- Actors: Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, Alexis Arquette.
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC.
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). Subtitles: English, Spanish.
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Rated R. Run Time: 89 minutes.
Thanks to some makeshift stitching and a voodoo spell from girlfriend Jennifer Tilly, demented doll Chucky is brought back to "life" in the fearsome fourth entry in the "Child's Play" series. But when Chucky's psychotic side emerges and Tilly is killed, there'll be two terrifying playthings looking for new human bodies to inhabit. With Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, John Ritter and Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. 99 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English 5.1, French; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentaries; Tilly's produ! ction diary; history of Chucky; theatrical trailer; scene access.Brace yourself: this is a clever, consistently entertaining, and even inspired continuation of the mean-spirited slasher series. For those not in the know, Chucky is a mop-top kid's doll come to life with the soul of a serial killer and the voice of Brad Dourif (doing his best Jack Nicholson). Revived by his former paramour Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, looking every inch a life-size Barbie in stiletto heels and skintight black leather), Chucky proceeds to turn his human sweetie into a pint-sized Talking Tina doll with attitude, and together they hit the road for a magic amulet and young new bodies to inhabit. They hitch a ride with sweet young runaways Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile and leave a trail of corpses bloodied, burned, and cut to ribbons. The kids are cute, but the real heat is generated by the latex lovers who use murder as foreplay and consummate their renewed romance in a night of passionate sex ("S! houldn't you wear a rubber?" "I'm all rubber!"). Hong Kong dir! ector Ro nny Yu (
The Bride with White Hair) directs with a light touch and against all odds transforms walking dolls Chucky and Tiffany into funny, energetic, full-blooded characters:
l'amour fou has never been more crazy. John Ritter costars as Heigl's overprotective uncle (another obstacle on the road to dolly freedom) and Alexis Arquette is hilarious as a lanky goth nerd. The wild conclusion leaves room for another high-concept sequel. The DVD features two commentary tracks, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and "Jennifer Tilly's Diary."
--Sean Axmaker