Child's Play: Ranking The Films From Worst To Best

Whereas Bride of Chucky had to overcome the hurdle of breathing new life into the resting franchise, Curse had to do that and more when it was released two years ago. Not only was it arriving nearly a decade after Seed killed the franchise, it was coming at a time when Chucky himself was once again irrelevant.

On top of that, it both had to prove why the series wouldn't be better off being rebooted in an era where almost all of Chucky's contemporaries have all undergone the remake treatment and overcome the fact that it was the first installment to be relegated to the direct-to-video market.

Yet against all odds, Curse rose up to the challenge, taking the series back a few steps to tell a slow-burn horror story and making good use of its small budget, some dodgy CGI work aside. When it's not offering effectively tense moments like the chili-eating scene, the review of nanny cam footage and the revelation behind why the new doll design looks so different, the film spends time laying out its placement within the franchise through dialogue, a last-act flashback and even a post-credits scene that brings it all full circle back to Andy, tying up the series as a whole even as it leaves a few threads open for the seventh film.

As fan service, as an attempt to make Chucky scary again and as a low-budget DTV horror film, Curse turned out way better than expected.