Doc of Chucky review
The Chucky series is notable for reinventing itself to keep things fresh. Doc of Chucky would have benefited from following in its footsteps.
New movie review will not contain spoilers.
Doc of Chucky
Directed by Thommy Hutson
Written by Thommy Hutson and Mark Alan Miller
Starring Don Mancini, Bad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Fiona Dourif, Catherine Hicks and Tom Holland
Doc of Chucky Review
2013’s Crystal Lake Memories is the gold standard of franchise retrospective horror documentaries. Hearing that a producer of that epic piece would helm a new documentary about the Child’s Play franchise was an exciting prospect. The result, Doc of Chucky, is a five-hour documentary that covers preproduction on the original film through 2017’s Cult of Chucky. Countless talking heads from in front of and behind the camera are on hand to remember their time with the franchise. A treat for Chucky fans…but Crystal Lake Memories crown goes decidedly unchallenged.
No one could have known back when the original Child’s Play was released that the franchise would continue for another 35 years (and counting?). To hear the people who would know discuss the origins of that film…no one was sure there would even be an original Child’s Play. Over the course of the next three and a half decades the series would change creative courses several times. Mostly under the steady hand of creator Don Mancini. Its ability to reinvent itself has been the hallmark of its continued success. Unfortunately, what works for the series holds back its exhaustive retrospective.
Whereas the Chucky series has shown an unmatched ability to change its focus while retaining what people love about it…Doc of Chucky suffers from a lack of diverse creative voices to walk us through it all. Mancini has been there from the beginning. His voice is the most important in the franchise. For the purposes of this documentary…that means he’s the person you’re going to continue to hear from for five straight hours. Creative directions change. The man making them doesn’t.
Of course, it’s not as if Mancini is the only talking head. Many of the people you’d hope to hear from pop up to relay their memories of working with Chucky. Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent, Jennifer Tilly, Catherine Hicks, Christine Elise, Perry Reeves, John Waters, Chris Sarandon and Fiona Dourif are just some of the people who have appeared in the series that are on hand to discuss their time in it. It’s mostly happy memories…though they do point out some absent names who don’t look back at their time as fondly as well.
From a creative standpoint, there are good number of people around to discuss the process of bringing Chucky to life. David Kirshner and David Yagher provide their thoughts on the road to getting Child’s Play off the ground. Original director Tom Holland chimes in as well. Bride of Chucky director Ronny Yu talks us through his thoughts on the creative shift that reinvigorated the franchise. A decent amount of time is spent discussing the technical work involved in making the Chucky character work on screen. Everything you could want to know is touched on in some way.
Over the course of five hours, you’ll hear about the preproduction through release of the seven mainline Chucky films. Doc of Chucky omits discussion about the United Artists 2019 remake or Mancini’s own Chucky tv series. The choice to exclude the former makes sense. It’s from a different creative team…unassociated with Mancini’s series. Still, it would have been fun to hear some thoughts on the decent, if unnecessary, reboot attempt from the outside.
Omitting discussion on the Chucky series, on the other hand, is an odd choice. Surely in production when this documentary was made…the series serves as a reunion for many of the faces we’re watching in this very documentary. Now…I’m not suggesting that Doc of Chucky needs to be any longer than it is…but, given the series inclusion of so many plotlines and characters discussed in Doc of Chucky…it feels like the natural climax of the stories being told. With its recent cancellation…it’s too bad this wasn’t made a bit later. It could have served as a proper sendoff for the tv series itself.
Doc of Chucky doesn’t hide from the ups and downs in the series…both critically and commercially. Even when something was fun to make and leaves a happy memory…they know what worked and what didn’t. Following the franchise from Child’s Play to Curse of Chucky gives us a good look at the setbacks and successes Mancini and company encountered along the way.
From a darker original concept (with multiple name changes) through the disappointing returns of Child’s Play 3. From the creative boost of Bride of Chucky to the wild swing of Seed of Chucky. The back-to-basics approach of Cult of Chucky to the grander design of Cult of Chucky. There are enough interesting tidbits here (why Andy’s mom was written out of Child’s Play 2…who the original voice of the Chucky doll was) to keep you entertained for most of the 5 hours it asks of you. It never quite breaks through beyond that, however.
Crystal Lake Memories (and it’s Freddy focused predecessor Never Sleep Again) benefited from input from a rotating crew of creative leads to discuss how they viewed the series and their project within it. Doc of Chucky can’t do that as often. This was Don Mancini’s baby. After the struggles to get the original off the ground, Mancini is such an overwhelming presence on creative decisions that even wildly changing those choices up feels too similar in documentary form. The consistency has made for a fantastic film series. But just a good documentary.
Scare Value
Doc of Chucky is a solid, but unspectacular, (almost) franchise spanning documentary. It has plenty of interesting talking heads…plenty of knowledge nuggets to throw around. Unfortunately, what’s worked for the series is missing from this 5-hour long retrospective. Having consistent creative voices guide the series through multiple resets has resulted in an enduring franchise. It also means Doc of Chucky doesn’t have much in the way of different perspectives to reflect on it all.
3/5
Doc of Chucky Link
Streaming on Shudder
