Chucky 3

Set eights years after Child's Play 2, this sequel sees Andy Barclay attending Military School and getting bullied by the drill sergeant ("poor man's Christian Slater" Travis Fine, who never really became as popular as he should have been). Meanwhile, the Play Pals company has reopened the Good Guy factory and is starting production of the doll once more. But when clearing away Chucky's grisly remains, some of his blood spills into a vat of molten plastic and he is born once more in a new body.

After a good old strangulation to get the circulation going he locates Andy at his military school and somehow figures out a way to mail himself there. However, once the package gets there it is promptly snatched by a very annoying, morbidly juvenile, and highly wimpy little kid called Tyler who has the same face as has-been 'singer' Craig David, only more annoying (if that is even possible). Since he has a new body Chucky reveals his birth name once more, hoping to get a fast and easy ticket out of his plastic shell. As before there are too many distractions.

And as before the film spends way too much time with boring humans who spend too much time lurking in the dark wondering why a doll seems to appear and reappear and not enough time with Chucky. He IS the star of the show and he should OWN this movie. Alias and Lost director Jack Bender never really gives him the chance. Which is a shame since the animatronics had improved over Child's Play 2 and Chucky was beginning to look nastily cute. And more and more like Brad Dourif if you look hard enough. Bender's direction is slick but lacks edge, invention or humor. He seems to be ignorant of the potential Chucky has and treats the film like another mechanical TV series with no spark or signature. I remember when I first watched the VHS tape as a kid I immediately noticed how darker and gloomier this movie is, which ultimately leads to an overwhelming downbeat, depressing atmosphere, that sort of does and sort of doesn't work.

The score is a major downer though. Greame Revell's wonderful orchestral adventure of Child's Play 2 has been replaced with a horrid synthesized, death-metal score filled with tacky and unimaginative stingers. Revell, fortunately, returned for Bride of Chucky.

Child's Play 3 is no more than a competent sequel. Writer Don Mancini said he wasn't even ready to do a 3rd movie but Universal forced him to before the second was even released. As he was out of ideas he claims this film to be his least favorite of them all. If a better director were involved it could still have been a good film instead of being a merely an above average (by a tiny, tiny bit) one.

Every horror series has a black sheep. "Friday the 13th" had the Jason-less fifth installment, "Halloween" the Michael Meyers-less third entry, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" the silly first sequel. For many fans, "Child's Play 3" is the embarrassment of the Chucky saga. But why?

So many reviews of this film express exacerbation, even confusion, over the sudden shift eight years into the future. What's so hard to understand? We had already had two movies with Chucky chasing a little kid. It was time to move the story along, hence our hero Andy Barclay (Justin Whalin) is now a teenager at a military academy. This change of scenery was the breath of fresh air the series needed, as it opens up all kinds of new options to the murderous doll, which he fully exploits (paintball guns loaded with real ammo, anyone?).

Other reviewers complain this just isn't scary. There they have a point, but how many gorefests actually bring our hands up to our eyes? Scariness is a great complement, but that doesn't mean the whole project goes down the tubes without it. "Child's Play 3" has a smooth storyline, a touch of suspense and a truly memorable, original climax at a carnival (though it doesn't quite surpass the doll factory finale of the the previous film). Chucky's foul mouth begins to be a liability rather than an asset, but we can cut him some slack -- he's certainly never looked better (or more realistic).

"Child's Play 3" does have its ups and downs, however. The romance between Andy and a fellow cadet is a distraction, and there are times when our plastic star just seems brushed aside in favor of more serious moments. Chucky's desire to swap souls with someone other than Andy is a welcome change, but his new target, young Tyler, is one dimensional and uninteresting. He's unable to carry his scenes like Alex Vincent, who played child Andy in the first two films.

As far as I'm concerned, this was the last of the true "Child's Play" films. Once this one was done, the series became a shameful, hokey parody of itself. This entry is by no means perfect and it's certainly not up the caliber of "Child's Play 2". Yet it's not the piece of trash so many would have us believe. In fact, it may just be one of the most underrated theatrical horror films of the early '90s.

While it is not my favourite genre, there is an appreciation for the horror genre. Mainly watched 'Child's Play 3' having decided to recently watch and review all the films in the 'Child's Play'/Chucky series, having been intrigued for a long time by Chucky's horror icon status, a deserved distinction.

Do feel that the character himself is better than the films. The 'Child's Play'/Chucky films are very variable, with the first film being by far the best. None of the sequels are as good, though don't consider them unwatchable. 'Child's Play 3' has been deemed one of the, sometimes the, worst in the series. For me it is definitely the worst of the initial trilogy and although the title for worst is debatable it is a lesser one to me.

There are faults in 'Child's Play 3'. The story is predictable with no originality and too much of it is complete nonsense. Aside from with Chucky, the dialogue is really cheesy and with two exceptions the acting is lacking, Justin Whalin being especially annoying. The romance was a pointless distraction, there seemingly to pad out time, and a few of the characters behave idiotically.

Like the second film there is a rushed feel here, there is a sense of a relatively tight budget (although the film looks good still) and even tighter time constraints. Also felt that whereas the first 'Child's Play' avoided going the cheesy, goofy and formulaic route that it could easily have done considering the premise, 'Child's Play 3' did feel formulaic and too much of it failed to escape the unintentionally.

However, 'Child's Play 3' looks slick and suitably ominous and the special effects don't disappoint, they blend very well, look eerily life-like and move easily. The music is more ambitious and even more haunting here, it fits very well. While lacking the panache of Tom Holland's in the first 'Child's Play', John Lafia's direction is more than competent. Chucky's lines are like in the first two films, darkly witty and clever with one-liners that are smart, frighteningly sarcastic and entertainingly twisted. In terms of individual scenes, the climax comes off best, being a lot of fun

'Child's Play 3' does have entertainment value and some creepiness, with the attack scenes/kills and set pieces being creative and genuinely unsettling. Chucky is a character impossible to forget, the writers and effects team had the time of their lives clearly (as well as Brad Dourif of course). Wasn't crazy about the acting here, but will say that Andrew Robinson has an unsettling ball as his character. The biggest acting plus though, like the previous two films, is Dourif, the personification of malevolence and is also wickedly funny.

In conclusion, watchable but not great by any stretch. 5/10 Bethany Cox

I'm going to comment hell for this one. This comment will most likely receive a very low "useful" rating, but I'm OK with that. This movie was quite possibly my favorite of the Child's Play series. And although you will probably not agree, you will see what I mean:

This movie takes place 8 years after the previous. Andy is now a teen and has been sent to a military academy. And guess what: Chucky decided to tag along. This makes for a great story. Chucky really shows his true colors and sick, twisted sense of humor here. We also have an interesting group of characters here, who are actually worth mentioning. We have Andy of course, we have Tyler, a young cadet who catches Chucky's eye as a replacement of Andy; there's DeSilva, a tough girl who has a soft spot for Andy; we have Whitehurst, an outspoken, nerdy type who quickly befriends Andy; we have Shelton, a military-loving, tough, intimidating young man who has it in for Andy; and we have Botnik, an older guy, the barber who loves his job just a little too much. Together with these great characters is a great setting. There are some very interesting kills here which I have not even thought of or seen in any previous film. I do not understand why this movie is so underrated. Is it because of the time lapse? Maybe because Andy's not a kid? New setting? No matter what the reason, this movie deserves much more than a 4.1 rating (as of 3/7/08). I say it gets 9/10. Fans of the first 2 films will not want to miss this.

Just when you MIGHT have thought - after watching an excruciatingly long death sequence in Child's Play 2 - that Chucky was no more - he's back(and with the cliché) with a vengeance. How is he resurrected? Well, apparently when eight years have passed the toy company reopens their Good Guy doll factory, removes the cobwebs off of all the old stock, pick the mutilated, dead Chucky doll up and pop him in a vat of boiling plastics. The springs of Lourdes never had so much healing power! This revives Chucky, and he instantly becomes his mean, killing machine of old and wants to find Andy Barclay to take his soul. Andy, played by Justin Whalin, is an older teenager now and enrolled at a military academy. Well, not to get too bogged down in a script that doesn't really merit such an intense analysis - Chucky finds Andy and continues to basically do what he did in the two earlier films. Lots of killing. Lots of wisecracks and that cackling laugh. Lots of the same. I did like this film more though than the second installment. First of all, the director did NOT repeat the problem of an overly long, seemingly never-ending death scene. The military school makes for an interesting backdrop to the story. The young actors do credible jobs. There are some interesting , quirky characterizations from the rest of the cast with Andrew Robinson stealing his scenes as a barber who really enjoys shaving the heads of the cadets. In fact I loved the little ponytails hung on the walls of his salon. A neat little addition. The story is nothing special though, and the film is very formulaic. It is entertaining if you - like me - have limited expectations.