The Child’s Play franchise began in 1988 with the original tale of a Good Guy doll who is possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray — when Charles is mortally wounded, he uses voodoo to transfer his soul into the doll and continues his evil ways. Six sequels followed: Child's Play 2, Child's Play 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and Cult of Chucky, all written by series creator Don Mancini. In 2019, the franchise got a Mancini-less remake, but now, in 2021, the original creator of Chucky is back to oversee the doll's way to the small screen.

Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) is a 14-year-old outcast who wants to be an artist like his deceased mother, and is currently working on sculptures using doll pieces, much to his alcoholic father's disapproval. It is while searching for dolls at a local yard sale that he comes across Chucky. That night, his father fights with him and tells Jake he is done with the dolls. Jake checks eBay and finds that Chucky is quite valuable. He takes the doll with him to school the next day to protect him from his father, but while at school, weird things start to happen that could be Chucky, but we never get to see him do anything… until the school talent show. Chucky comes “alive” as a ventriloquist act with Jake, and humiliates mean girl Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind).

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Image via SYFY

Let’s start with the positive. The Chucky puppet is beautiful. I am glad they didn’t try to make it digital. Chucky should always be a real doll. Brad Dourif returns to voice Chucky and he hasn’t lost a step. I get damn near giddy whenever Chucky speaks, because Dourif’s voice, his tone, his speaking style, is so iconic that he just is Chucky. Dourif returning makes the show.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot else to like. Admittedly, the episodes got better as they went along (I watched the first three), but the first episode was difficult because you know who Chucky is, and you are just waiting for him to start talking, start creeping, start killing. He doesn’t do any of that until the very end of the first episode, which was frustrating as hell. Subsequent episodes, as Chucky becomes the Chucky we all know and love, become more enjoyable — here is something adorable about watching him play video games with a young autistic girl, then invite her to come with him to kill her sister.

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There are flashbacks throughout the show, showing Charles Lee Ray as a child, shown in tiny clips, sometimes without context. When we finally get to the heart of the reason behind these flashbacks – how Charles became Charles – it is satisfying, but it is a lot of work getting there. The flashbacks are oddly placed, including one at the very top of the pilot that feels reminiscent of the opening of Halloween (1978). It isn’t until the third episode that we discover the “reason” for the flashbacks.

The cast is made up mostly of younger kids in a weird middle-ground between childhood and teen hormones. I am used to slashers with high schoolers, which makes the sex and drugs feel natural. But the kids in Chucky are all in middle school, which meant I felt distinctly uncomfortable watching Lexy try to sex up her boyfriend, Junior (Teo Briones). Also uncomfortable was watching Junior tease Jake for being gay, since the blunt way Junior uses the term was reminiscent of the way “gay” was used as a slur in the 1990s.

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Image via SYFY

The foreshadowing is a little too on the nose: When Jake’s dad is breaking his sculptures, the soundtrack plays a song with the lyrics “This is how villains are made.” This happens in the first ten minutes of the pilot — talk about leaving nothing to the imagination. Shortly thereafter, when Jake is looking up Chucky’s value on eBay, he gets a mysterious phone call, warning him about Chucky and suggesting Jake check Chucky’s batteries (of course, the compartment is empty). I have to assume this is Andy, but we don’t get any further hint of him in the first three episodes.

Chucky is a fine attempt at bringing the killer doll to the small screen. The allure of Brad Dourif as the evil doll is enough to lure me back. But if you aren’t familiar with the Child’s Play franchise, don’t start with Chucky.

Grade: C+

Chucky premieres Tuesday, October 12 on SYFY.

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