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3 minute read
MOVING PICTURES
OCTOBER’S HORROR MOVIE OFFERING UP THE SCARES WITH THE RETURN OF KILLER BADDIES
BY JOE NOLAN Film Critic
The original Child’s Play movie franchise consists of seven films that vary in tones and themes as much as they do in quality. That said, any horror fan will agree that the first two movies in the series are contemporary classics, and the recent return of the foul-mouthed murderous doll, Chucky is frightful fun for horror fans who like a bit of humor with their scares. 2019’s Chucky brought a contemporary digital age twist to its reboot of the original Child’s Play film, and Syfy’s new Chucky television series got off to a fun start on Oct. 12. The ambitious show does double duty giving new viewers a fresh take on the killer doll franchise while simultaneously flashing-back to 1960s Hackensack, NJ where longtime fans are treated to the origin story of Charles Lee Ray, the serial killer whose murderous soul eventually possesses the Chucky doll. The series’ present-day story is focused on Jake (Zackary Arthur), a 14-year-old artistic gay teen who lives with his abusive, alcoholic father following his mother’s death. Jake’s building a series of anthropomorphic sculptures, and when he finds the Chucky doll at a yard sale he takes it home to use for parts to finish his project. Instead, the deadly doll becomes the relentlessly bullied and harassed Jake’s avenging sidekick. The new series manages to play to longtime fans with the great Brad Dourif voicing Chucky with hateful hilarity, and some amazing puppetry on display in this series which uses no digital effects to animate the devilish doll. Whether you’re an old school fan or a newbie, this series is a fun addition to this Halloween season’s viewing.
Another deadly duo returning to streaming this month is the killer couple in the Netflix series You. In You’s first season we meet Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a bookstore manager with a penchant for romantic obsession and murdering people. In the second season Joe meets Love, a beautiful heiress and aspiring chef who also happens to be as secret-psychotic as Joe. The third season of You debuted on Netflix on October 15. Joe and Love now live in a California suburb, and the first episode begins with the birth of their son, Henry. You reminds us of Dexter with its nice-guy-serial-killer story. The Dexter series really only had one great season because the absurdity of the central premise led to more and more unbelievable elements poisoning the show. You has avoided shark-jumping by keeping its story grounded in Joe and Love’s regular lives trying to manage their marriage, family and work in a show that mostly reads like a drama that just happens to be regularly interrupted by grisly murders. It’s a fine line to walk and I’m not totally convinced that Joe becoming a family man bodes well for the overall health of the series.
But, so far, this new season is off to a promising start, and there are already a number of the couple’s new neighbors I’d love to see done-in. Badgley is perfectly cast as the seemingly harmless Joe and Victoria Pedretti’s Love is as sweet as she is unhinged. You isn’t a horror series leaning on well-worn creepy tropes, it’s a psychological thriller program about characters that evolve season to season, and the writing in You has been compelling and — most importantly — believable. You might not be on a viewer’s radar this Halloween season, but it’s a great scary viewing offering for folks who like their terror and gore with a whole lot of drama.
Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/ songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.