If you’re a long-time horror fan like myself, you may have been watching the Chucky series streaming on Peacock. At first, I was hesitant to watch the series because some friends of mine gave it negative reviews. I also couldn’t fathom how they could turn a movie franchise like that into a TV show without derailing too much from the original storyline. There are plenty of times when movies run out of ideas to the point that it feels like they do something rash and completely confuse the audience, such as sending a slasher into space. When writers do that, it typically seems to confuse the audience and irritate them, which often results in having the opposite effect that the writers intended. However, as Halloween approached, I decided to give it a shot several weeks ago, and it is now one of my favorite shows.
Growing up, I always watched classic horror movies with my friends, such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Child’s Play, and Scream. My friends and I would often debate which was the best franchise, and we usually agreed that it was between Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, as I binge-watched the new Chucky series, I found myself enjoying it much more than I thought I would. I was hooked. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to go back and rewatch all the Chucky movies in order, starting with the original Child’s Play all the way to the 2019 modern attempt at a Child’s Play movie. It is safe to say that Chucky is now officially my favorite horror franchise of all time, not only because of its creativity but because of how charismatic the creepy yet menacing doll can be. There’s something about him that makes you want to cheer for him even though he’s the villain.
The series does a fantastic job continuing the original storyline along with adding new elements into the story as well as new characters, which lead to a whole new chain of bizarre events. They are now on season three, where you learn that Chucky has infiltrated the most secure place in the United States of America, aka the White House, even for a killer doll that’s impressive. It’s not an easy place to sneak into. With the help of Lexy’s sister, Caroline, Chucky gathers information about the President’s recently deceased son, Joseph. It poses as the spirit of him to get close to Henry, the President’s youngest son. At first, it begs the question, how did Chucky get there, and more importantly, why is he there? What is he up to, and could it just be a coincidence that he’s there? Once you think about those questions and remember it’s Chucky we’re talking about, you probably had a similar reaction that I did…there’s no way he’s there by accident. Chucky always has a plan, and he’s up to something sinister.
In just a few episodes, we find out that Chucky is facing perhaps his greatest foe yet…father time. Sure, he’s certainly had his fair share of battles over the years, but how does one fight against old age? If you’re not caught up yet, I know what you might be thinking…he’s a supernatural doll. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Although he always has a trick or two up his sleeve, there may not be a way to weasel out of this particular jam. During the third episode of season three, Chucky visits an interesting doctor who does not seem flustered by his situation. As Dr. Rosen conducts his checkup on the infamous Charles Lee Ray, he mentions that he finds something unusual. He then diagnoses the supernatural doll with an advanced infection of Christian Magic. According to Dr. Rosen, the last time he heard of a case like this was in the eleventh century. The source of this infection appears to be from the season finale of season two when Jake and his friends performed an exorcism on Chucky.
At first, he finds it funny as he assumes he can do what he always does, which is jump into another body for a while until he can get back into a Good Guy doll. However, reality soon sinks in as Dr. Rosen explains that due to Chucky’s involvement with another religious practice, the mighty Damballa has abandoned him. Without Damballa, he has no power; this is officially his last vessel. As Chucky begins to panic, the doctor provides him with a last resort that hasn’t been attempted since the Crusades. He states that the one time it was tried, it was unsuccessful, and if this goal were to be achieved, it would take an evil of a magnitude that even the mighty Chucky can’t comprehend. Naturally, he is intrigued and accepts this potentially lifesaving challenge.
To ensure that just the right amount of heinous acts are committed to make amends with the almighty Damballa, Chucky and Caroline take a trip to one of the most infamous places on the East Coast…the Amityville Horror House on Long Island. As they arrive, they find a group of eight people in the house. To make peace with Damballa, Chucky must make six sacrifices, but of course, the more the merrier! There were eight people, and only six sacrifices were needed, but eight were made. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time… Unfortunately, this plan doesn’t fix Chucky’s problem. He claims it is because he needs to find a place more evil than the Amityville Horror House. Eventually, Chucky comes up with what he thinks is the perfect place…the White House. As this unlikely new duo stares down the White House, Caroline clearly states that no one has ever been murdered there, and she has little faith that this will be the solution. However, Chucky explains that although no one has ever been murdered there yet, all over the world, millions of people have died all because of the decisions that have been made by individuals inside those walls, making it the perfect place for him to carry out his evil deeds.
During the season finale, Chucky manages to successfully lure Jake, Devon, and Lexy into his trap in the White House during the Halloween party to witness the chaos. Chucky sabotages a massive chandelier to fall during the party, which results in a total of thirteen people dying. According to Dr. Rosen, this is fifteen more sacrifices than necessary to break the curse and save Chucky from dying of old age. The future is not looking bright for the relentless serial killer. Due to the impending doom Chucky is facing, there is a chance for his story to come to one of the greatest endings in horror history. It’s no secret that Chucky has used his dark magic to spread bits and pieces of his soul throughout other Good Guy dolls and even people. During his final showdown with Jake in the season one finale, he even mentions that people will no longer think about their kids growing up in Hackensack. Instead, he will think about the town as ground zero for the army of Chucky that invaded America!
Two seasons later, he is closer than ever to achieving his goal of invading the country. He is well known for manipulating people by causing confusion between reality and delusion, which makes him a credible threat to the nation and wherever he may go. Now that he has no more ways to cheat death, he has nothing to lose. At this point, the best ending they could possibly write is for Chucky to recreate an army of himself, which helps him take over the White House, giving him all sorts of power and finally revealing himself to the world. From there, it could end with all of Chucky’s victims coming together to team up and take him and his army down. However, if they do not want to end it there, they could always prolong his life a bit longer and keep Chucky in the White House publicly, causing chaos, only this time, he will have the resources to cause international harm as well as state and local.
