The Child’s Play films started off in 1988, telling the tale of a Good Guy doll gone very, very bad. It spawned two more sequels, Child’s Play 2 in 1990 and Child’s Play 3 in 1993. It also seemed to go out in style. Child’s Play 3 is now the infamous film that is often referred to as the spark that set off the Bulger killers. It was subsequently banned from the UK despite already having a BBFC 18 rating. Once again media hysteria had won over common sense.

Like most serial killers such as Myers, Freddy and Jason, Chucky is now a well known name. The series has got its following and achieved the ‘cult’ status it needs for interest always to be there for other instalments of the series. Luckily this instalment offers a new twist to the story. Chucky now has a playmate all of his own.

So what’s Chucky’s latest adventure about then? Well in horror movie tradition its really quite simple. After being burned and chopped up from the last movie the case of all his murders were left unsolved and Chucky (Brad Dourif), now dead, was kept in the warehouse. However Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) who was the companion of Charles before he was zapped into Chucky’s body learns of his existence and with a phone call and a quick kill later she acquires Chucky. It’s not long before Chucky is resurrected once again back to cause a bit for mayhem and to try and get his body back.

Tiffany is a typical trailer trash type of gal. However she has two little twists to her name. Firstly she has a taste for blood, while she’s not a necrophiliac she does have penchant for murdering quite a few people simply for fun. However in a complete paradox to this behaviour she is an absolute romantic and believes very strongly in love. This quirky and alternative way of presenting a character like this is pleasing, if a bit absurd, because it gives the character a bit more depth than even being just a killer or just a bimbo. It is also important towards the end of the film. I assure you that you will feel empathy towards her by the end because she ends up being so sweet acting that its very easy to forget she is a murderer.

The acting is surprisingly good for the film. Obviously Brad Dourif is great at playing Chucky and so he should be if he has played him for the previous three movies. Jennifer Tilly also does an admirable job at doing the voice of Tiff. Her voice is so unique and doll like as it is that she suits the role very well. I say the acting is surprisingly good because of the (relatively) young co-stars Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile. They have had to work with puppets not real life actors. This can be especially hard because there will be very little natural reaction that they can have with the main characters they are working with. Yet even if they are new to this it doesn’t show and they act it out in a very convincing way. A mention has to go to the puppeteers, up to 17 can be on the set at any one time, and the job they do is excellent. Chucky has evolved very well during the series and in this part he looks, moves and talks better than ever.

For someone who is a fan of the Child’s Play films you’ve probably already seen this. If not then make no excuse, this can be watched and enjoyed just as much if your new to the series. In true horror film fashion the ending is left open ended (very open ended in this case) so will there be a sequel? Well Childs Play 5 is hotly talked about by Don Mancini, the writer of the Child’s Play films, and while I cant divulge too much information into it without spoiling the ending one route the sequel will take seems funny enough to work. Another rumoured route was to do a Silence of the Lambs style film but with dolls. As ever with horror movies though this project is left in limbo until there is final confirmation but until then Bride of Chucky is a great way to end or continue the series.