Written by Ronnie Gorham
A wise man once said, “You can’t keep a ‘good guy’ down.” That man was the Lakeshore Strangler himself, Charles Lee Ray, better known to horror fans as Chucky. After more than three decades on the silver screen, creator Don Mancini brings Chucky to network television in a new series on the SYFY and USA channel. The show appropriately titled Chucky serves as a spinoff continuation from the last movie, Cult of Chucky. The first episode follows Jake Wheeler (Zachary Arthur, The 5th Wave), a bullied gay teenager who buys Chucky at a local yard sale to use as spare parts for an art project. However, Jake has no idea of the nightmarish position he’s gotten himself into.
Episode one, “Death by Misadventure,” is ushered in with the sweet hypnotic, engaging tune “COPYCAT” by singer Billie Eilish. The song sets the tone as we’re introduced to Jake Wheeler’s everyday life, seeing Jake dismember dolls to make a leaning tower of Pisa doll sculptures. Next, we get a tour of his room, with an art piece that freakishly resembles the aftermath of how Chucky looked at the end of Child’s Play 2 after he was mutilated and stuff, with several doll heads and arms. As the story progresses, we begin to learn that Jake’s life sucks as we watch him struggle with the loss of his mother, his tool bag alcoholic father, and the privileged bullies at his high school.
As for Chucky, this episode is light on terror regarding the pint-sized red-headed menace. For the most part, Chucky’s appearances are about the same as in the movies. He’s never in the same place where he was left. He talks without someone activating him, and we get a few spooky close-ups on his drifting eyes. But when Chucky does spring to life, each scene is very memorable. By the end of the episode, Chucky proves more than ever that he’s Jake’s friend ‘til the end.
Besides the usual foul-mouthed banter and grisly murders fans have come to expect from Chucky, the first episode sets up a lot of potentially cool things like further backstory on Chucky’s origins. Also, much like Jake Wheeler’s character, writer and creator Don Mancini is gay, and it was nice to see that he could add the subject of one’s sexuality to the storyline, something that wouldn’t be the case on a major TV show thirty years ago. The show also touches on bullying and boasts plenty of characters that fans can despise so that when Chucky dispatches them, you won’t have much empathy. Finally, the school talent show is the funniest moment in the episode and sees voice actor Brad Douriff do his iconic laugh. Unfortunately, you may have to wait for episode two for fans looking for the original cast members as none of them show up this go-round.
Overall, Chucky episode one is a solid entry that’s entertaining, humorous, and provides a perfect build-up for many insane situations to come. Jake Wheeler is a believable character that looks to be this generation’s Andy Barclay. It’s also fantastic to see history continue to progress with more and more shows representing the LGBTQ+ community. The hype is real, and Chucky’s transition from movies to TV is as sharp as the knives he butchers people with. A must-see for sure.
