Post by RumbleWolf4 on Nov 11, 2004 3:00:56 GMT -5
Check out this review from Bloody-disgusting.com
5/5
So there I was almost a year later, back in ultra ridiculous fanboy mode. As a horror fan I haven't been this hyped for a movie since 'Freddy vs Jason' (my geeked out review) last August. You know how people like to ask what you "grew up on"? Well my answer would be 'Tales from the Crypt,' Count Chocula and 'Child's Play.' So I guess it's safe to say this review is quite biased- just a little forewarning. So here I am an incredible 16 years later and I'm sitting in a theater with one of my idols, Don Mancini, the creator of this everlasting franchise that hits my sweet tooth everytime, along with Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif and many others. I've met Brad a few times and everytime I would hear the same thing, "Universal is ashamed, it may never happen." Finally years after the real terror of Columbine, Rogue Pictures comes along and brings to the screen the sequel to 'Bride of Chucky,' which I've been dying to see for six years. After the baby popped out of Tiffany at the end, the tease was almost as bad as 'Back to the Future' blaring "TO BE CONTINUED..." across the screen.
Now that we know Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) had done a little baking in her oven, where would 'Seed' pick up? It begins six years later and surprisingly enough Glen pops into action right off the bat- we get acquainted with the little guy within the first 15 minutes. Necessary Spoiler, but will continue throughout: He- or she- or whatever IT is, is an orphan living with its "master" who performs ventriloquist acts with him/her. All Glen wants is to find his/her parents. A little birthmark on Glen shows a direct connection to his parents, which he sees on TV when Chucky and Tiffany are promoting their upcoming movie. Obviously it's not the real dolls, it's a Hollywood movie inspired by the true doll killings, but Glen think it's his parents anyhow. He skips town and heads off to Hollywood to find his parents. To keep the rest a surprise, he/she finds them; they are somehow awakened and are shocked to find their son/daughter standing in their presence. The movie jumps on the comedy train and skips out on horror completely as the movie follows the newly reunited family as they try and gain back lost time. Tiffany wants Glen(da) to be a girl and be sweet, gentle and not kill like Chucky. Chucky wants Glen to be a hunter, just like his father and enjoy what he is, which is a killer. How Jennifer Tilly and Redman come into play, you'll just have to see the movie to find out, but it's an interesting turn of events none-the-less.
What I really loved about the movie were the numerous homages. I can never get sick of jokes on movies like 'The Shining,' 'Psycho,' obviously Ed Wood's flick from 1953 'Glen or Glenda' and many more. It almost felt like a movie made just for horror fans, inside jokes that only we'd get- even though it lacked the horror, which wasn't a problem whatsoever. Like I said, the movie's a comedy, the only horror contained in the film are the gruesome kills (which Fangoria oh so proudly ruined in their past issue, kind of like how they did a "scene for scene" issue of Freddy vs Jason- thanks). So if you've seen the issue of Fango, then you know how incredible bloody the movie can be, which really makes of for the lack of tension in the film. Don knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote 'Seed,' he understand that Chucky is now the spotlight- and once removed from the shadows he loses his ability to scare audiences. Don embraced this is 'Bride of Chucky' and took it to town with 'Seed.' The movie is fu--ing hilarious, I laughed so hard I wanted to pee like Glen does every two minutes.
The script was tight and everything flowed perfectly, which actually hurt the film a tad. The movie had to progress in such a way to get everything moving without any downtime. Before I knew it, the movie was over- just like that (snap of my fingers). It was filled with dialogue, action, laughs and not a second of boredom; every single second was accounted for. To me that's perfection, to a reviewer that too much in too little time (go for it Ebert, we know you're gonna bash this just like you do every horror movie). How could you not laugh at Jennifer Tilly talking on the phone back and forth with Tiffany and pointing out how great both their voices are- genius scenario.
After six years, it's still astounding at how far the FX has come. Chucky looked a lil' better than in 'Bride'and Tiffany was rejuvenated with a total facelift, just like in Hollywood (heh). She was more realistic, authentic and very crisp looking. You would think these dolls were real midgets. Now for Glen- or Glenda, which is what you all really want to know about. It's not what you're expecting, not at all. I'm going to shy away from Glen's personality for the sake of the film, but I'll give you a small taste of what he looks like. Take the pictures you've seen of the back of his head, turn him around, add some freckles and long eyelashes- you've got yourself a green demonic Bambi. Don takes Glen- or Glenda and puts a spin on him/her that you'd never expect (yes another surprise!). Everything is for the better in 'Seed' and having Don write it makes everything that much better. Can you imagine if Clive Barker stayed with 'Hellraiser' or Wes Craven with 'Nightmare on Elm St'- that's the same effect here. Don knows his characters, he knows the evolution and he's able to create the story with the sensitive brush that it needs.
Being Don's first "real" directing gig, I was surprised at how well he did- some people just have it I guess? If you've seen the clips or the trailer, you've seen the extent of his vision when he has one of the victims fly off a balcony with one of the killer dolls attached to his chest- first person perspective. It looks fantastic and when you see it on the big screen in plays out magnificently.
Like I said one of the only downfalls is the pace, because it rocks so much, it's over before you know it. One other problem for some people might be that there is absolutely no scare factor, it's all fun and games- the way the good ol' Chuckster likes it. But in the end Don Mancini has brought to us another treat with 'Seed of Chucky'- with the only disappointing 'Child's Play' film now being the third one. I guess you can say Halloween came a little late this year, but it was worth the wait for all the tricks and treats. I can't until Friday when I can see it again!
Special thanks: Thank you once again to Fangoria Magazine for displaying beautiful full color photos of pretty much every death from the movie and ruining the surprise for me and every other fan out there. You rock.
5/5
So there I was almost a year later, back in ultra ridiculous fanboy mode. As a horror fan I haven't been this hyped for a movie since 'Freddy vs Jason' (my geeked out review) last August. You know how people like to ask what you "grew up on"? Well my answer would be 'Tales from the Crypt,' Count Chocula and 'Child's Play.' So I guess it's safe to say this review is quite biased- just a little forewarning. So here I am an incredible 16 years later and I'm sitting in a theater with one of my idols, Don Mancini, the creator of this everlasting franchise that hits my sweet tooth everytime, along with Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif and many others. I've met Brad a few times and everytime I would hear the same thing, "Universal is ashamed, it may never happen." Finally years after the real terror of Columbine, Rogue Pictures comes along and brings to the screen the sequel to 'Bride of Chucky,' which I've been dying to see for six years. After the baby popped out of Tiffany at the end, the tease was almost as bad as 'Back to the Future' blaring "TO BE CONTINUED..." across the screen.
Now that we know Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) had done a little baking in her oven, where would 'Seed' pick up? It begins six years later and surprisingly enough Glen pops into action right off the bat- we get acquainted with the little guy within the first 15 minutes. Necessary Spoiler, but will continue throughout: He- or she- or whatever IT is, is an orphan living with its "master" who performs ventriloquist acts with him/her. All Glen wants is to find his/her parents. A little birthmark on Glen shows a direct connection to his parents, which he sees on TV when Chucky and Tiffany are promoting their upcoming movie. Obviously it's not the real dolls, it's a Hollywood movie inspired by the true doll killings, but Glen think it's his parents anyhow. He skips town and heads off to Hollywood to find his parents. To keep the rest a surprise, he/she finds them; they are somehow awakened and are shocked to find their son/daughter standing in their presence. The movie jumps on the comedy train and skips out on horror completely as the movie follows the newly reunited family as they try and gain back lost time. Tiffany wants Glen(da) to be a girl and be sweet, gentle and not kill like Chucky. Chucky wants Glen to be a hunter, just like his father and enjoy what he is, which is a killer. How Jennifer Tilly and Redman come into play, you'll just have to see the movie to find out, but it's an interesting turn of events none-the-less.
What I really loved about the movie were the numerous homages. I can never get sick of jokes on movies like 'The Shining,' 'Psycho,' obviously Ed Wood's flick from 1953 'Glen or Glenda' and many more. It almost felt like a movie made just for horror fans, inside jokes that only we'd get- even though it lacked the horror, which wasn't a problem whatsoever. Like I said, the movie's a comedy, the only horror contained in the film are the gruesome kills (which Fangoria oh so proudly ruined in their past issue, kind of like how they did a "scene for scene" issue of Freddy vs Jason- thanks). So if you've seen the issue of Fango, then you know how incredible bloody the movie can be, which really makes of for the lack of tension in the film. Don knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote 'Seed,' he understand that Chucky is now the spotlight- and once removed from the shadows he loses his ability to scare audiences. Don embraced this is 'Bride of Chucky' and took it to town with 'Seed.' The movie is fu--ing hilarious, I laughed so hard I wanted to pee like Glen does every two minutes.
The script was tight and everything flowed perfectly, which actually hurt the film a tad. The movie had to progress in such a way to get everything moving without any downtime. Before I knew it, the movie was over- just like that (snap of my fingers). It was filled with dialogue, action, laughs and not a second of boredom; every single second was accounted for. To me that's perfection, to a reviewer that too much in too little time (go for it Ebert, we know you're gonna bash this just like you do every horror movie). How could you not laugh at Jennifer Tilly talking on the phone back and forth with Tiffany and pointing out how great both their voices are- genius scenario.
After six years, it's still astounding at how far the FX has come. Chucky looked a lil' better than in 'Bride'and Tiffany was rejuvenated with a total facelift, just like in Hollywood (heh). She was more realistic, authentic and very crisp looking. You would think these dolls were real midgets. Now for Glen- or Glenda, which is what you all really want to know about. It's not what you're expecting, not at all. I'm going to shy away from Glen's personality for the sake of the film, but I'll give you a small taste of what he looks like. Take the pictures you've seen of the back of his head, turn him around, add some freckles and long eyelashes- you've got yourself a green demonic Bambi. Don takes Glen- or Glenda and puts a spin on him/her that you'd never expect (yes another surprise!). Everything is for the better in 'Seed' and having Don write it makes everything that much better. Can you imagine if Clive Barker stayed with 'Hellraiser' or Wes Craven with 'Nightmare on Elm St'- that's the same effect here. Don knows his characters, he knows the evolution and he's able to create the story with the sensitive brush that it needs.
Being Don's first "real" directing gig, I was surprised at how well he did- some people just have it I guess? If you've seen the clips or the trailer, you've seen the extent of his vision when he has one of the victims fly off a balcony with one of the killer dolls attached to his chest- first person perspective. It looks fantastic and when you see it on the big screen in plays out magnificently.
Like I said one of the only downfalls is the pace, because it rocks so much, it's over before you know it. One other problem for some people might be that there is absolutely no scare factor, it's all fun and games- the way the good ol' Chuckster likes it. But in the end Don Mancini has brought to us another treat with 'Seed of Chucky'- with the only disappointing 'Child's Play' film now being the third one. I guess you can say Halloween came a little late this year, but it was worth the wait for all the tricks and treats. I can't until Friday when I can see it again!
Special thanks: Thank you once again to Fangoria Magazine for displaying beautiful full color photos of pretty much every death from the movie and ruining the surprise for me and every other fan out there. You rock.
