If you are familiar with horror franchises or like the genre at all, you have surely heard of the killer doll Chucky. The doll first appeared in the 1988 film Child’s Play, which has gone on to span a semi-successful franchise of eight films and a new TV series. The scary movie cliché of a possessed doll, albeit in a humorous way, makes the franchise equal parts scary and funny. This vulgar-speaking doll has dropped the f-bomb more times than he has killed, but don’t let that stop you – these are definitively horror films. The first film in the Chucky franchise was more of a psychological horror, while the second and third installments were typical slasher films. After the first three, the series took on more of a satirical dark-humored turn with its fourth and fifth films. By the sixth film, Curse of Chucky, almost ten years later, the film returned to its roots of a more traditional horror base where it stayed.
A few short films and a TV series on USA/SYFY, which recently announced its second season, have also been made of the doll over the years, but for the purpose of this article, let’s take a closer look at the full-length franchise films. The Chucky franchise, from 1988 to the remake of the original film in 2019, has produced a multi-hit franchise with its movies ranking averagely. Here are all eight films in the Chucky franchise, ranked.
8 Seed of Chucky
What's worse than a killer doll? How about a killer doll's spawn? That's right, in Seed of Chucky, Chucky and Tiffany's son Glen brings his parents back to life with the amulet the pair was looking for in the previous film. While his parents are killers, Glen is gentle and does not feel the same way about murder. He resurrected his parents to get to know them, but when they go on a new killing spree, Glen starts to regret his plan.
This film is the fifth installment in the franchise and the sequel to Bride of Chucky. From questioning gender identity to having a conscience about killing, this film certainly takes on a more of an emotional angle on the franchise. While some may have liked it, this ultimately was the lowest-ranked of the full-length films.
7 Child’s Play 3
A few years have passed since the supposed death of Chucky in the fire at the doll factory at the end of the second film. When the manufacturer starts remaking the same line of toys with some old parts, the killer Chucky doll is resurrected. Filled with revenge, Chucky sets his sights on his old owner Andy, who is now in military school.
Child's Play 3 is one of the first three films that were made in consecutive years. After wrapping on this film, the franchise altered its name to Chucky and took a seven-year hiatus before its fourth installment, Bride of Chucky. Unfortunately, this film was not the highest-ranking of the franchise, but maybe its lower rating helped spawn a twist in the franchise to popularize it again.
6 Bride of Chucky
After being killed by the police at the end of the third film, Chucky is resurrected by Tiffany who installs her serial killer ex-boyfriend's spirit into the doll. An argument leads Chucky to kill Tiffany and put her spirit inside a female doll. In order to be brought back to life, they have to work together to get back to the human Chucky's body and retrieve an amulet.
Bride of Chucky shows the franchise's turn towards dark humor and away from horror. This was the main reason for a lower rating despite a new perspective for Chucky, according to critics. The addition of Jennifer Tilly, who voices Tiffany, was one of the redeeming qualities of the film.
5 Child’s Play (2019)
A young Andy is given a new doll after being forced to move to a new city. The Buddi doll is an artificial intelligence doll whose security protocol was canceled by an upset programmer who was fired. The doll comes to life, and it's up to Andy and his new neighborhood friends to stop the doll.
This 2019 Child's Play remake of the original movie brought us a re-imagined Chucky in modern times. The remake was the first in the franchise to be written by someone other than Don Mancini. While this film is a very loose interpretation of the original, it was certainly interesting to have Mark Hamill voice the new Chucky. Brad Dourif had voiced the doll in all other films and has reprised his role for the TV series as well.
4 Curse of Chucky
Chucky is once again out for revenge, and this time he is terrorizing Nica, a wheelchair-bound girl, and her family. When Nica's mother receives a package containing the doll, she throws it out, but the next morning, Nica finds her mother dead and the doll resting on a chair. She starts to suspect the doll is behind the murders as more people around her start to die.
Curse of Chucky was seemingly the way the writers wanted to return to its horror roots. Being able to bring in new characters while still tying in the old ones helped reenergize the franchise. After almost ten years since the Seed of Chucky, fans were excited to see the future of the new-old Chucky. Interesting fact, the actress who plays Nica is the real-life daughter of Brad Dourif, the voice behind Chucky.
3 Cult of Chucky
Nica has been confirmed to an asylum for the criminally insane after the events of the fifth film. Chucky tracks her down there and begins to terrorize her all over again. His reign of terror does not stop there: he seeks out his former wife, Tiffany, for help settling scores with some of his old foes.
Cult of Chucky picks up right after the events of the fifth installment. After the success of the fifth, fans were excited to see the sixth film continue down the same path. Fans also loved seeing the return of Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany. The film does not skimp on the gore either.
2 Child’s Play 2
It has been two years since serial killer Charles Lee Ray put himself into the Chucky doll. While he perished in the first film, the toy company accidentally brought the doll back to life when they re-created the doll. Now, the Chucky doll is back and out to get Andy once again.
While the Rotten Tomatoes rating does not agree with Child's Play 2 ranking this high, fans of the franchise would agree that the film follows very closely to the success of the first one. Since its release in 1990, the film was top of the horror genre. Staying to the original plot, the doll tracking down his old owner is easier to believe than two dolls having a confused child.
1 Child’s Play (1988)
A dying serial killer, Charles Lee Ray, puts his soul into a Chucky doll before his human body dies. The doll is then given to a young boy named Andy by his mother. When Andy's babysitter is mysteriously murdered, Andy's mother must do whatever she can to protect her son from the killer doll, even though the police do not believe her.
Child's Play is a horror film that uses some humor to back its gore-filled kills. The original film was frightening enough to make its name within the horror genre. With the creepy seemingly alive doll, the franchise helped pave the way as a top horror franchise. While box office numbers don't compare to those like Scream and Halloween, the true fans remember the creepy doll — maybe even from their own nightmares.