10th Apr2023

‘Living With Chucky’ Review

by Alain Elliott

Featuring: Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Lin Shaye, Marlon Wayans, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Boyd, Alex Vincent | Directed by Kyra Elise Gardner

I’ve watched in-depth documentaries on film franchises such as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Living Dead and many more horror films, as well some fantastic ‘making of’ extras on Blu-rays and DVDs. It’s fair to say I’m a huge fan of documentaries about horror movies, so I was glad to get the chance to watch Living With Chucky, the latest horror dcoumentary that focuses on the Child’s Play/Chucky series of films.

Like the best documentaries, this has all the important people involved in the movie as talking heads as possible, plus a host of other people that are loosely connected – whether it be fellow child actor and horror fan Abigail Breslin or artist and voice actor Dan Povenmire. Other interviewees included Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Lin Shaye, Marlon Wayans, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Boyd, Alex Vincent, I could go on but you get the point. Everyone is really interesting to listen to, clearly knows their stuff and are actual fans of the franchise as well as being a big part of it. They’re all extremely likeable too.

Living With Chucky goes through each of the seven films in short bursts – maybe ten minutes or so for each – which may seem like a short amount of time but it never feels rushed. Obviously we’d all love a documentary such Crystal Lake Memories with each film getting over an hour but there’s a reason this one plays a little differently (apart from the fact it takes a long time to do such a huge documentary). The last thirty minutes or so here act as a little twist and it becomes a story about family. And without giving anything away, it’s not only about how the actors/producers/directors become like family and great friends but also about the literal family within the making of the Chucky films. This part of the movie is what sets it apart from similar movies and if you weren’t smiling for the first hour, you’re sure to have a big grin on your face while watching the final third of the movie.

Although the segments on each film are fairly short, we still get to hear some great stories from the filming of them and of course see lots of great clips from the movies. If you want to know some of the original titles for the first film or how many puppeteers it takes to make Chucky walk and talk, then all those kinds of details are here. As with many documentaries, you might be left wanting to hear more but the film can only be so long!

What it lacks in ‘indepthness’, Living With Chucky more than makes up for with its heart. Like the franchise itself, it is clearly made by people that love Chucky and will happily making the films (and show – the show is mentioned at the very end of the documentary as something that is just about to be filmed) for as long as people will let them. If you had somehow forgotten, it’s also a good reminder of just how good the films are and it made me get straight on to watch the series that I had been meaning to start for a while! Living With Chucky is recommended for all horror fans.

**** 4/5

Living With Chucky will be available to own or rent in the UK & Ireland from April 24th 2023, via AppleTV, Sky Store, Virgin Media and Google Play.

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