Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 12- Sold Under Sin

"Announcing your plans is a good way to hear God laugh..."

This season finale is fascinating, thematic, perfect, and very much centred on the difficulties and dilemmas facing its two central characters as the military and magistrate arrive. Annexation and civilisation are almost here, and both Al and Seth must face what it means for them.

We begin as the camera pans away from Al, for whom the moment of truth arrives: the magistrate with the warrant for his arrest on a capital charge. He eventually deals with this problem decisively, but not without risks that the problem will return. And yet he carries out a more merciful killing, too: that of poor Reverend Smith, at the subtle urging of an upset and despairing Doc, who can at least take solace in the fact that his care has made a positive difference to a cheerful and smiling Jewel as he drinks himself to oblivion.

Al has other problems, though. The newly appointed sheriff is corrupt and, worse, acting in the interests of Cy in striking at Mr Wu and the Chinese. And this is not a problem, to Mr Wu’s fury, he can make go away.

Worse, Alma’s father turns out to be an utter blackguard, who wants to use his daughter to finance his growing and huge gambling debts- and is willing to blackmail his own daughter to achieve this. Seth, ever the gentleman, gives him a jolly good thrashing for being a cad and boulder- but comes close to arranging his murder at the hands of Al. At last he comes back from the abyss, but not before breaking his empty wedding vows by finally shagging Alma- and accepting, at last, with Al’s blessing, the position of sheriff.

This is a finely crafted, multifaceted ending to a superlative first season. I’ll be back before too long to begin the second...

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 11: Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking

"You pay or she pays..."

Al Swearengen is truly the puppetmaster in this penultimate episodes, pulling all sorts of strings. We begin with him bribing Silas Adams to make his judge go away, and it is he who ultimately decides on a dodgy new sheriff- although he later seems to warm to the idea of Seth. He has worrying designs on the increasingly unwell Reverend. His jealousy at Sol when he finds he's been sleeping with Trixie on a non-commercial basis is solved by his asserting his "rights" as pimp.And yet this, along with the judge's warrant over his head, could be the harbinger of the potential threat to his position of the coming of civilisation and annexation. In controlling the process, can he control the threat?

Less clever is Alma's dodgy father, who is after her claim but is seen through by all, although he explicitly gives his blessing to her and Seth, of whom he approves, in full knowledge that Seth's wife and ward are coming. Ominously, too, Tolliver gets the surviving junkie to spread racist rumours about the Chinese, rumours that reflect badly on Swearengen, our antihero.

Yet it's not all theme and simmering plot threads: poor Jewel and the Doc get a lovely scene. As we approach the end it becomes clearer and clearer just how finely crafted this first season has been. This is first class television.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 10- Mister Wu

“August commencement to my administration, standing stymied outside a saloon next to a degenerate tit-licker.”


This is a subtle, well-written script, well realised. As ever, there’s a lot going on. The Reverend continues to deteriorate- the Doc thinks it’s a tumour. Business is good for Charlie while Joanie is stuck. Fascinatingly, Bullock honestly talks to Sol of his doubts about a wife and boy he barely knows as “she” is a beautiful woman. But the episode is, as ever, about the town’s slow process towards annexation and order... and systemic racism.

The episode shows us the racism, and doesn’t tell us how to react. Certainly, Wu is not a nice man. He supplies opium to Al and feeds murdered bodies to his pigs- and the other members of the Chinese community are clearly afraid of him. He is, I suppose, a community leader of sorts- but, because of his ehnicity, there's no possibility of his being considered one, and there is uproar when he enters the Gem through the front door. He is, in a sense, respected- certainly by Al- as an individual, but it seems to be accepted by all that there's a "proper" separation of "races". Racial slurs are everywhere, whores find his entering by the front door scandalous, and Cy even comments that a white dope fiend is "still while"- and Al is wary of being seen as too close to the "celestials".

It's interesting that this structural racism is clearly shown, and shocks with how clearly ingrained it is, without a need for a sympathetic character. Interestingly, too, we meet Hostetler, our first black character.

Beyond this, civilisation grows nearer, although not without Al having to pay extra bribes to make a murder charge go away. Already there's tension between using tax for corrupt purposes and for public services. There's a lot of nuance and subtlety here. It is, as ever, superb telly.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 9- No Other Sons or Daughters

"Taking people’s money is what makes organizations real, be they formal, informal or temporary."

So annexation is coming- and it terrifies Al, much as he simultaneously longs for it. Like all the other businessmen, he craves respectability but, unlike some, is less keen on the responsibilities that flow from that. He dominates this episode, at once insecure and firmly in charge, with most of the best lines, but it's about so much more than him.

The episode centres around the meeting, on Al's territory, in which they all try to form a kind of proto-government. It may be laughable that E.B. is appointed mayor, but ths is ultimately how such thngs happen, in microcosm. Farnum may be the face of government, but Al is the unseen power behind the throne. And it is the public, of course, the little people, who are to be manipulated into paying the necessary bribes. This is extremely clever telly.

Other things happen, of course- the Reverend is clearly unwell, and it will be interesting to see where this is going. Poor, likeable Jane is drunk again and, for now, leaving town, full of thinly disguised self-loathing. Meanwhile, her friend Charlie is setting up as a postmaster- and has an interesting meeting with Joanie. Cy, meanwhile, is somewhat sensitive to having overstepped the mark last episode. And his henchman, Eddie, seems to be revealed as our first overtly gay character. Then there's the ever-present dance between Bullock and Alma.

This feels like a real community, and is offcially about to become one. This continues to be extraordinary relly.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 8- Suffer the Little Children

"You might, Dan, want to learn how to indicate interest in a girl other than murdering another person."

Another dense, complex yet warchable, well-shot and well-acted episode doesn't surprise me at this point. It's 200's HBO, its a literary novel in the medium of television, it's bloody good. You're expecting me to say this.

Even so, I can't help but admire the structuring of the storyteling here. The main plotline here is probably young sublings Flora and Miles, who turn out to be cleverly manipulative thieves, and are both caught and killed, after much roughing up, by Cy. It's a hard word. And that Anna from Frozen has quite the potty mouth.

And yet there's so much more. Al's relationship with Trixie (attempting suicide, much to the gult of Alma after last episode) is shown at full force complexity here, very much mirrored by Joanie and Cy, whose own relationship clearly has many layers. More generally, the smallpox vaccine finally reaches camp, as well as rumours of a possible treaty with the Sioux. Could law and civilisation be coming?

Yet the mot fascnating thread is that of Alma, persuaded by Bullock to stay after he discovers her claim has promise. And above it all is the fascinating Al Swearengen, forever playing a prticularly potty-mouthed type of three dimensional chess, leaving E.B. struggling to keep up. He's an utterly fascinating character.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 7- Bullock Returns to the Camp

"We understand each other..."

This episode introduces a teenage brother and sister arriving in camp (interesting that word is used instead of "town", given the settlement's ambiguous and provisional status), both forlornly looking for a missing father and, of course, for work. The girl, courtesy of Cy and under Joanie's tutelage, is starting out as a prostitute. And she's played by the actress who would later go on to voice Anna in Frozen, Little Miss Llamastrangler's favourite Disney film...

Anyway, more splendid character and world building is in evidence here. Bullock and Utter have bonded, and together they take a drunken Jack McCall- to face justice, interestingly, and not revenge. Deadwood may be lawless, but I think this is a harbinger of the inevitable; law and order is coming. Revenge must be tempered by justice, a viewpoint as old as Aeschylus.

There is much drama surrounding Alma's claim- E.B., brave enough to confront Al Swearengen here, is still working for him, and pressing Alma hard. But the honourable Bullock has her interests at heart, and clashes with Al- the struggle between these two will, I expect, form the spine of the series.

Just as interesting is Al's complex relationship with Trixie, veering between mistrust and a curious trust born of a long hstory. Alma suddenly offends Trixie enormously when she clumsily asserts her class background. And the Reverend's seizures continue.Could his religious visions have a medical cause? Jane, too, continues to be compelling.

All this is masterfully woven, with such subtlety of character, such clear themes and with a real historical sense. I can't believe the season is more than halfway through. This is top telly.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 6- Plague

"Swearingen's a cue and Farnum merely is a billiard ball."

There's a lot happening in this episode besides the title. Alma continues to pretend to be a junkie still while undergoing cold turkey, fooling E.B., playing for time until seth returns. Seth, meanwhile, is attacked by an opportunistic Sioux, succeeds in killing him with a rock, and is ultimately rescued by Charlie Utter, who now learns of Bill's death. It now seems they are after Bill's killer, but it looks as though this plot thread is to simmer for a bit. Good strategic writing.

Jane is a fascinating character- very much not conforming to the archetype of a lady, acting in many ways like a man, portrayed here (and potentially in reality) as of possible LGBT nature, to use an anachronism; her sexuality and, indeed gender identity, is as ambiguous as one might expect in 1876.
 But she is a fully rounded person- drunk to blot out the memory of her best friend's death, but having cared for what she knows full well was a amallpox sufferer at the end of last episode. She's uneducated, uncouth, unladylike, deeply racist as per her upbringing, but not unkind beneath it all.

Then there's Joanie, who seems a bit down- but could the harsh, cynical Cy Tolliver have a thing for her? This promises to be a subtle little character thread that could run and run. Again, good writing. And the Doc, a decent man, taking centre stage while Merrick, a stereotypical newspaperman, is upstaged by Al in reporting the arrival of smallpox.

The arrival of this pestilence in the settlement dominates the episode, which makes it resonate somewhat now in June of 2020. It leads to stage managed fear and, fascinatingly, a meeting of the great and the good in which both Al and Cy relish the role of community leader and both reconcile somewhat. And we see the Reverend Smith collapse- very publicly- with his second fit. This is superbly written drama. I'm loving Deadwood, and we are nearly halfway through this first season.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 5- The Trial of Jack McCall

"Hickock breaks my balls from the afterlife..."

This is another multifaceted, complex gem of an episode as the people of the town walk past Wild Bill's body to pay their respects while a man stands around loudly trying to sell the severed head of a "heathen" Inevitably, this lawless community moves to try the killer, but the issues surrounding this are fascinating and fundamental. Meanwhile, so many characters get meaningful development.

Bullock is grumpy all episode, particularly with the ingratiating evangelism of the Reverend Smith- it seems that, like many quietly irreligious people in societes where outright atheism is frowned upon, this makes him very uncomfortable. Yet Smith himself is behaving strangely, and ends the episode with some kind of seizure. This is a man we know to have been traumatised by war- there are clearly depths to him.

E.B. shows signs of deep resentment towards Swearengen, and signs of an independent agenda. He's a man needing security for his declining years. Meanwhile Al is getting Trixie to manipulate the newly widowed Alma by replacing her addiction to laudanum with another substance as part of Al's getting her caim back. But she's leaving her agency in the literal hands of a man (not much feminism in 1876)- and, if the first meeting between her and Seth is anything to go by, a man she rather likes the look of. Future lovers, I wonder?

Meanwhile the relationship between Tolliver and mistress Joanie is shown to be complex- how loose is her leash? And she clearly has desires of a Sapphic nature. Tolliver, callously, has his sick old friend Andy dumped in the wilderness where he finds himself looked after by a drunk but nevertheless crudely kindly Calamity Jane, upset at the loss of her "best friend" who never judged her. This is all masterful character development.

But the trial is fascinating- and so is Al's word with the judge. Does this lawless community, wishing for eventual annexation by the United States, really want to look like a society with pretensions of its own legal system, a part of the infrastructure of a functioning state? Would this not be a provocation? And yet, what else can they do?

The killer is ultimately acquitted, and genly reminded to leave town pretty sharpish. But it seems, from coughng at Bill's funeral, that getting rid of Andy (not quite dead) may have brought a plague. How very topical.

This is superlative television.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 4- Here Was a Man

“Can you let me go to Hell the way I want to?"

Wow. That was sudden, shocking and out of nowhere- but then so are most shots in the back. I know the real life Wild Bill Hickock was shot in this way soon after moving to Deadwood, but the season has consistently kept up the anticipation- wringing lots of pathos from Bill knowing this would happen but passively awiting his fate- while keeping us guessing as to when exactly the moment would arrive. Death, as ever, is unprdedictable. None of us know when our time will come, which are resonant words to be writing in the midst of a plague.

Obviously, Keith Carradine really shines here, but there's so much pathos in how sympathetic Bill is. He's kind to the (thankfully recovered) little girl, who clearly feels comfortable in his presence, always a sign of a nice character. He continues to develop a human connection with Seth, and behaves with integrity (I think) when Alma asks him to help, yet to almost everyone he's a gunslinging celebrity, not a human being- and his death has parallels to that of John Lennon. Most poignantly, as the whole town rounds on the killer, only Jane and Seth run to the body, genuinely sorrowful.

Other plot threads develop, too, as Al continues to show us what a superbly menacing yet nuanced character he is, a villain but a three dimensional one. There's a newcomer, an old friend of Cy Torrance, who is not at all well. Alma confesses to Jane that her marriage to Brom was an ordeal, with hints of aristocratic arranged marriages. Things continue to unfold. But the episode is about Wild Bill, and the fatalistic end to the melancholic life of a seemingly decent man. Superb telly.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 3- Reconnoitering the Rims

"I don't think he took your point, quite."

"I think he quite missed it."

Only the third episode, and it's already very clear indeed that a single viewing is hardly adequate to do justice the density of the script, visuals and performances. I shall plead that there's some value in a first impression, and do my best.

On the surface this episode is about a few prominent plotlines- the opening of the rival saloon over the road and Al's preparation for war; the sort-of agreement between Swearengen and the Seth and Sol duo; and of course the tragic end of swanky New York dude Brom.who seeks "satisfaction" for being swindled by Al and ends up lured to his death in spite of many, many warnings, not only from Charlie but his junkie wife Alma. This is nicely paralleled with Al's decision to spare the slightly treasonous E.B.- after all, he has the poor hotel owner by the balls.

Elsewhere there's casual racism directed towards the "heathens", and equally casual bile (sexism and possible homophobia?) directed at Jane, whose disinclination to perform the rituals of femininity do not go unnoticed. But the most tragic character is the tactiurn Bill, whose reputation precedes him so that he's constantly being abused and challenged by wankers. No one ever treats him as a person, just as the legendary gunslinger he has become, and his life is shorn of any human interaction- no wonder he's drawn to the decent Seth, and that he spends his days drinking and gambling until the day he is inevitably shot by some twat. And yet beneath the gunslinger is a gentleman who will sleep in a corridor so a traumatised little girl can remain undisturbed.

At the core of this is a superb cast of actors- Ian McShane is a revelation; Lovejoy this ain't- but also, again, a peerless script. I'm loving this.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 2- Deep Water

“No loose ends now...”

I’m really getting into this already. I already feel I know these characters and am invested in the storylines.

Much of this episode revolves around the complex consequences of Seth and Wild Bill's shooting las episodes of the man who took part in the killing of the "squareheads"- Seth is now tied to Bill whether he likes it or not, and clashes very much with an untrusting Al. Already I'm seeing why Ian McShane is so praised for this performance.

The ripples widen and widen, as Calamity Jane (a facinating, eccentric and damaged character) ends up stealing the little "squarehead" girl (interesting to see that casual racism, the first thing we see in the episode directed towards a Chinaman, was once applied to the many German and Scandinavian settlers), and that there's a power struggle for her between the principlied Doc and wily Al.

We also find Brom beginning to realise he may have paid £20k for a pup, while his wife Ada turns out to be a junkie. Also interesting is Wild Bill himself, who perhaps gets on with Seth (the hero so far) because Seth just treats him as a normal man- Bill comes across as a man sick and tired of the falseness of fame.

It's only the second episode, and already I feel I know these characters and care about them. This is looking so far like another HBO triumph.

Deadwood: Season 1, Episode 1- Deadwood

"Goddammit, Swearengen. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you. But I enjoy the way you lie."

A very impressive start to Deadwood with this hour of telly, with the premise and the characters introduced with good storytelling beats and the "show, don't tell" type of exposition- no bad feat with this showing early signs of having the complexity of a fat novel.

It all fees very much like an HBO of the '00's both structurally and visually- It reminds me very much of True Blood in spite of the differences in genre.

Our first scene nicely establishes things as kindly sheriff Seth, somewhere in Montana Territory, mentions to a prisoner that he's off to Deadwood shortly. It's 1876 and, we learn, following Custer's recent last stand, the Black Hills in Dakota Territory are the focus of a gold rush.The only thing is that, legally, it's Sioux land, and the town has no legal basis and therefore is quite literally lawless. But this is nicely followed by an example of "law" in the "civilised" west- Seth is faced by a posse looking for blood, and is forced to hang the prisoner himself in a vague gesture towards "law".

No wonder he's planning to open a shop and give up the law business. But we're also introduced to the likes of a very menacing (and famous) Wild Bill Hickock, and the sweary gun girl with a heart, Calamity Jane- one of the few speaking women not pimped out and beaten up; no wonder the dresses and acts like a man. And we also meet the dangerous publican-cum-crimelord Al Swearengen, whose oddly mid-Atlantic accent is apparently deliberate. Intelligent and ruthless, he seems interesting.

Three characters are seen being shot dead in the course of the episode- it's a dangerous existence. And a family of Germans (?) trying to go home to Minnesota are massacred. It's a violent, harsh world but one redolent with what feels like realism. I much enjoyed this meaty and fascinating episode. Hopes are high for the next thirty-five.

Cult of Chucky (2017)

“You thought I was the only one?”

 I think it's well-established by now that this is possibly the most consistently excellent long-running horror movie franchise, given the high average quality of the seven films. And this film, by the same team as the superb and splendidly back-to-basics Curse of Chucky, is very good indeed, if perhaps slightly eclipsed by its predecessor. What a shame that both films were straight to DVD.

The film, unlike most modern Hollywood horror, looks superb, with the grainy picture quality avoiding the inappropriate glossiness that we so often see these days. The setting, too- a mental institution- is milked for maximum levels of disturbing horror. Mixed to the inherent and very deep darkness of the Catch-22 nature of having to prove your sanity in a world of straitjackets, sedation, electric shock treatment and absolute lack of freedom is the fact that the perverted Dr Foley hypnotises and rapes his horribly vulnerable victims. Even Chucky is not sure which of the two is the more evil, and that's saying something.

The conceit of the film is, of course, that the incanted spell can bring to life any Good Guy doll as Chucky, and on top of this he can now possess people, leading to a gloriously developing and fun slasher which ends up with three Chuckies, a possessed Nica, Andy in considerable trouble and a deliciously warped, silly, sequel-hunting final scene. This franchise is on fire, and is worth seeing for the skylight scene alone.

I have to single out Fiona Dourif for another outstanding performance, but the film as a whole is superb and deserves to be seen by far more people than, sadly, it will be.

Dune (1984)

"He who controls the spice controls the universe."

Wow. That... was weird.

This is, I’m told, David Lynch’s least loved film. It certainly isn’t well regarded by fans of Frank Herbert, whose work, alas, I have not read. But it’s still cool, flawed though the film is, how David Lynch handles a sci-fi epic which, like Star Wars, has fantasy tropes underneath. I'm glad he got to make one, and that something akin to a David Lynch Star Wars exists. The world would be a worse place otherwise.

It's oddly paced and awkward, of course, Lynch is on record as saying that studio interference moved the film away from his vision, and I'm told that the extended TV version  is even worse. But I find this to be far from a bad film, flawed though it admittedly is. And how can you hate a film that has music by Brian Eno and, er, Toto, together at last?

The cast is superb, with Sian "Livia" Phillips as a kind of futuristic Pythia type, glorious performances by the likes of Paul L. Smith and Patrick Stewart that never tip over to parody but portray their characters with appropriate gusto. The design is superb; two years after Blade Runner establishes that future fashion can be cyclical we have a 110th century aristocracy which dresses like that of the 19th, something which works well and gives us an excellent shorthand for the kind of society this is.

The film doesn't only look good, either (well, some special effects may not have aged well); it's beautifully and druggily shot, as is Lynch's wont,  and there are glimpses of what Lynch intended in moments of excellent, if weird, storytelling.As things stand this is a curiosity rather than a masterpiece, but I'm left fervently hoping for a director's cut.

Curse of Chucky (2013)

"It's a doll. What's the worst that can happen, eh?"

This film is genuinely bewildering. After two comedy instalments the franchise returns to its roots with an absolutely first class straight-up horror film. So why on earth did this triumph of a film go straight to video? A pen pusher somewhere has some explaining to do.

We are first introduced to the characters trapped inside this particularly large house, none of whom are likeable aside from the wheelchair-using Nica who, according to the grammar of these sorts of horror films is fated to be the only survivor. The snobbish, grasping  and unpleasant Barb, we know from the start, is due a particularly nasty death. She's a bad sort, plotting to put Nica in a home so she gets the house. Still, she's really struggling financially; she and her odious partner Ian may have to send their daughter Alice to state school. Grr! Oh, and Barb is having an affair with Alice's nanny Jill. As the only sexually active couple in the film they obviously have to die. Nice bit of misdirection, though; we're initially led to think it's Ian.

The scene with the rat poison in the food sets the tone nicely; this is how to do Chucky, with humour, yes, but real menace. On top of this, like any good slasher this is grounded in solid characterisation of the potential victims

. 

The ending is excellent, too, with a flashback connecting things nicely to the first film, and if that's not enough we even get a particularly nice cameo at the end. This is one of the best slashers ever. Really.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: End of the Beginning

"(Skye) has something we want. And she will die giving it to us."

Oooh boy. This is a big episode. There is soooo much going on that I don't know where to start. Given the ending, I expect even bigger things next episode. In fact, I couldn't help noticing Jasper Sitwell being suddenly called away for his scenes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The fallout from that will be huge, and I suspect it will be next. And Fury is waiting to speak to Coulson at the Triskelion?

Still, for the time being, things are already huge. We begin with the team, augmented by Agent Hand (boo!!!), the unfortunate Agent Blake and the awesome Agents Garrett and Triplett, engaged in a comprehensive search for the Clairvoyant, in a clever plan to which Skye (appointed, at last, as a SHIELD agent) is central. In a nice little character moment, it's nice to see Skye, who hasn't previously met Garrett, bonding with him. It's also interesting to see how quickly he picks up on the obvious sparks between Skye and Agent Ward.

Although there are a few red herrings, the presence of Mike Peterson, now looking much more like Deathlok from the comics, sort of leads us to what the team seem to be looking for; an apparent vegetable in a room, and a disembodied voice, seemingly that of the Clairvoyant, goading them. Said goading (see the quite up there) leads very suddenly and very shockingly to Ward shooting the suspect dead.

This is from right out if left field, and seemingly out of character. Is it his feeling for Skye that made him do it, as his words in the later scene with him and Skye seem to imply? Or does he have an agenda? Coulson, for one, thinks the man Ward shot is just a fall guy. He's probably right.

The penny finally drops during a conversation between Coulson and Skye: the Clairvoyant is not literally telepathic at all, but a SHIELD agent. And then it comes out that Skye has been reporting to someone on an encrypted line, and Coulson confronts her. I don't think she's connected to the Clairvoyant, though. But one of the regulars, at least, must be.

We end with the team trapped in their crashing plane, with Agent Hand, who always seemed a wrong 'un, trying to kill them all. Exciting times. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is on fire right now.

Seed of Chucky (2004)

“You killed my mummy and daddy, and now you’re pissing your pants!”

 

So, Chucky and Tiffany have a kid. It’s just like David Bowie in every way, including the androgyny. This is a deliciously silly film, which has just as much metatextual fun as its predecessor. It rips the piss out of loads of films, but is essentially more of the same that we know and love from the last film. Just a little bit more British.

It’s rather surreal to see Hannah Spearitt in a film like this. It’s even weirder, though gleefully hilarious, that the likes of Jennifer Tilly and Redman would play themselves in such a delightfully unflattering way. Best of all, of course, is the way that Glen, or Glenda, acts as a catalyst to the relationship between our two evil dolls. I particularly love the sequences in which Tiffany attempts to give up her addiction to killing. This is the most Californian thing ever.

Of course, there are plenty of gruesome deaths, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that the thing we remember most after seeing this film is the sight of Chucky, silhouetted, er, wanking. This, more than anything else in the franchise, is the stuff of nightmares. I half suspect that the whole plot about children exists solely so that this scene can exist. This film is evil. I love it

Silly though this film is, it is interesting to see how far the franchise has changed from its origins. These last two films, both of them superb, seem to belong to a different age. The animatronics are notably better here even than in the previous film and the humour is both sharper and more evil. I particularly enjoyed the fate of Britney Spears. Each film in the series has been better than the last one, and this film is the peak. Roll on the next one.

Bride of Chucky (1998)

“In fact, if this was a movie, it would take three or four sequels to do it justice.”

I fell in love with this movie at “Voodoo for Dummies”. That love was consummated with the quote I’ve just used. This film is hilarious. You know how much I love films that play around with metatextuality and this is the ultimate example of that. Plus, it co-stars Family Guy’s very own Jennifer Tilly. A minor gripe about the DVD, though: no bloody subtitles.

It feels, after only seven years, that we’ve entered a more modern and self-aware era than the preceding trilogy, and one which is a darn sight more fun. I mean, the opening titles unfold to Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie. How cool is that?

The basic concept of the film is so blatantly taken from Bride ofFrankenstein that we get a little clip. This is one of many nice little gags referring to other films. I love Tiffany. She’s sassy, ditzy and delightfully kinky. I love the way that, just after that goth bloke refers to orgasm as “le petit mort”, she handcuffs him to a bed, dances sexually, and then watches as the recently revived Chucky administers a “Grand Mort”. As you do.

I also love our fugitive couple who seem to attract gloriously violent deaths wherever they go. The massacre in the honeymoon suite at Niagara Falls is the second best scene in the film. It goes without saying that the best scene is the puppet sex scene. I trust we all agree on that? And, incidentally, this seems a good a place as any to quote the line “plastic is no substitute for a nice hunk of wood”. I just had to crowbar that in.

The relationship between Tiffany and Chucky is hilarious to watch, if also a blatant sign of the change in tone from the previous films to fit in with a more post-modern age. The final scene, not to be spoilerific or anything, is the most perfect cliffhanger in the history of ever.

Child's Play 3 (1991)

“And what are children, after all, but consumer trainees?”

Well, I suppose we’d better get the James Bulger connection debunked to start with. Jon Venables’ dad once hired this from a video store and didn’t show it to his son. That’s it. No connection. Don’t believe what you read in The Sun. Anyway, this is the best Child’s Play film so far.

Chucky is resurrected, with an admirable economy of storytelling, before and during the opening titles and we then jump into scenes of deliciously evil ‘80’s businessmen straight out of Robocop. They are delightfully amoral in deciding to once again market the “Good Guy” dolls in spite of everything that happened. All that matters is the bottom line, and Mr Sullivan, our cartoon baddie of a CEO, sneeringly puffs on his cigar and generally fulfils all the stereotypes. Naturally, he is one of Chucky’s first victims. The quote up there sums up what children mean to this apparent bachelor for whom family life and human contact mean nothing. Who’d have thought it? Another Hollywood film with a seemingly left wing message.

Andy is now sixteen. He’s aged suspiciously quickly in the last year. He is now at one of those horrible military schools that exist in America and, if this film’s depiction of what happens in them is remotely accurate, need to be banned immediately on grounds of child abuse. I hope that nothing like this happens in reality.

Still, this is the perfect setting for Chucky to embark on the usual fun and games. There are plenty of nasty bullies present so we can, with a clear conscience, cheer on Chucky as he gets them to snuff it. Chucky is as evil as ever, arranging for some silly war game to be enlivened with the use of real bullets, although the creators of this film seem to have some rather odd ideas about how long you can safely hold on to a grenade after you’ve pulled the pin, Chucky being a doll and all that.

It’s a shame that Sheldon doesn’t get a more gruesome demise, but I was pleased to see how the barber copped it. He wouldn’t have liked my hair. The bastard.

The conclusion, at a rather creepy amusement park, is not quite the spectacle that concluded the previous film so magnificently, but the ending is still worth waiting for. Sadly, there’s another tragic ending for Andy, as once again he’s led away by police to be blamed for Chucky’s crimes. He’s had a hard life, that lad.

Child's Play 2 (1990)

“I hate kids!”

 

You don’t expect much from a sequel to a delightfully fun, but ultimately daft little horror film like Child’s Play. In fact, this is an extraordinary film, in fact one of the most under rated films out there. It works brilliantly as a silly and pleasingly violent outing for Chucky and his usual fun and games, but at the same time it has a very serious and very heartfelt message about how children are treated in 1990’s America.

If you’ll excuse the cliché, this is a film of two halves. The first half, at first glance, seems to closely parallel the previous film, with little Andy settling into a new foster family as Chucky does his thing. The second half is far more exciting, fast-paced and modern than anything in the first film as Andy and his new sister Kyle battle Chucky in an obstacle-filled toy factory in scenes that would make a first-class 1980’s video game.

Look again, though. Both halves of the film parallel each other in depicting cruelty to children. The film has a lot of harsh words to say about the state of fostering in 1990’s America, mainly from the mouth of Kyle. It is tempting to speculate that the writer speaks from bitter personal childhood experience here. The anger in the script is subtle but palpable. The foster father is at most lukewarm about fostering Andy, but the mother, played, bizarrely, by Jenny Agutter of all people is initially a kind, caring and seemingly perfect parent. But as soon as her husband “accidentally” dies, she suddenly rejects Andy in terms which seem even harsher in the light of her apparent previous affection for him. The teacher is also horrible, but gets her just desserts. Why do I get the feeling that the writer was enacting gleeful revenge?

Enough serious, though. Chucky rules. There are some great and delightfully evil deaths, the best of which is, of course, DEATH ON THE PHOTOCOPIER! Chucky’s never ending deaths are increasingly silly and the perfect conclusion to a sublimely and darkly hilarious bit of horror hokum which buries its seriousness deeply and effectively. Don’t be put off by the serious themes, though. This film is a right good laugh.