From Freddy Krueger to Jason Voorhees, Ghostface to Leatherface, the horror genre hasn’t exactly been left wanting for memorable villains through the years, but few are able to evoke the same level of primal fear as Chucky, that pint-sized devil doll that first scurried onto the silver screen via Child’s Play all the way back in ’88.
November 9th, 1988, to be exact, meaning that this week marked a very special occasion within the horror community. In fact, one could argue that November 9th ought to be celebrated as International Chucky Day, as John Lafia’s follow-up Child’s Play 2 also launched on that same day 27 years ago.
Since that time, Chucky has cemented his place in cinema’s pantheon of weird and wonderful movie villains, and this year’s Cult of Chucky proved that, yes, even after three decades, Brad Dourif’s demented Good Guy doll can still strike fear in our hearts. And so, to honor that legacy, YouTube channel Then & Now (via Bloody Disgusting) has cut together a rather wonderful montage in celebration of Chucky.
At the heart of the Child’s Play is Don Mancini – the architect, the brains, the beating heart of this cult horror series – who remained in charge of Chucky for almost 30 years, which is an impressive feat in and of itself.
When it comes to the franchise’s latest instalment, though, our own Matt Donato was overly impressed with Cult, writing that, “Cult Of Chucky roots itself in nostalgia long enough to shock us all by flipping the Child’s Play franchise on its head in an invigorated, inspiring, and oh-so-deadly way.”
Beyond 2017, series veteran Don Mancini has toyed around with multiple ideas for Chucky‘s future, including a story that would see the Devil Doll blast off into space. Now how’s that for an elevator pitch?
