Misfit Toys: An Interview With "Seed Of Chucky" Writer / Creator / Director Don Mancini

Judge Patrick Naugle

June 13th, 2005

In the late 1980s, a new and unlikely horror icon graced the silver screen: Chucky. Standing about two feet tall and sporting red hair and freckles, the possessed doll stormed theaters and became an instant hit with horror fans. After two sequels (Child's Play 2 and Child's Play 3, respectively), Chucky seemed to quietly fade away into cinematic folklore. Yet like any good slasher, you can't keep a good killer down; Chucky's luck took a turn for the better seven years later when creator Don Mancini decided to take the Child's Play series in a new direction. Enter Bride of Chucky and its sequel, Seed of Chucky, spoofs that took everyone's favorite maniacal plaything and threw him into horror satire.

"I'm happier with the later films than with Child's Play 2 or Child's Play 3," writer/director Don Mancini muses. With the fifth film in the series, Seed of Chucky, about to hit DVD, Mancini opened up about his thoughts on the series. "I felt those were repetitions of the formula from the first movie, and hence a bit uninspired and run-of-the-mill. I know those movies have their fans, and some people even prefer them to the comedic tone of the later movies. But to me, the most successful sequels are the ones that reinvent the wheel a little bit."

Mancini waited long for Chucky's rebirth. After the bland retread Child's Play 3 in 1991, it was seven long years before Mancini and director Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason) resurrected Chucky in a bloodbath of gore and giggles, care of Scream's post-modern, self-referencing fad. "I wanted to do something different," Mancini notes. "I figured that this is the fifth film in the series, and generally with any series -- horror, comedy, or action -- sequels can run the risk of become very formulaic, and I didn't really want to do that." Neither John Carpenter nor Wes Craven was available for comment.

"I also felt that with the first three films we'd tapped out the concept of truly disturbing scariness," Mancini says, noting the original film's serious tone. "I think that with any of these horror icons -- whether it be Jason, Freddy, or Chucky -- part of the scariness is derived from their mysteriousness and staying in the shadows. But when you're dealing in the territory of sequels you inevitably have to show them more, bring them more front and center, because that's what the fans demand. The problem when you do that is your rob them of their mystery, and they consequently become less frightening." Things get even tougher when your main villain can be purchased at a local toy store. "With Chucky -- because he's a doll -- it's a particular problem since it's already so absurd. He's a two foot tall little thing filled with stuffing -- you could just kick him! So, I really felt we couldn't do the scary thing with him anymore without basically remaking the same film over and over again, which I really didn't want to do."

The answer? Add in a dash of comedy to the guts and grizzle. "As just a film fan and creative person, am just as interested in comedy as I am in horror," Mancini says. "And I guess there are a lot of movies that you could classify as horror comedies like Re-Animator and Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, both of which I really love. They're movies that aren't really scary, but are funny and over the top in an outrageous way. And that's the kind of movie I wanted to make with Seed of Chucky. We took a big step in that direction with Bride of Chucky, and I wanted to keep doing that in this movie."

Unlike most horror sequels, Seed of Chucky is notable for showcasing a game cast of Hollywood actors with already solidified careers. Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly (Bullets Over Broadway) shows off her sense of humor as well as sex appeal, playing an exaggerated version of herself in the film. "I wrote the script for Jennifer and wrote that part with her in mind. I knew that she was the perfect person to do it," Mancini says, referring to Tilly's role in 1998's Bride of Chucky. "But when you write something like that you almost never get your first choice. So I really pursued Jennifer. Even when the studio was wary of spending the money to get her, [producer] David Kirschner and I decided we would spend our own money to get her. She had a really good experience on that movie and the success gave her a brand new fan base. And in the interim we became good friends."

Because of that friendship -- and the success of Bride of Chucky -- Tilly decided to reprise her role as Chucky's plastic love interest, Tiffany, and spoof her own image in the film. "With Seed of Chucky I wanted to bring Jennifer back, but I wanted to bring her back physically as well as the voice of Tiffany. So I came up with this concept of her playing her Hollywood self, and of course before I could even begin writing that I had to make sure she'd be on board with it. And she absolutely was. We have a very similar sense of humor. Jennifer is very outrageous and not afraid to make fun of herself," Mancini chuckles. "She totally embraced it."

Also returning is the only holdover from every single Child's Play film: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Oscar nominee Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. "As with any movie, especially when you're doing voiceover as with Chucky, you can ad lib a lot and I think Brad built on some of the stuff I had in my original script, which Tom Holland [director of the original Child's Play] amplified a little in his version of the film. He amplified the dark, sarcastic sense of humor that Chucky has," Mancini says, having worked with Brad through all five films. "I think Brad as an actor went even further with that, and it worked really well. So when it came time to write the sequels I was definitely influenced by some of the stuff Brad had done."

Mancini was also able to wrangle one of Chucky's most (in)famous fans to appear in the film: cult classic director John Waters (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos). "He actually courted us, in a way," Mancini recalls. "He's been a 'Chucky' fan for a long, long time. I first became aware of this back in the early '90s when he made the film Serial Mom. There was a young actor in that movie, Justin Whalin, who played the lead in Child's Play 3. And Justin was the first person to tell me that John was a big Child's Play fan, he had a Chucky doll in his house, and all that kind of stuff. Over the years I would read interviews with John Waters and he'd always go out of his way to mention that he loved the movies. It even got to the point where he said he wouldn't be interested in doing anymore acting in movies expect in a Chucky movie." When the maker of such cinematic sleaze as Polyester likes your movies, you know you're onto something special. "When I was coming up with the story for Seed of Chucky, I thought John would be a perfect fit for it. So I wrote the role for him, got in touch with him, and he said absolutely. John came to Romania for a couple of weeks and was exactly what you'd want John Waters to be like -- an extremely filthy mind."

Seed of Chucky marks not only the killer doll's return to the big screen, but also Mancini's debut as a feature film director. "I wanted to direct for a long time," Mancini says, obviously thrilled that he finally had the chance to helm one of his own creations. "I wanted to direct Bride of Chucky, but studios don't just hand over multi-million dollar feature films to just anyone. It takes a long time for you to win their trust with millions of dollars. The 'Chucky' movies had the same producer -- David Kirschner -- who I've had the good fortune to work with for twenty years. He's been really great and allowed me to be around the process and learn a lot. When we did Bride of Chucky and the studio was kind of leery about my directing that, David allowed me to be a producer on it and direct the second unit. Bride of Chucky was very successful, and when the time came around to do the next one they let me do it. Mostly it was just tenacity and sticking around."

Mancini notes that the film is not without its controversy, something that would surely make Chucky proud. In the film, the demented doll runs a convertible driven by a famous pop star off the road into a blaze of twisted metal and fire. "You know, I wonder if Britney herself was even aware of it," Mancini laughs. "Certainly her people were. If it were me -- and I'm not a pop star so it's all speculation on my part -- I would be tickled by it. The fact that they balked at it and wouldn't let us use the song...well, it benefited the film and created a lot of publicity." Needless to say, the Britney Spears camp wasn't happy with the good-natured jab. "I don't personally have anything against Britney Spears, though I'd have to say Chucky would," Mancini chuckles. "I think it's very possible that Britney Spears herself has a sense of humor about it. Who knows?"

As Seed of Chucky makes its way onto DVD, fans have been clamoring for a special edition of the original film (released in a bare bones edition by MGM in the early days of DVD). Mancini is sympathetic to their plight. "My understanding, " Mancini says, "is that there are attempts by Universal to get the rights to the original Child's Play film. Since the first movie is owned by MGM, Universal hasn't been able to do a special edition DVD or put out a complete package with all the films together. My understanding is that they're trying to do that and, God willing, it will happen."

As for the infamous Chucky, he's been terrorizing kids and adults for well over fifteen years. Have audiences finally seen the last of this pint-sized psycho? "I think it's only a matter of time," Mancini speculates. "Chucky, like Freddy and Jason, is a firmly established horror icon and I think that it's only a matter of time before people want more Chucky!"

Seed of Chucky is now available on DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.