← Back to Reviews
in
That's how Chucky (Brad Dourif) announces his return to his "old friend" Andy (Justin Whalin) in Child's Play 3. Studio surely didn't want to keep this Good Guy down with this installment being released just 9 months after the second one. This one follows a now teenage Andy, as he is enrolled in a military school as Chucky comes back to haunt him again.
This is a film I remember seeing in theaters back in the day, thinking it was OK but never seeing it again. Rewatching it now, I understand why, and it's not necessarily because the film is bad. The film does feel like its trying to be more serious and "mature" (perhaps as a nod to Andy maturing himself?), but it results in it being probably the dullest of the franchise, with a mostly flat execution.
Most of the story features Chucky getting himself in drawers, cabinets, and trash cans, sometimes for no reason other than filler. Chucky ends up in drawer, Character A finds him, Chucky kills Character A, rinse and repeat. This flat and repetitive story is probably why I never cared to revisit this installment, while I had seen the original, Child's Play 2, and Bride of Chucky, at least twice each.
Despite those flaws, the military school setting does lend itself to some interesting setpieces, even if they're not executed to perfection. Whalin also does a decent job as the teenage Andy, and the rest of the supporting cast is serviceable. There is also an opening scene during a board meeting with the CEO of the Good Guy company which I found to be quite funny and hammy.
The film was poorly received by critics and didn't do that well in the box office. Creator Don Mancini has said this was his least favorite entry in the series, which led most people to think the franchise was dead after this installment. It would take seven years and a total shift in genre to bring Chucky back. But you know what they say. You just can't keep a Good Guy down.
Grade:
CHILD'S PLAY 3
(1991, Bender)

(1991, Bender)

"You know what they say. You just can't keep a Good Guy down."
That's how Chucky (Brad Dourif) announces his return to his "old friend" Andy (Justin Whalin) in Child's Play 3. Studio surely didn't want to keep this Good Guy down with this installment being released just 9 months after the second one. This one follows a now teenage Andy, as he is enrolled in a military school as Chucky comes back to haunt him again.
This is a film I remember seeing in theaters back in the day, thinking it was OK but never seeing it again. Rewatching it now, I understand why, and it's not necessarily because the film is bad. The film does feel like its trying to be more serious and "mature" (perhaps as a nod to Andy maturing himself?), but it results in it being probably the dullest of the franchise, with a mostly flat execution.
Most of the story features Chucky getting himself in drawers, cabinets, and trash cans, sometimes for no reason other than filler. Chucky ends up in drawer, Character A finds him, Chucky kills Character A, rinse and repeat. This flat and repetitive story is probably why I never cared to revisit this installment, while I had seen the original, Child's Play 2, and Bride of Chucky, at least twice each.
Despite those flaws, the military school setting does lend itself to some interesting setpieces, even if they're not executed to perfection. Whalin also does a decent job as the teenage Andy, and the rest of the supporting cast is serviceable. There is also an opening scene during a board meeting with the CEO of the Good Guy company which I found to be quite funny and hammy.
The film was poorly received by critics and didn't do that well in the box office. Creator Don Mancini has said this was his least favorite entry in the series, which led most people to think the franchise was dead after this installment. It would take seven years and a total shift in genre to bring Chucky back. But you know what they say. You just can't keep a Good Guy down.
Grade: