Child's Play 3

"Child's Play 3" (1991, Jack Bender, Universal Pictures) is the third movie starring Chucky the killer doll (again voiced by the talented Brad Dourif).

Set several years after the second film's events (yet only released a year later), teenager Andy (Justin Whalin) has now started military school (it seems to be the thing for young, troubled, disowned or orphaned movie teens - see "The Omen 2"). Although his past has not forgotten him he finds, when Chucky turns up in yet another brand new Good Guys body, thanks again to that pesky manufacturer for continuing to reboot the same disastrous doll over and over again!

However, after engaging his brain this time, it dawns on Chucky that he doesn't have to target only Andy and despite the fact that he's a fully grown man in a doll's body, he seems to have a creepy penchant for child victims, and so instead targets a little kid called Ronald Tyler (Jeremy Sylvers).

A pretty dull film up until the climatic ending, this sequel is really an exercise in bullying in military academies.

A funfair, however, adds a little bit of excitement and a good setting for Chucky's battle against Andy on familiar grounds.

The props & animation are, as usual, excellent.  And the acting is all pretty good, but a dull script and schlocky one-liners (even for a Chucky movie) mar the film.

In my opinion, the weaker of the sequels, and yes that does include "Seed of Chucky"...

[Image: Universal Pictures]

 

Hani

The Crazies

"The Crazies" (2010, Overture Films, Breck Eisner) is the remake of the 1973 Romero film of the    same name.

The main plot is the same as the original, the government have developed a virus which makes people crazy, violent and eventually kills them (after they've killed as many other people first, of course).

A small town in Iowa has been infected through their water supply after a plane carrying the virus crash landed in their resevoir. Simples.

This movie follows all the usual zombie movie conventions, and does so well. Tension, gore, nasty people and 'crazies' (living zombies pretty much). I liked that the crazies still remembered who they were and other than looking veiny and disgusting, were still coherent (if not, completely sack o' hammers). Human resentment and grudges are powerful things, you know!

We follow the local police sheriff David (Timothy Olyphant), his pregnant doctor wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) and his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson) as they escape first the crazies, then the military, then both the military and the crazies.

The military presence as the straight up bad guys, as opposed to "28 days later" where they start off as the saving grace but end up corrupted, is a nice touch. The use of military style surveillance from the helicopter keeps the whole 'Big Brother is watching you' thing in play. 

Also, lets be honest with ourselves, yes the whole situation is the military and government's fault, but brutal as is it, they are only trying to stop the virus spreading worldwide. Do we even want our proragonists to survive?

A good conspiracy-cover-up/sort of zombie film.

[Picture: Overture Films]

Hani