I'm truly glad that they're still making sequels. Every installment of this series has been, for me anyways, consistently entertaining and has brought something different to the table; this film is no exception. "Cult of Chucky" is a fun ride that actually brings a slight psychological edge to its horror. From the beginning it is making the viewer question a little bit what is real and what isn't. Which for a movie that is the seventh installment of a franchise is ballsy, but winds up being pretty cool that they were able to twist things up a bit to where I wasn't 100% sure if Chucky was actually up to his old tricks again or if this was a movie about crazy people effected by the past traumas that Chucky inflicted upon them. Now because it is the movie that it is, I did kinda figure out what was going on, granted not too much longer before it was revealed. Still, I found this to be a fun ride from beginning to end with a great amount of thrills and laughs to be had as with all of these movies thus far.
I do have some gripes with the movie; for instance, the character of Andy Barclay has been brought back into this series. Originally I found this to be really awesome and I was excited to see where things go when he's first introduced into the movie. But after a while I honestly almost forgot that he was even in the film because he has nothing to do. It seriously felt as though the writers wrote his segments after the script was finished in order to pad things out because he barely feels that he's actually a part of the main plot going on. Then when he finally does show up more he still doesn't have much of anything to do and it is filmed as if he came in at a later date after the initial production was already over and these were pickup shots they made at another location.
Another thing I had a problem with was the third act, namely the ending. No spoilers here, but there was a lot of build up to an end that felt slightly abrupt. I think that may be because they introduce a new and interesting element in the final moments of the film, but we end up not seeing anything really come of that. Also the fact that Andy Barclay's plot thread is entirely dropped with no satisfying conclusion either. Maybe it is simply setup for another sequel, which if so I will say that I am on board because despite all the issues I may have with this movie I still had a great time watching it.
One thing that really stood out to me from even the start is that this film is superbly made; I mean that not only with its gore and effects, but also in its cinematography. This is a gorgeous movie to look at from beginning to end. Even in its simplest of shots it is terrifically composed and well lit. Proving once more that Don Mancini knows what he is doing behind the camera. The acting all around works and has plenty of colorful characters to carry this film. Brad Dourif, as always, is perfect in the role of the killer doll Chucky. Plus his daughter, Fiona Dourif, does a great job here as well and proves that she can even command the scene in some parts.
If you're a fan of this series then I'd say that this is on par with most of the rest of the series. It has everything you'd want out of a Chucky movie with maybe even a little more sprinkled in. Perfect? No. But still enough of a blast to keep the pace going for 90 minutes quickly. Since we are entering into the Halloween season this makes for a good horror movie to break out and watch. I will say though that if someone is new to the series and you go into this blind, I think you'll be able to make through it okay but I believe it would help if you watched at least a couple of the previous installments. This is a direct sequel to "Curse of Chucky" so if you want to skip through watching all 6 prior movies then I'd say just watch "Curse" in order to better follow what is going on in "Cult".
Anyways, I say check it out if you're curious. I believe it's worth the watch.
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