{"id":13341,"date":"2021-10-27T23:28:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T21:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=13341"},"modified":"2021-10-27T23:28:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T21:28:05","slug":"chuckys-back-in-the-killer-new-horror-series-on-showmax-just-in-time-for-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2021\/10\/27\/chuckys-back-in-the-killer-new-horror-series-on-showmax-just-in-time-for-halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"Chucky\u2019s Back In The Killer New Horror Series On Showmax, Just In Time For Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cHi, I\u2019m Chucky. Wanna play?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Showmax just unboxed the first three episodes of the killer new Chucky<\/em> series, just in time for Halloween. New episodes of the 18VHL-rated show will follow every Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series is giving Chucky<\/em> fans all the feels \u2013 mainly fear, hysterical laughter and, for some, grim flashbacks to sleepless nights in 1988, when the now-legendary horror franchise debuted its first film, Child\u2019s Play<\/em>. But it\u2019s also bringing out the nostalgia, the love and, unexpectedly, a dose of the \u201caw\u201ds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople will laugh, and they will scream, in the ways that they expect, but I also hope to make people cry,\u201d writer-director, showrunner and franchise mastermind Don Mancini (Hannibal<\/em>) says of the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLong-standing fans will find plenty of what they\u2019ve come to love,\u201d Don adds, \u201cbut new fans are going to find a surprisingly rich story with complex characters, to the degree that you really can\u2019t do in any single 90-minute movie. The eight-hour serialised format allows us to delve into these characters and relationships in a way we\u2019ve never been able to do before.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all starts when a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, throwing an idyllic American town into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begins to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CHUCKY — “Give Me Something Good to Eat” Episode 102 — Pictured: Chucky — (Photo by: USA Network)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Picking up after the events of Cult of Chucky<\/em>, the seventh film in the movie franchise, the series stars teen actor Zackary Arthur (Transparent<\/em>, Kidding<\/em>), who makes his franchise debut as Jake Wheeler, the quiet gay kid who buys the classic \u201cGood Guy\u201d doll at the yard sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to bring the series back to its Child\u2019s Play<\/em> roots and involve teenagers,\u201d Don explains. \u201cThey have more complicated issues that they\u2019re dealing with, like bullying. In a way Chucky is the perfect bully, because he comes, as he always has, in the guise of being your best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don says the series is the most personal thing he\u2019s done. \u201cWe explore a very sweet teen gay romance, that I think people might be surprised at the depth of. It has a whiff of real-life pain, scenes from my own life replayed \u2013 a young, gay, anxious kid with issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cast includes Saturn Award winner Devon Sawa (Final Destination<\/em>, Idle Hands<\/em>), and teen actors Teo Briones (Ratched<\/em>, Wind River<\/em>), Alyvia Alyn Lind (Daybreak<\/em>, Future Man<\/em>, Transparent<\/em>) and newcomer Bjorgvin Arnarson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans will also be thrilled to see the line-up of Chucky<\/em> veterans, including Oscar nominee Brad Dourif (The Lord of the Rings\u2019<\/em> Wormtongue and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest<\/em>\u2019s Billy Bibbit) as serial killer Charles Lee Ray \u2013 and Chucky himself, and genre marvel Fiona Dourif (The Stand<\/em>, The Purge, Dirk Gently\u2019s Holistic Detective Agency, The Blacklist<\/em>) as Nica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am the daughter of Brad Dourif,\u201d Fiona explains, \u201cso I was raised with Chucky. The first movie came out when I was five. I remember going to the premiere. I believe I hid under a seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is like a family project in a way,\u201d Brad says, dropping the shocker that \u201cChucky\u2019s 71!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly (Bullets over Broadway, Bound<\/em>) is also back as Tiffany but the biggest casting surprises are Alex Vincent, Chucky\u2019s original Child\u2019s Play<\/em> arch-nemesis, Andy Barclay, and Christine Elise (BH90210<\/em>), who played Andy\u2019s foster sister, Kyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think Chucky fans are going to be so excited,\u201d says Jennifer. \u201cYou\u2019re introduced to new characters, and then a lot of the old characters come back. Don knows the fans want to see the original little boy in Chucky<\/em>. Alex Vincent doesn\u2019t just disappear. Don brought him back and made him this bearded vigilante.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s just been wild,\u201d Alex says. \u201cI started this when I was six years old, and I just turned 40, and I’m going to be Andy again. [For] people that grew up with [Chucky], there\u2019s a lot in this show that they\u2019re going to be very excited to uncover about these characters.\u201d Plus, of course, \u201csome real gruesome, gory deaths… and this show is chock-full of those.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AVClub<\/em> says, \u201cChucky<\/em> is as foul-mouthed and homicidal as ever\u2026  Mancini and Dourif have been doing this for so long, they seem to have nailed down an understanding of what makes Chucky<\/em> fun.\u201d Slant <\/em>calls it, \u201ca gruesome, surprisingly insightful coming-of-age story,\u201d while Globe and Mail <\/em>says, \u201cChucky<\/em> is a delight… warped, wise, funny and very droll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As ScreenRant<\/em> says in their line-up of The 10 Creepiest Dolls in Horror Films (where Chucky is second only to Puppet Master<\/em>\u2019s Blade), \u201cBy now, Chucky is a pop culture icon\u2026 Like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or Michael Myers, Chucky has become synonymous with the horror trope of the unstoppable villain that seems to survive the most unlikely scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And although SyFy hasn\u2019t yet made a renewal announcement, if we\u2019ve learned one thing about Chucky over the last 33 years, it\u2019s that the guy is true to his word: \u201cI\u2019ll be back,\u201d he promised. “I always come back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, you just can’t keep a Good Guy down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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