Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
ThrillMessage
There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
paulclaassen
This fifth installment is so bad it is completely unwatchable. This is more of a spoof than a serious horror film. Bad, bad, very bad! Nothing is justified, credible or convincing. Even the corny title is utterly pathetic.
MaximumMadness
You've gotta give "Child's Play" creator Don Mancini some credit. The man is a risk-taker to a remarkable extent, and even when it hasn't served the series, he's tried to push boundaries for good- old Chucky in different ways. After injecting a clever, postmodern riff into the popular slasher franchise with 1998's drastically underrated "Bride of Chucky" by incorporating elements of comedy and romance, Mancini takes the helm for the first time in his directorial debut. An attempt to satirize and pay tribute to classic domestic dramas like "Kramer VS Kramer", "Seed of Chucky" has plenty of ambition and nothing but the best of intentions. But sadly, it all-too-often falls prey to an unfortunate sense of self-indulgence and the clear signs of a first-time filmmaker in just a bit over his head. It's a mess... but at least it's an ambitious and wickedly creative mess.Some time after the events of the last film, the living-doll child (voiced by Billy Boyd) of Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) and Tiffany (voiced by Jennifer Tilly) has been kidnapped by a "punk ventriloquist" who exploits him for fame. After seeing the inanimate bodies of his parents on the news, being used as props for the production of a horror film based on the "urban legend" of Chucky the killer doll, the child escapes and makes his way to Hollywood. Using a voodoo amulet, he brings his parents back to life (I guess the dolls being used in the movie were the real-life dolls that were found at the crime scene at the end of "Bride" according to the in-movie logic?) and shocks them with the revelation that they are now parents. Tiffany and Chucky are dumbfounded, especially as Tiffany decides it's time for them to hang-up the knives and stop killing (rationalizing it to be a bad influence on their child), while Chucky still wants to carry on his old "hobby." They also quarrel over whether their child is a boy or a girl, with Chucky calling him "Glen" while Tiffany refers to him as "Glenda." At the same time, the family decides it time to transfer their souls into human bodies once and for all, setting their sites on actress Jennifer Tilly (also playing herself) and rapper Redman, while also scheming to impregnate Tilly to create a baby which Glen/Glenda can inhabit.To give credit where it is due, Mancini does craft an often entertaining and sometimes genuinely hilarious tale, even when it frequently goes off the rails. The general premise of following up a romantic-thriller with a domestic drama is an inspired concept, and the film's numerous layers of subversion and fourth-wall breaking meta-humor are often amusing. I particularly liked the idea of Tilly playing herself and becoming the target of Tiffany's affection and fascination. I also have to say that the "human storyline" involving Tilly as a down-on-her-luck actress is often genuinely well-told. It almost would have made for an interesting film itself without being part of a larger "Child's Play" storyline. And of course the voice-acting from our three leads is just fantastic. Dourif is amazing as always, and it's honestly a ton of fun to see the character being put in a more comedic light than usual. Tilly does great work as Tiffany and gets some of the film's biggest laughs. And Billy Boyd is a very welcome addition.Unfortunately, the good-will earned by the excellent concept, humor and casting can't quite save the film as a whole. As I said above, Mancini is a bit too self-indulgent, and by the time the second-act rolls around, the constant gags and levels of irony start to wear a little thin. Jokes start to seem forced around the time Chucky murders a Britney Spears look-alike (that's not spoiling anything, don't worry) and a paparazzi photographer played by the delightful John Waters begins making non-stop wisecracks while stalking the Tilly residence. What was clever at first becomes a crutch by the film's midway point and eventually the film loses focus in its attempts to generate non-stop laughs and the occasional jump. There's also a marked step-down in terms of production value and I can't help but feel that for a first-time director, Mancini might have bit off a bit more than he could chew. From the general structure and flow of sequences to the basic facets of visual storytelling like composition and movement, you get the sense that Mancini might have been a bit in over his head. For how inspired the storyline might have been, the same inspiration is not present in his visual direction. Thankfully, this seems to have been a good learning experience for Mancini, as he did an absolutely excellent job helming the follow-up "Curse of Chucky"... it's just a shame that he stumbled so badly here.While it is a mess and without doubt one of the low points in the franchise, I can't help but still see some value in "Seed of Chucky." Call me a pushover, but I'll take an interesting failure or an ambitious mess any day of the week... if for no other reason than to support the creativity that went into it. Just because a film doesn't work, doesn't mean it didn't come from a pure place. And if you watch the behind-the-scenes footage, you can tell that Mancini, Tilly and everyone else involved had their hearts in the right place and were trying their best to make a fun and entertaining follow-up. It didn't work, but they tried and you can feel it in just about every scene.I'm giving "Seed of Chucky" a sub-par but very watchable 4 out of 10. It's an interesting and highly ambitious mess. And I get a feeling that the open-minded will find a lot to like, much as I have. Just don't go in expecting perfection.
breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com
Very few horror franchises have been able to balance dark humor into their grizzly pictures. Of the most memorable, Freddy Krueger and Chucky were the main two to do it. Out of these two, Krueger was changed over time because producers realized how quotable Krueger had become with his one-liners. Chucky had somewhat of the same knack but creator Don Mancini had been apart of each production every step of the way. As much as a failure Child's Play 3 (1991) was critically and financially to most viewers, Bride of Chucky (1998) spun that table around with a divisive decision to make itself a self-aware horror comedy. Whether it was wanted or not, Don Mancini's choice to do that was rather ingenious. It was a ridiculous concept that fit a ridiculous horror icon in a good way. Chucky was still Chucky, except this time his wisecracks were funnier. This also didn't mean sacrificing story over comedy. So obviously with a better reception Mancini would continue in that direction for this entry. Problem is he took it a little too far.Don Mancini takes full control of the production this time as writer and director. In some ways, this is a blessing and a curse. If you know how to do both really well then you're set. But if you don't, both tasks can be grueling. For Mancini, it seems like being writer/director was no problem. The issue was that he took the concept from the last film and cranked it up too much. Picking up somewhere after Bride of Chucky (1998), viewers are introduced to the offspring (Billy Boyd) of Jenn and Chucky. Wanting to find his parents, he travels to Hollywood to find his them on a studio set getting ready for a movie. The movie stars actress Jennifer Tilly. After bringing Chucky (Brad Dourif) and Jenn (Jennifer Tilly) to life, they decide that all three of them need to acquire new bodies. The people in mind were Jennifer Tilly, and a director named Redman (Redman). But to help their child, Chucky and Jenn need to inseminate Jennifer Tilly. All the while, their son is having trouble figuring out whether he's meant to hurt people or not.Unfortunately that said, much of the writing here is incomplete. Right from the start there's a big question as to how Jenn and Chucky became movie celebrities. For the past four films all their murders were unconfirmed. Plus from Bride of Chucky (1998), who recovered Chucky and Jenn's bodies? If not, who made new ones? The continuity and explanations toward these questions remain unanswered. The story is meta now and no longer self-aware. Meta can be funny but here it gets too silly. For Bride of Chucky (1998), it was comedic to give a wink and nod but to fully make it obvious to the viewer that Redman and Britney Spears were in the same universe. Also having Jennifer Tilly play along side herself is odd too. Viewers really need to suspend their disbelief that the Jennifer Tilly from Bride of Chucky (1998) is a different person from that of here. Making that clear, the comedy is a hit and miss. There are a number of scenes that are funny and others not so much. Also Chucky and Jenn's son has an underdeveloped arc.Also character motivations randomly flip throughout the story. This doesn't mix well because it feels out of character in some cases. But even with all these problems, the film proves that it isn't terrible. All the visual and audible aspects to the film work tremendously too its advantage. All actors from Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Boyd, Redman and Hannah Spearritt all act passably. Of the bunch Dourif and Tilly are the best. Brad Dourif still knows how to get the best laugh. Jennifer Tilly still knows how to sound sultry, even through a doll. Billy Boyd is best known for playing Pippin from The Lord of the Rings franchise and Hannah Spearritt is from the S Club series. Boyd as the child of Chucky and Jenn plays it up on both sides. Sometimes Boyd plays it soft spoken while other times he can be deranged and unstable. The practical/special effects look great, especially the doll effects. The facial movements look legitimate and lifelike; it's impressive.The gore is also handled well. Very little of the violence is CGI and that's good because it's more believable. Since the concept has spiked in it's ridiculousness, the violence has done so too, which is fine. The cinematography by Vernon Layton is acceptable as well. Best known for working on Under Suspicion (1991), High School High (1996) and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), Layton shows he can shoot a scene with a good-looking perspective. The music by Italian composer Pino Donaggio is another interesting pick. Donaggio's composition to this entry switches between synths and regular orchestra. The synth cues are more drawn out, while the orchestra sections involve the usual horror strings. There's also a main theme for this entry, which is nice. However the franchise should stick with one and call it a day. Donaggio's also known for his music to Piranha (1978), Carrie (1976), Tourist Trap (1979), The Howling (1981) and Body Double (1984). It's the weakest of the series but still not awful.The writing unfortunately is quite messy in its storytelling even though writer/director Don Mancini knew what he had in mind. The music, cinematography, effects and actors all do their job respectively. It's just that they're restricted by a confusing entry.
Carlos Perez Miquilarena
This is one of those films that are terribly ridiculous. Everything's so tongue-in-cheek and over the top, but, it is meant to be that way, I love films that are like this on purpose, films that just don't care about being serious; I don't know if all chucky films are like this because I've only seen two, and this is the only one I've seen more than once. Anyway, it is fun, glen/glenda is so cute and hilarious, Billy Boyd was the perfect choice for him, his accent makes glen so unique and funny, and I love to hear him talk; and is such a delight to watch the dolls', especially tiffany's and glen's facial expressions, it's just so funny. Jennifer tilly does a great job playing, well, herself, and it is beautifully shot, i don't know, everything's so colorful, it's hard to find a film that looks like this nowadays, they all look so bland these days; overall, ridiculous plot and situations, great production.