy doll, he doesn’t appear interested in Hackensack anymore.
Season 3 puts Chucky’s ambition on display as the pint-sized serial killer takes aim at the White House. With the third outing of “Chucky” split into halves, Season 3: Part 1’s more self-contained narrative keeps overarching plot threads on the backburner in favor of setting up a White House bloodbath that puts the camp in politics.
Chucky may still have a bone to pick with Jake, Devon, and Lexy, but his unwavering lust for power takes precedence. As such, the serial killer has wormed his way into the trusting arms of Henry Collins (Callum Vinson), the youngest member of America’s First Family. For Henry and his doting parents, President James Collins (Devon Sawa) and First Lady Charlotte Collins (Lara Jean Chorostecki), the doll represents a comforting tool that’ll help Henry cope with the loss of a brother. It’s the perfect cover for Chucky to unleash a bloodbath at the White House.
CHUCKY — “Murder at 1600” Episode 301 — Pictured: (l-r) Chucky, Callum Vinson as Henry Collins, Jackson Kelly as Grant Collins — (Photo by: Shane Mahood/SYFY)
“Chucky” Season 3 adheres to the established narrative structure in that the more self-contained front half focuses on its present storylines free from the franchise’s long-running threads. Save for a few fleeting appearances, don’t expect to see returning franchise players in any lengthy capacity just yet. Part 1, which includes the season’s first four episodes, is more interested in setting up Chucky’s machinations at the White House and the core trio’s attempts to thwart him while navigating adolescence. The season is more successful when it lets these teens breathe for a minute and behave like actual teens, providing the emotional anchor in a season front-loaded by cold political posturing and maneuvering. To that end, it’s tough to get a feel for Devon Sawa’s President Collins, while returning franchise star Lara Jean Chorostecki brings depth as the fiercely protective glue holding the First Family together.
The dual WGA and SAG strikes interrupted the production of “Chucky” Season 3, ultimately causing the split into two halves. While that doesn’t seem to interfere with the season’s narrative structure, episodes two and three do get swapped in a way that makes sense thematically and pacing-wise. It does raise minor continuity errors between them, however. It isn’t enough to detract from the central storyline, though it can occasionally confuse.
The tone, at least so far this season, revels in camp. “Chucky” Season 3 continues the series’ streak of bringing in tongue-in-cheek cameos and meta-camp humor. Mancini and the writers aren’t just content to poke fun at this series’ history but cinema in general. Look for Chucky to find delightfully gory new ways to invade other horror franchises, or rather, one horror franchise in particular with an iconic house. Gorehounds will also find plenty to love about Part 1, with the deaths pushing the limits of bloodletting and arterial spray. One extended death continues so long that you can’t help but marvel at how it made the final cut to air on cable.
CHUCKY — “Let the Right One In” Episode 302 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Carina Battrick as Caroline Cross, Chucky, Kenan Thompson as Cab Driver — (Photo by: SYFY)
It’s tough to gauge the season as a whole from only the first half. Rules established last season get tidily wrapped up this season for surprising new developments for Chucky, but Part 1 winds down just as momentum reaches an upswing. Tiffany’s storyline is only slowly warming up, which means a front half that’s far too light on Tilly’s charms. Arthur, Arnarson, and Lind get plenty of moments to shine, though it can be frustrating to see them fall into familiar Chucky traps once again. And four episodes in, we’re only scratching the surface of the Collins family identity and history, with their arcs so independently scattered that it’s tough to find rooting interest just yet.
But the biggest strength of “Chucky” has always been franchise creator/shepherd Don Mancini’s ability to keep audiences on their toes with unpredictable, steep narrative turns and detours. Part 1 introduces a few, both in surprising deaths and shocking Damballa wrenches, which will keep viewers on the hook to see where Chucky’s ultimate bid for power leads him.
Once again, “Chucky” delivers excessive blood splatter and campy fun.
Part 1 of “Chucky” Season 3 Premieres October 4 at 9 PM on USA & SYFY, with Part 2 arriving in 2024.
Rebooting and expanding upon Bryan Bertino’s chilling 2008 horror film in a brand new trilogy, all installments already shot as part of one continuous, overarching story, makes for one of the more ambitious horror endeavors as of late. It also means that The Strangers: Chapter 1 is only the opening act of a three-part saga. Considering it’s the entry most committed to recreating the familiar beats of Bertino’s film, Chapter 1 makes for a tricky-to-gauge, overly familiar introduction to this new expansion.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 introduces happy couple Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) on their way to starting a new life together in the Pacific Northwest. Car troubles leave them stranded in the quirky small town of Venus, Oregon, where they’re forced to stay the night in a cozy but remote cabin in the woods.
Naturally, the deeply in love couple soon find themselves in a desperate bid to survive the night when three masked strangers come knocking.
Madelaine Petsch as Maya in The Strangers. Photo Credit: John Armour
Director Renny Harlin, working from a 289-page screenplay by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland that was broken into three movies, keeps Chapter 1 mostly self-contained to recapture the spirit of the original film. The core remains the same in that it’s reliant on the eerie stalking and escalating violence that builds toward a familiar conclusion, but Harlin mixes it up a bit through details and set pieces that hint toward the larger story around Venus itself. The early introductory scenes establishing both the protagonists and their setting offer the biggest clues toward the subsequent chapters, with the bustling diner giving glimpses of potential allies or foes yet to come- like the silent, lurking Sheriff Rotter (Richard Brake).
One downside to announcing this as a trilogy is that we already know that the successive chapters will continue Maya’s story, robbing more suspense from a film that liberally leans into its predecessor for scares. The good news is that Madelaine Petsch brings enough layers to Maya to pique curiosity and instill rooting interest to carry into Chapter 2. Maya begins as the gentler, more polite half of the young couple in love, but there’s a defiance that creeps through the more she’s terrorized. On that front, Petsch makes Maya’s visceral fear tangible, visibly quaking and quivering through her abject terror as she attempts to evade her relentless attackers.
The Strangers – Chapter 1. Photo Credit: John Armour
It’s her subtle emotional arc and quiet visual hints toward the bigger picture that tantalize most in an introductory chapter meant to entice younger audiences unfamiliar with the 2008 originator. The jolts will have a harder time landing for fans of Bertino’s film, however, even when Harlin stretches beyond the cabin for stunt-heavy chase sequences or gory bursts of violence. It’s worth noting that Harlin’s tenured experience and cinematographer José David Montero ensure we can grasp every intricate stunt or chase sequence with clarity; there’s no worry of squinting through the dark, hazy woods to make out what’s happening on screen. A more vibrant color palette also lends personality to Venus and its residents.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 exists in a unique place in that it’s the first 90 minutes of what will amount to a roughly 4.5-hour movie yet doesn’t give much away at all about what’s ahead, presenting only part of the whole picture. Chapter 1 does a sufficient job laying the groundwork and delivering horror thrills but with a caveat: the less familiar you are with The Strangers, the better. Harlin and crew get a bit too faithful in their bid to recreate Bertino’s effective scares, even when remixing them, and it dampens what works. The more significant departures from the source material won’t come until later, but look to a mid-credit tease that sets this up.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 doesn’t establish enough of its own identity to make it memorable or set it apart, but it’s just functional enough to raise curiosity for where we’re headed next.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 releases in theaters on May 17, 2024.
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