Picking up almost immediately after the events of Curse of Chucky, “Cult” opens with the falsely accused Nica being transferred to a medium-security asylum for the criminally insane. Considering this is the seventh film in the franchise, I believe it goes without saying that I’m writing this review under the assumption that you’ve seen the last six movies, thus there will be spoilers ahead. If you’ve missed even one film in the franchise then I recommend going back and watching them, otherwise you will be incredibly confused about what’s going on in this movie. This is by no means a standalone Chucky movie that can be enjoyed without knowledge of past events in the franchise, and it absolutely relies on you retaining knowledge from the previous films, so it may not be a bad idea to enjoy a Child’s Play marathon before watching this one.

For those who read my Curse of Chucky review, you know I wasn’t a fan of that installment in the franchise, but I have to admit they have once again peaked my interest with Cult. I’m still not a fan of Chucky’s new look, or that awful emo-inspired haircut, or the weird expressions on his face, but at least they have reignited that Chucky spark in his personality that defines him as a character. Speaking of characters, I’m happy to see the characters in this film having conversations like actual people, instead of the bizarre dialogue that took place in Curse. Once again, we’re stuck in one building for the duration of the movie, but an insane asylum is far more interesting than a house, so they don’t lose points from me. This one was more suspenseful than Bride and Seed, more in liking to Child’s Play and Child’s Play 2, but still kept the gore and creative death scenes that one would come to expect from Chucky. Although the tone of the film is less humorous than previous films, there’s still a hint of comedic undertone that comes through in his personality when he’s about to kill someone.

While this is definitely better than Curse of Chucky, I have to say that when it finished I didn’t feel like I got to see a full Chucky movie. Instead, this felt more like a segway between Curse of Chucky and whatever sequel they have planned for this film. Don’t misunderstand, I enjoyed the movie a great deal, but there was so much time spent on suspense and build up that when things finally got going, they seemed to end just as quickly. Considering we have waited 4 years for a sequel to Curse of Chucky, I expected more involvement from Andy and Jennifer Tilly. With the way the film ended, it’s almost guaranteed both will play a major role in the next movie. I mean, the ending itself is so open-ended that it would be insulting to not have another sequel, I can only hope we don’t have to wait another 4 years before that happens.

For those who stayed until after the credits of Curse of Chucky, you’ll remember the two scenes each showing a different fate of Chucky. You’ll be happy to know all is (somewhat) explained in Cult of Chucky. Apparently Chucky has learned how to sort of duplicate himself – in that he can now transfer part of his consciousness into other Good Guy dolls, who all share his personality, voice, killer intentions, and memories. With the original Chucky being held prisoner by Andy, it appears he had backup Chucky’s waiting to be let loose, three of which we see terrorizing the insane asylum. In an interesting turn of events, Chucky finally gets to possess a person in this film – Nica. Well, at least one of the various Chucky dolls in the insane asylum possesses her, not the original Chucky still locked up at Andy’s house, so who knows what implications that will have. Either way, poor Nica just can’t seem to catch a break.

In the end, Chucky tricks Andy into getting locked up in the insane Asylum, and the now possessed Nica leaves the asylum and is met by the possessed Jennifer Tilly. For those who don’t remember, Tiffany possessed Jennifer Tilly at the end of Seed of Chucky, so now both killer dolls finally have human forms. In an odd turn of events, after Nica and Jennifer get in their car, we see a Tiffany doll in the backseat, alive and well. This can only mean Tiffany has also learned the power to transfer her consciousness into other dolls, which presumably means we’ll see a fair increase of Chucky and Tiffany dolls in the sequel. Not mentioned or shown, however, are Glen or Glenda – the children of Chucky and Tiffany from the end of Seed of Chucky. Hopefully they are not dismissed from the franchise altogether and are instead being saved for a final, culmination film. You’ll want to stay after the credits in this one, as we see none other than Kyle (Andy’s adoptive sister from Child’s Play 2) bust through Andy’s front door and approach Chucky in an exciting teaser for a scene hopefully in the next film.

This movie is…

It’s not the original, nor does it try to be, and that’s a good thing. Every story needs an evolution and I can’t wait to see where the next one takes us.

Cheers and goodnight.