(Photo by United Artists/courtesy Everett Collection)
All Child’s Play and Chucky Movies and Series, Ranked By Tomatometer
“Hi, I’m Chucky! Wanna play?” Audiences were game to tango with the possessed, murder-bent action doll in 1988’s Child’s Play, and so the slasher golden age got in one last big stab before the decade closed. Even critics, who had largely turned their nose up at the genre, were relatively on board, praising Child’s Play’s novel villain, creepy puppetry work, and the compact, efficient plotting and kills.
Brad Dourif returned as Chucky for two direct sequels (and all subsequent films until the 2019 reboot) to menace Andy, kid hero of the original, into his teenage years, as writer/creator Don Mancini deepened the Chucky mythos in unexpected, bizarre fashion. This allowed the franchise to pivot into meta black comedy territory with Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky, whose highlights include Jennifer Tilly (as herself) giving birth to the Chuckster’s twins.
Mancini, who was also occupying the director’s seat by this point, revived the series nine years later with 2013’s Curse of Chucky, reverting back to straight slasher horror. Critics approved of the new earnest approach, compelling characters, and its narrative ties back to the original film. 2017’s Cult of Chucky continued to defy the laws of diminishing horror sequel returns with its most outsized story yet, generating the best reviews of the 20-year-old franchise. The saga continued on television with 2021’s Chucky.
Meanwhile, Mark Hamill was tapped to voice the doll-face killer in 2019’s Child’s Play, which dug up a new chilling storyline attuned to today’s technological world. Now, we’re ranking all Child’s Play and Chucky movies and series by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
19%
36%
50%
47%
64%
64%
78%
81%
89%
84%
