"Chucky" Season 1 Review: The Killer Doll Is Back With Lots Of Great One-Liners and Crazy Kills

If you're not familiar with the "Child's Play" franchise, it was created by Don Mancini. There are eight movies total. The TV series serves as a sequel to the seventh film-- "Cult Of Chucky". That's because Mancini was not involved in the last movie, "Child's Play" from 2019. Overall, the franchise is considered one of the most consistent in horror thanks to Mancini's influence.

Just to catch you up to speed, "Child's Play/Chucky" is a horror comedy. It's along the lines of "Leprechaun" but MUCH better. Chucky is an evil doll that delights in offing people. He has some great one liners and some hilarious kills..Chucky is actually serial killer James Lee Ray who, when the police were closing in on him, hid in a Good Guys doll factory. He recited some voodoo spell and his soul transferred to a doll before he was shot to death. Back is Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. He was Chucky's voice in all the movies except the last one (Mark Hamill took over).

The TV series (which currently has 2 seasons) was developed by SyFy and the USA Network. It centers around several teens-- Jake (Zackary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Amarson), Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Junior (Teo Briones). Jake picks up Chucky at a yard sale. He intends to use him in a creepy art piece (it has lots of doll heads). Jake's home life is not good. His mother died several years ago. His father is an alcoholic who does not accept that Jake is gay.

As soon as Chucky arrives he's up to no good. He wants Jake to kill his abusive father. When Jake doesnt, Chucky electrocutes him. And we're off to the races.

Jake goes to live with his uncle Logan, aunt Bree and cousin Junior. Jake's father Lucas and Logan are twins (and they're both played by Devon Sawa). But of course Chucky comes along for the ride. At school Jake is bullied by mean girl Lexy (who is also dating Junior). Jake has a crush on Devon. Devon does a true crime podcast that covers true crime in their hometown of Hackensack, New Jersey.

There are tons of fun easter eggs and callbacks. Back is Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany Valentine. I just love her. Jennifer plays her roles (doll Tiffany and actress Jennifer Tilly who was possessed by Tiff's soul) with high camp. She just makes the series IMHO. Also back is Fiona Dourif (Brad's daughter IRL). She plays a paralyzed woman named Nica who has been possessed by Chucky since "Cult Of Chucky". Fiona might be the MVP of the series. She pulls triple duty here. Sometimes she's murderous Chucky, sometimes she's a scared woman trying to get away from Tiff. And she also plays a younger version of Charles Lee Ray.

Andy Barclay (played by the original Andy-- Alex Vincent) and foster sister Kyle (Christine Elise) are back. Great additions! I just wish they had more to do in the series. They spend most of their time trying to travel to Hackensack. They destroy any Good Guy dolls they encounter along the way.

We get some of Charles Lee Ray's backstory. We see his first kill. Apparently he was a bad seed from the beginning. We also see the start of Charles and Tiff's relationship. In case you didnt notice, Charles here is played by Fiona Dourif (under some prosthetics). Too funny!

So what is Chucky and Tiffany's end game? Apparently Chucky needed to corrupt and innocent to kill for him. This happened when Junior killed his father. Now Chucky can raise an army of dolls to take over the world (I guess). Jennifer Tilly has 72 dollars sent to sick children around the country. In the end the kids are able to stop OG Chucky but what happens to the rest? Andy is driving the truck but then the Tiff doll shows up... so who knows. Meanwhile Human Tiffany has done something bad to Nica (so Charles cant seek revenge on her). Not sure what that means for the future-- maybe another body swap? Anyway, we're in good shape going into season 2.

So how many people die in season 1? At t the end of the series, Chucky has a little fireside chat and says it's 21. According to James A Janisse's "Kill Count" it's 34 (that includes all the people Chucky stabbed from under their seats in the movie theater). Obvs the series has a lot more kills than the movies given their running time.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). With just 8 episodes total, season 1 of "Chucky" is a super fast watch. I definitely enjoyed the series. I LOVED all the Easter eggs and call backs.i especially liked seeing Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, and Christine Elise again. It's great to see Chucky revamped for a younger generation. I just wish the finale had been a bit stronger. But we have a great setup for season 2-- and the show has also been renewed for a third season as well.