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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Don Mancini’s infamous horror franchise, Child’s Play, returns four years after its most recent installment. His television series, Chucky, debuted on SYFY and USA Network last night, giving great promise to fans of the franchise and the genre alike. The series’ pilot episode, titled “Death by Misadventure”, marks the title character’s remarkable return to his hometown, Hackensack. Here, Mancini serves as both the writer and the director.
In this review, I will be discussing Chucky‘s first episode. There will be spoilers to follow, as the title of this article suggests. Please read ahead at your own discretion, or forever be doomed with revelations.
Plot Summary
Day One
A Good Guy doll mysteriously ends up at a Hackensack yard sale. Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) purchases it from Mrs. Jolly (Precious Chong) for his sculpture project comprised of doll parts. At home, his father, Lucas (Devon Sawa), frowns upon his son’s artistic aspirations. That night, Lucas’s twin brother Logan (also Sawa), his wife Bree (Lexa Doig), and his son Junior (Teo Briones) come over for dinner. Lucas throws a little fit over his son’s homosexual self-identity when Logan and Bree bring up Junior’s extracurricular exploits. After they leave, Lucas smashes Jake’s sculpture to pieces with a baseball bat.
Day Two
The next morning, Jake discovers (via the Internet) how valuable his Good Guy doll is. At Perry Middle School, Junior and his girlfriend, Lexy Cross (Alyvia Alyn Lind), patronize Jake for being “financially disadvantaged”. In science class, Jake is afraid to dissect his frog, so the doll does it for him. He leaves the doll with his teacher, Miss Fairchild (Annie Briggs) until he can sell it for a high price. She has Lexy stay behind for posting a harsh fundraising link for Jake on the Internet as a form of bullying.
During lunch, peer Devon Evans (Björgvin Arnarson) invites Jake to be a guest on his podcast and to watch him perform at the school talent show. Meanwhile, the doll nearly traps Lexy from leaving the classroom. Consequently, she drops her phone and is unable to find it. Fairchild locks the doll in her classroom closet.
That night, Jake gets a call from an unknown Rhode Island phone number, telling him to be vigilant for the doll’s actions and whereabouts.
Day Three
The next day, Lucas returns the doll (who somehow came back home) to his son, who then finds that it has no batteries. Shocked, Jake dumps it into the trashcan. However, the doll follows him to the talent show, where he introduces himself to an audience as Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif). The doll then embarrasses some of Jake’s peers and family members, resulting in Jake’s suspension from school. Lucas punishes him but is soon killed in the basement by Chucky.
Jake is sent to live with his uncle, aunt, and cousin in their mansion. Eventually, Chucky reveals himself to the boy as Charles Lee Ray.
Cast of Chucky
Aside from the main cast of characters, here are the guest actors and other roles in the pilot. (We can thank casting director Bonnie Zane and Canadian casting director Tina Gerussi for the roster.)
Barbara Alyn Woods appears as Hackensack Mayor Michelle Cross, while Carina London Battrick plays her daughter, Caroline Cross. Michael Therriault (from Cult of Chucky; he played Dr. Foley) plays Lexy and Caroline’s father/ Michelle’s husband, Mr. Cross.
Travis Milne plays Detective Peyton, while Rachelle Casseus portrays Detective Evans, Devon’s mother. Jana Peck plays Perry Middle School Principal McVey.
Avery Esteves appears as Oliver Hayden, one of Jake’s middle school bullies. Marcus Cornwall plays a character credited as “Cute Boy”. David Kohlsmith portrays a young Charles Lee Ray, while Marisa McIntyre plays his mother, Elizabeth Ray. Nick Fisher plays a Good Guy Doll, while Tony Gardner, Peter Chevako, Erik Beck, Pamela Iveta, Steve Newburn, and Gord Robertson act as puppeteers.
Crew of Chucky
The pilot features a good list of crew members.
Colin Hoult acts as the director of photography, while Randy Bricker and Lisa Grootenboer are the editors. Shiran Amir and David Tarnawsky act as the assistant editors. Craig Sandells is the episode’s production designer, while Catherine Ashton serves as the costume designer. Sid Armour is the make-up department head, while Samantha Terry is the hair department head.
Peter Boboras is the pilot’s location manager, while Scott Francisco is the music editor. Joseph LoDuca composes the musical scoring for the episode.
Jeff Renfroe, Harley Peyton, Alex Hedlund, Nick Antosca, David Kirschner, and Don Mancini are the series executive producers. Tony Gardner is the show’s associate producer, while Mallory Westfall, Mitch Engel, and Todd Leykamp act as producers.
Discussion
Allow me to explain the title. Detective Evans rules Lucas Wheeler’s demise as “death by misadventure”. Depending on how you look at it, the title doesn’t really come off as an enticing one. In fact, the characters totally miss the call to adventure, and there’s nothing glamorous about missing out on what’s to come. I think that’s something to be allotted to Lucas. Mancini writes him to be the denial, homophobic single father with serious issues, and he’s only the killer doll’s first human victim of the series.
The pilot’s pacing isn’t so bad, and the plot abides by the typical three-act structure. It takes place solely within a span of three days (and nights), which is as simple as it can get. Also, I absolutely love the intro title sequence for Chucky. It’s just outstanding. Spelling the title using millions of doll parts? Genius, maybe? The soundtrack for the episode consists of songs by Billie Eilish, Madalen Duke, Kim Petras, and The Exotics. All their songs (and their titles) have a clear-cut message, that something ominous is bound to transpire.
The fact that the kids go to Perry Middle School gave me hope that Perrey Reeves might return to the franchise as Kristin de Silva from Child’s Play 3. Although, I’m sure this isn’t a reference and am instead just reaching.
(Don’t) Bury the Hatchet Gadget
The focus on digital technology was a terrific facet for the 2019 adaptation (of which Mancini himself refuses to associate or be a part). However, I personally didn’t find it to do the killer doll and its milieu any justice. (Or maybe I should say “injustice”.) Rather, Mancini’s own series does poke fun at the Internet, as well as Generation-Z’s role in it.
Podcasts
One thing that it possesses that the 2019 movie doesn’t is the role of podcasts. Devon Evans’s true-crime podcast, “Hackenslash”, makes for a clever name and is insightful on the town’s historical events. At the beginning of the episode, he states: “[T]he truth is Hackensack is a haven for the bizarre, the fucked-up, and the straight-up criminally insane”. This is a lovely introduction to the show’s overarching plot, and we’ll be sure to learn more about the town as it progresses.
Evans’s “Hackenslash” is downright informational on the goings-on of the series, setting up what we’ll see next. In his podcast, he also states: “Crime is complicated, especially in the eyes of the victim: the marginalized. It’s not just murders and robberies. There are silent crimes, socially accepted crimes, systemic crimes against humanity, crimes happening every day, all around us”.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a popular horror film franchise be adapted to television and just happen to use things like podcasts to tell the listeners (and the series’s actual audience) what is happening. Seasons 1 & 2 of MTV’s Scream did this with its character, Noah Foster (played by John Karna), whose podcast was called, “The Morgue”. I happen to like the title “Hackenslash” way more, though. There’s just something about it…
Phone Applications
With this past decade’s adults raising the iPad babies, I’m surprised that the young Gen-Z kids are invested in apps like GoFundMe and Venmo. Perhaps, I’m just underestimating their ability. These fundraising apps do lend a hand in the in-person bullying and cyberbullying that Jake faces. They also help establish the classist lines between the affluent and the impoverished, which can be shown by the juxtapositions between one Wheeler family and the other. Unlike the non-canonical movie, Chucky acknowledges that digital technology (and its by-product, the Internet) exists and is present. So far, that’s not something shoved in our faces, and yet, such an entity is influential in its own way.
Deform-ances and Character Demolish-ments
Sawa’s involvement in the series – as the twin brothers, Logan and Lucas – delivers tremendous promise. While we still know nothing about Logan and his wife, Lucas plays such a profound role as the parent suffering from alcoholism and depression. Not only that, but he also plays the part of the highkey homophobic asshole. (This is nothing like the actor if you’ve seen his social media accounts.) Having seen him countless times in Final Destination and in “Stan”, I cannot deny how fortunate it is to see him in tragedy again. Sawa’s death as Lucas – puked at the feet next to an exposed wire leading to the house’s power breaker – brings me back to the first three Child’s Play movies. Just…wow!
Arthur is exceptional as Jake. He truly depicts himself as a gay outcast in his Mitwelt, his social environment. The character particularly does not get along with Lucas or Junior, giving him no one to confide in. Briones as Junior’s foil to Jake is still mysterious. Although, the episode does establish that he is a teenager pressured by his parents to be the best. This is no exaggeration. As an athlete, he runs, and in other areas, he is an Eagle Scout; and his house’s Wi-Fi password being “EAGLESCOUT” does not make this any better.
Alyn Lind and Arnarson as Lexy Cross and Devon Evans, respectively, also build up a good juxtaposition. Lexy effortlessly acts as the “bitch” in the show (Chucky’s sentiment), while Devon is skillful with the piano and is knowledgeable in true crime. Next to them is Doig as Bree Wheeler, all three of whom I would like to learn more about. Doig played a good role as Talia al Ghul in The CW’s Arrow, so I can’t wait to see how well she is with Chucky.
The Final Destination
Another thing about Jake Wheeler is that he is suffering just as much as his father is. The constant bullying via classist and homophobic remarks only makes his pain greater. I believe Chucky is doing him a favor by sticking up for him. When Jake tells Lucas that he wishes he (his dad) died in a car accident instead of his mother… Some spoken words cannot be unsaid.
Overall, “Death by Misadventure” axes a dent into what could have been a perfect pilot. However, that’s not its aim; Child’s Play never seemed to aim to be the quintessential horror franchise, but with seven films, it’s done better than other franchises that had more installments but lower critical ratings. Therefore, we can say it’s done well by not even trying at all, but it’s going to be a slow burn, for sure.
Chucky will definitely return to the eponymous evil’s roots when Jake says he prefers retro over vintage. What does this mean? We’re going back to the ’80s, baby! Although, I guess we’re starting with the ’60s, which is good too.
Also, thank you to the show’s two television networks for NOT censoring this show. There is much to expect from Mancini here; please give us all the “bitch” es, “fuck”s, “shit”s, and other bad words and actions that you have to offer! I look forward to them.
Chucky is on SYFY and USA Network!
Have you seen this first episode yet? If you have, what are your thoughts on it? Let us know! For more adaptation, horror, and television-related news and reviews, give The Cinema Spot a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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