The Best and Worst of Chucky

Next week we welcome back our favorite vintage doll who started it all with the series premiere of Chucky. Growing up with the infamous Good Guy Doll, I’m ecstatic for this new chapter for Charles Lee Ray. Not to mention Brad Dourif’s return along with Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent(Andy Barclay) and Christine Elise(Kyle). There’s no better time than now to rank the films from worst to best.

7. Seed of Chucky.

Picking up from Bride of Chucky, this one gives us Glen Ray. This film follows Glen/Glenda, the lost and lonely doll looking for his movie star parents. Once Glen finds Chucky and Tiffany, he tries to bring his family together and asks them to give up their murderous habits. The couple agree for a short time before realizing they’re unable to kick their bloody patterns thus splitting Glen between wanting to be good and wanting to be a murderous doll. There are a lot of things wrong with this film. I know the plot was supposed to be ridiculous but this one didn’t add to the franchise in any way. It ended up being all jokes and excessive gore.

Rotten Tomatoes: 37%

Budget: $12 million

Box Office: $24.8 million

6. Cult of Chucky.

This one was a little hard for me to wrap my head around. I loved the fact that Fiona Dourif joined the franchise. I loved that Alex Vincent and Jennifer Tilly made appearances too. The kills were great, per usual. Chucky has always had an inventive way to bring someone to their demise and they did not disappoint. They lost me though when suddenly Chucky has figured out a way, thanks to the good ole internet, to split his soul into multiple dolls/humans simultaneously. They played with the idea of soul splitting in Seed of Chucky when Glen/Glenda’s personalities were transferred into twins but to me, that was different because Glen truly felt that he had another person in the same body as him. Chucky’s never struggled with who his soul was. Another big thing I didn’t like about Cult was bringing back Adam Hurtig who plays Michael in Cult and Officer Stanton in Curse of Chucky. I’ve heard of the theories that Hurtig is actually Glen from Seed but as the storyline has played out, there has never been a definitive answer for Hurtig’s role. Too many holes in this story.

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Budget: $6.5 million

Box Office: $2.2 million

5. Child’s Play 3

This was classic Chucky. The Chucky I grew up with, the perfected one-liners, “don’t f*** with the Chuck!” The storyline wasn’t great but the design of Chucky was exactly what you think of when you think of Chucky. It’s nostalgic.

Rotten Tomatoes: 23%

Budget: $13 million

Box Office: $20.5 million

4. Curse of Chucky

This film turned the page for me at the end. I thought the concept was great and again stoked for Fiona. I was having a tough time with Chucky’s new look. When they revealed the real Chucky, then everything in the story came together for me. The kills were resourceful per usual. I like where they went with the story with this one revealing that Nica’s mom was the one that Charles Lee Ray blamed for his death that led to his journey as a doll. I like the misdirection used in this one too like in the chili scene. This was a solid Chucky film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 76%

Budget: $2.8 million

Box Office: $3.8 million

3. Child’s Play

The OG Child’s Play has to be Top 3. This is where it all began, this was our introduction to Chucky. Plus the casting and acting were on target. The ultimate slap in the face is when you do everything you can to secure the ideal birthday gift, only for it to be possessed by a serial killer.

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%

Budget: $9 million

Box Office: $44.2 million

2. Child’s Play 2

This is the most memorable Child’s Play for me. Every aspect of this film is so good. The dynamic between Andy and everyone he encounters, including Chucky, is perfect. The warehouse scenes are forever imbedded in my skull as terrifying.

Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Budget: $13 million

Box Office: $35.8 million

1. Bride of Chucky

This is my favorite of the franchise. Prior to this installment Chucky had great one-liners that make you smirk but Bride of Chucky pulled out all the stops with the humor. This was the perfect mix of horror and comedy without being over the top ridiculous. I think Jennifer Tilly played Tiffany immaculately and the way Tiffany and Chucky played off each other, was written very well. An odd love story you never knew you needed. One question I always had was what happened with Jesse and Jade after this?

Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

Budget: $25 million

Box Office: $50.7 million

How would you rank them?

You probably noticed that I did not include the 2019 Child’s Play. To me, that isn’t Chucky. Brad Dourif and Don Mancini are crucial components to bringing Charles Lee Ray to life. The new one tried to change Chucky’s origin story yet keeping the Andy and Karen part in an updated version. It didn’t hit the mark so this isn’t included. If I had to include it, it would come in at #8.