We only have one new movie this week, but a handful of classic oldies to go along with it:
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” the new 2025 one, the reboot/requel/whatever.
“The Toxic Avenger” from 1984 in preparation for the new version that will be coming
“Santa Sangre” from 1989
“Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” from 1994, which completes our coverage of ALL the Freddy movies.
“Seed of Chucky” to continue that series, we only have “Curse” left to watch.
And as usual, we’ve got a stack of shorts for you!
The latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #48, is on sale now! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com
Mainstream Films:
2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer
Directed by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Written by: Sam Lansky, Jennifer Kayton Robinson, Leah McKendrick
Stars: Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King
Run Time: 1 Hour, 51 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Once again, a group of young people cause a death, cover it up, and in delayed revenge a year later someone starts picking them off. It’s a long-after sequel, not a reboot. It takes place in the same town as the original movie, many years later, and some of the original cast join in the fun. It’s well done and entertaining, with Kevin liking it a bit more than Brian.
Spoilery Synopsis
Ava arrives home and tries on a bunch of outfits; she’s going to Danica’s engagement party. Danica wants her to hook up with Milo tonight after the party. Teddy and Milo have the same conversation from afar. Everyone toasts Danica and Teddy, will Milo and Ava be next? That night, the fourth of July, the four all drive and look at Stevie, who didn’t go off to college like they all did. They invite her along to watch the fireworks.
Teddy’s high and standing in the middle of the road, which causes an accident. The truck teeters on the edge of the cliff, and they all try to hold it teetering on the edge. They fail, and it goes over the edge far down into the waves below. The man inside the truck grabs Teddy’s jacket before falling. Teddy says he called the police, but now they all need to leave the scene. They all swear each other to secrecy.
One year later, Ava has become a lesbian. She ends up taking Tyler back to her hometown, and she makes an impression on Milo. It’s time for Danica’s bridal shower, and everyone shows up. As she opens the gifts, she gets a note: “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Danica has broken up with Teddy, so she thinks he sent the note. She’s with Wyatt now. “What if someone saw what happened?”
They all go to visit Teddy, who’s a full-blown alcoholic now. He insists that he had nothing to do with the note. That night Danica takes a bath with headphones on. In the kitchen, someone harpoons Wyatt; it’s a fisherman in full cover rain gear with a hidden face, and a big hook. Danica finds him in a posed situation, and it’s clear that it was murder.
Danica and Ava talk about the intervening year and how they’ve grown apart. The five from last year get together and discuss who knew what.
Tyler has a murder podcast, so they think she might be involved– she even did a podcast about the events of the first movie, from 1997, right here in this town. Tyler tells Ava all about the Fisherman and the story we already know. Sure enough, the Fisherman shows up and menaces them both. Somehow, Ava winds up in a cage and Tyler’s podcasting days come to an end.
Since the cops are on Tyler’s father’s payroll, they aren’t going to help, so the group decides to talk to Julie James, one of the survivors of the 1997 massacre. They talk about the connections between the two cases. The man who died last year is a bit mysterious, and they don’t really know who he was. She basically says that they need to find the killer before he kills them all.
There’s a town hall meeting, and Ray, from the 1997 occurrence, shows up to warn everyone that this could all be connected. They go see him after the meeting; Stevie works for him at his bar. They track down the stolen car the dead man, Sam Cooper, was driving, and the truck belonged to Pastor Judah, the local preacher.
At the cemetery, the Fisherman chases Danica all over the place after killing the caretaker. Teddy jumps in at the last moment and runs the killer off. Everyone sleeps together at Danica’s house that night. Ava likes it rough, which confuses Milo. He goes outside to think about that, and the Fisherman kills him before he goes back inside. Ava sees his car drive off and thinks he left.
Elsewhere, Ray and Julie argue about old times and getting involved in all this.
Ava and Danica go to see Pastor Judah. Ava talks to him while Danica searches his audience. The pastor and Sam Cooper, may have been closer than everyone was led to believe; they come to the conclusion that Judah is the killer. They take what they know to the sheriff, who promptly calls Grant, Teddy’s father and the town’s mayor.
Teddy goes to the steam room and sees “You’re Next” written on the steamy wall. He is, in fact, the next victim, but at least he puts up a fight. Grant finds him before he finally dies, but he’s killed as well. We guess that Grant isn’t the killer, but we suspected him.
Danica has a dream where dead-but-also-de-aged-Helen, from the first film, appears to warn her about what’s coming. After waking up, she and Ava follow all the police to Grant and Teddy’s corpses. Ray tells them all just to leave town. Then they find Milo, dead, in his car. Danica, Ava, and Stevie take Teddy’s yacht out into the harbor while the police raid Judah’s church. Judah’s already dead, so it’s not him either. We see that Stevie had a connection to Sam Cooper.
On the boat, the Fisherman menaces Ava and Danica; she pulls off her hat, and we see that it actually is Stevie. She was dating Sam at a dark time in her life, and Sam was following them to pick her up before she got re-addicted to drugs. This was all about revenge. Behind them, Ray is following in his own boat, and he boards them. Stevie kills Danica with the hook as both Ava and Ray point guns at her. Ray shoots her.
Ava calls Julie and says she doesn’t understand how Stevie did all this alone. Julie looks up Ray online and sees that he’s involved too. Meanwhile, Ray and Ava talk about never moving on from something like this; he never did. She starts to realize that he’s the killer too. He chases her around the bar with a knife. He suggests that maybe he didn’t really kill Stevie.
Julie arrives at the bar and finds Ava with a knife in her back. Ray and Julie confront each other. He was angry because the whole town covered up what happened in 1997, so he brought it all back to remind them. As they argue, Ava shoots him in the heart with a spear gun.
We cut to the beach, where Danica washes up and goes to the hospital, still not dead. She and Ava recuperate at the hospital. They go to the beach for lunch. Ava mentions that Stevie’s still alive and out there somewhere.
We get a post-credit scene where Karla, from the second film, hears about what happened. She hopes Julie’s in therapy. Then, there’s a knock at her door… It’s Julie. She’s got a note: “It isn’t over.”
Brian’s Commentary
The accident in the beginning seems to me to be a genuine accident; they all overreacted by trying to cover it up. At the very least, they could have omitted the part where Teddy was in the road, the rest of the story could have been unchanged. It’s not like they did anything to directly hurt the man, unlike in the original film.
It’s very much like the original film, with nearly the same opening act. We have various characters whom we suspect are the killer, but they mostly all die off one-by-one.
They clearly lay the groundwork for another sequel as well. It’s nothing new, but it’s well done and pretty entertaining.
Kevin’s Commentary
Yes, as Brian points out, there was a much weaker reason to cover things up this time around. And some points weren’t explained very well or were weak. We are unclear on why the pastor was killed. And good guy Ray from the first movie is a killer now because… reasons. Julie snidely remarks at the end that it’s because men don’t go to therapy. But faults aside, all in all I was more entertained with this than the original movie or previous sequels, and I’d put it as (barely) my favorite of the series.
1984 The Toxic Avenger
Directed by: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman
Written by: Joe Ritter, Lloyd Kaufman, Gay Partington
Stars: Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennfier Babtist
Run Time: 1 Hour, 22 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This is over-the-top, raunchy, gross, over-acted, silly, stupid, and hilarious all at once. It’s got a large cast and lots of special effects, with a hero you can root for. We thought it was very entertaining.
Spoilery Synopsis
We hear a voiceover about pollution and technological advances. Millions of gallons of radioactive waste is disposed of… in Tromaville. We hear about a man named Melvin, whose entire life was changed by toxic waste. We cut to the gym, where all the sexy people are, more or less. Melvin, the mop boy, is funny looking and hated by everyone. Bozo and Julie have anger issues and just can’t deal with Melvin.
Slug and Wanda talk about running people over with their car; they are vehicular serial killers. They’ve assigned “points” for various targets. Melvin watches them having sex. They get together with Bozo and run over a kid on a bicycle– twice.
The next day, Julie gets the others involved in a plan to “get” Melvin. Outside, a big truck of radioactive waste pulls into town and parks in front of the health club. Julie talks Melvin into putting on a pink tutu and lures him into a huge crowd of laughing spectators. He runs from them and falls head first into a barrel of toxic waste.
Melvin gets all mutate-y and bursts into flame. He runs down the middle of the street all the way home. In the bath, he gets all bumpy and swollen, and changes completely.
We cut to some clearly vicious, hardened criminals who try to pay off honest cop O’Clancy. They all fight, three-on-one, and it’s looking back for O’Clancy. Suddenly, they’re attacked by a monster– no, it’s the Toxic Avenger! Toxie beats up Cigar Face, Knuckles, and Nipples in the bloodiest, goriest way possible. At least he mops up afterward.
O’Clancy talks to the press and explains what he saw. The monster makes headlines, and the Mayor gets involved. The bad guys from last night worked for the mayor. The mayor wants to move the waste dump right next to the city’s water reservoir.
Melvin goes home and scares his own mother. He goes to live in the toxic waste dump.
A bunch of guys rob “The Mexican Place” that looks suspiciously like a Taco Bell. The baddies all introduce themselves to the crowd. You know they’re bad because they shoot a dog. Suddenly, the monster appears and tears off Frank’s arm. He does other bad things to the others. What he does might be considered excessive.
At the end of the battle, he talks to the blind girl whose dog was killed. She can’t see his horrible face. She takes him home with her, and she’s nearly as violent as he is, only by accident. He tells her that he has acne, so she can’t feel his face.
The Toxic Avenger finally comes to the Tromaville Health Club. As Wanda “enjoys” her photos of the people they’ve murdered, Toxie comes in. He has a basic instinct to destroy evil. He then mangles a clown car full of pimps. We then get a montage of him being heroic. He becomes the local hero.
The mayor wants to kill the monster before he kills him. Sara, the blind girl, gets harassed by bikers until her new boyfriend shows up. Now it’s time for a very weird romance montage! She moves in with him and makes the toxic dump all homey.
The monster chases Julie all over the basement of the health club.
Bozo and Slug beat up an old woman and steal her car. They see the monster in the road and try to run him down. Melvin ends up taking them for a ride.
Later, at the dry cleaners, he puts a literally little old woman in a dryer which gets him some bad press. He thinks maybe he’s losing control and tells Sara about what he does every day. Turns out, the little person wasn’t so clean after all, she was a very bad person. The monster and Sara move out to the country to live in a tent.
The mayor orders that the monster be killed, but the people he’s saved get together to question that choice. The mayor calls in the National Guard to fight the monster.
Literally everyone has the monster’s tent surrounded. The good people surround Melvin as human shields. The National Guard won’t kill him, but the mayor shoots repeatedly. The monster is bulletproof and soon has the mayor cornered. He rips the mayor’s guts out.
Everyone, National Guard included, cheers Melvin and Sara.
Brian’s Commentary
Half-naked women, horrible acting, crazy script, and over-the-top gore– this is the one that really put Troma on the map. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like it was an especially low budget film; the weirdness is all intentional.
From comments you hear about the film, you’d think it was really awful, but it’s actually quite good.
Kevin’s Commentary
I’ve seen many Troma films, but this was the first time I had seen this one. I knew what to expect going into it, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s got all the awful goodness that their movies exude. I thought it was a lot of fun.
1989 Santa Sangre
Directed by: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Written by: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roberto Leoni, Claudio Argento
Stars: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell
Run Time: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
So there was a circus in Mexico where a little boy witnessed some awful things that caused him to be institutionalized as a young man, but he escapes to be with his mother. Except it’s weirder and more complicated than that. It’s long but never drags as we see strange characters and strange events, with a story that makes sense while being very weird. If you’re looking for something unique, you should check this one out. We were both very entertained.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a naked man perched up in an indoor tree trunk. The door opens and people bring him food; he’s in an institution, and he seems to think he’s an eagle. The orderlies make him put clothes on, but he doesn’t seem happy about it.
We cut to the circus, and we hear about Fenix, the boy magician. Fenix watches as a deaf girl learns how to walk a tightrope. Mr. Orgo, the circus owner, really likes the tattooed woman.
We cut to a protest. A bunch of people block the demolition machines from tearing down the Santa Sangre church, but the machines and police start to go in anyway. Fenix’s mother leads the protesters in a song. The monsignor arrives to intervene and wants to see inside. He’s on their side until he sees they worship a mannequin with no arms, but he says that’s not one of the saints. She’s Lirio, a girl who lost her arms in a brutal attack and they built the church here. They argue whether the church pool is full of holy blood or red paint. The monsignor does not approve of this place or the heretical sacrilege and tells the police to allow the place to be destroyed before he leaves.
Fenix and his mother, Concha, watch as the place is torn down. They walk back to the circus and interrupt Orgo before he can do anything too inappropriate with the tattoo girl. As Orgo and Concha have sex, Fenix goes to watch a sick elephant die. They have a funeral with a really big coffin that they throw off a cliff. Poor people then break it open like a big pinata and tear the body apart to hand out to the crowd.
Orgo ties little Fenix to a chair and tattoos a bird on his chest just like his own. It’s painful and bloody, but he endures it. “Now you’re a man!” The deaf-mute girl, Alma, likes it and likes Fenix as well.
We then watch the circus act of Concha hanging from her own hair as a high flier and trapeze artist. While suspended, she spots Orgo making out with the tattooed woman and freaks out wanting down immediately. Concha walks in on the lovemakers and pours sulfuric acid on his genitals. In anger, he cuts off Concha’s arms, just like her favorite saint. Afterward, he cuts his own throat and dies as Fenix watches. The tattooed woman takes Alma and drives away, leaving Fenix locked in his trailer.
Back in the asylum, now-adult Fenix is the patient we saw earlier. They take him out to meet new friends, a whole bunch of Down’s Syndrome children. They all get on the short bus and go on a field trip to see a Robinson Crusoe movie. As the chaperones drive off, a drug dealer gives all the Down’s Syndrome kids cocaine and they experience prostitutes. Fenix sees the pimp dancing with… the tattooed woman from all those years ago.
In the morning, Fenix hears his armless mother Concha calling from the street. He breaks out of the hospital and runs off with her. We see that Alma and the Tattooed woman are prostitutes now, although Alma seems a bit unwilling. A man sees her on the street, tears off his own ear, and tries to make her eat it (what?). Meanwhile, someone we don’t see, with painted fingernails, stabs the tattooed woman to death. Alma comes back in the morning to find the body.
Fenix is once again dressed as a magician, and he finds his old sidekick from the circus, Aladdin. They’re going to start a new show. We cut to Concha on stage, who’s got arms again– no, that’s Fenix standing behind her, making it look like she has arms. His nails are long and painted to look like a woman’s hands.
Fenix watches “Rubi the Virgin” do her act; she’s not fooling anybody. They talk about combining their talents. He hypnotizes her to the wall and throws knives at her. Concha walks in and tells Fenix that he has to kill Rubi; she’s defiled him. He kills Rubi with a knife and then buries her. He and Concha do everything together, his hands feed her and play the piano for her.
We cut to Fenix, now dressed like the Invisible Man. He drinks a potion, removes his bandages, and he looks just like he always did. Concha yells at him for failing again. She makes him knit stockings for her saint.
Fenix goes to the mobile apothecary and makes a date with Trini. On the way out, he hears about a wrestling match with The Saint, the world’s strongest woman, and he hallucinates that he’s fighting a giant snake. Fenix goes to see her after the show and learns that she’s really a man in drag with breasts (Maybe?). They go home to his home, where he has a tiny private theater. Fenix does his magic act for The Saint. Concha shows up and demands that Fenix kill her. Fenix wants The Saint to break his arms because he can’t control them. After a fight, Fenix kills The Saint with a sword.
Meanwhile, Alma has been tracking down Fenix/Concha and enters their home. She sees the place is covered in cobwebs, and there’s a dead body on the bed.
As he buries The Saint, Fenix hallucinates all the dead women crawling out of their graves. He runs home to find Alma there; she wants to lead him away from this place. Suddenly, Concha shows up again and demands that Fenix’s hands kill Alma. He picks up a pair of knives as Trini arrives for her date. She sees what’s going on and runs off, calling for help.
Inside, Fenix/Concha come after Alma with the knives, but Fenix resists and stabs his mother instead. She mocks him that she can never be killed because she’s inside him, though she does vanish.
We get a flashback to Concha and Orgo both dying at the circus. She’s been a hallucination all this time. Alma shows him the body on the bed; it’s the mannequin of Concha’s armless saint; he remembers using it in his act.
Imaginary clowns console Fenix as he throws the doll out the window. He then smashes the saint figure downstairs. Alma peels off Fenix’s fake fingernails since he’s free from his mother now. The clowns and Aladdin all vanish; they weren’t real either.
Fenix and Alma go outside, where the police are waiting for them. As he puts his hands up for the police, he realizes that they are his hands.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s weird, but unlike some of Jodorowsky’s films, this one has a plot that mostly makes sense. Mostly.
It looks very cool, with lots of interesting visuals. The acting is good, in a weird way. It’s long, but it’s not draggy or slow, the weirdness sucks you right in.
It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you like “weird,” this is one to try.
Kevin’s Commentary
I’d heard of this but had never seen it before. I went into this expecting it to be more surreal and nonsensical. It is surreal at times, but it does have a story. Two of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s sons play the main character as boy and adult, and they are both very good. The visuals and strangeness are great. I liked this one a lot.
1994 New Nightmare
AKA “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare”
Directed by: Wes Craven
Written by: Wes Craven
Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Miko Hughes
Run Time: 1 Hour, 52 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The idea is interesting having Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, and others playing themselves - sort of - in a movie about movies. Freddy is back even darker than he was in the first “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” without the humor, trying to force his way into the real world. Alas, it was too long and drags, especially in the first half, and we found ourselves being mostly bored with it.
Spoilery Synopsis
We watch as a man in a red sweater assembles a robot hand with knives on his fingers. Then he cuts off his hand and… CUT! It’s a movie being filmed based on Freddy Krueger. Heather Langenkamp is there, she’s the star of the movie, and she’s got her son Dylan, along with Chase, who is a special effects guy. The animatronic knife-hand goes berserk and causes mayhem on the set– no it’s just a dream as Heather and her family experience a real-world earthquake.
Chase asks if Heather’s still getting phone calls from her stalker. She has, but she’s got an interview scheduled for today. Her nightmares and the constant earthquakes aren’t helping. Julie the babysitter arrives, and Heather gets a call from the stalker again.
On the way to the interview, the limo driver recognizes Heather; he’s seen the movies. It’s been ten years since the first film, and then there were five sequels. The interviewer brings out Robert Englund, in full costume, who makes Heather really uncomfortable. Later, we see him out of costume, and he’s very normal.
She gets a call from New Line, who wants to talk about a new deal. Bob Shaye wants to make “The Definitive Nightmare,” since the fans want more. Wes Craven’s having nightmares, which has led to a new script. They’ve already got Chase working on a new glove prototype. She asks him if weird things have been happening, and he’s strangely upset by the question.
When she gets home, Dylan is having a fit about never sleeping again, and his toy dinosaur has a big slash in the side. Dylan says some creepy things about a mean man who wants to get him while he sleeps. Heather calls Chase to come home, but it’s a long drive, and he nods off on the road. He doesn’t make it home.
The police come to Heather’s door to tell them what happened with Chase. She goes to the very busy, very crowded morgue to identify the body, and he’s a mess– he’s got claw marks on his chest.
At the funeral, we see many familiar faces from earlier films. There’s an earthquake in the middle of it, and it may be the worst funeral ever. But most of that was Heather dreaming it after she got knocked out. That night, she finds Dylan watching her old movies on TV. He says, “That man down there is trying to get up into our world.” She talks to co-star John Saxon, who thinks Dylan’s behavior is completely understandable. As they talk, Dylan goes somewhere very dangerous and nearly gets killed.
Heather calls Robert England, who knows all about her “Freddy stalker.” The Freddy she’s dreaming out is darker and more evil than his version. They talk about Wes’s script, and it kinda matches what’s been going on. We see that Robert’s got his own problems with visions.
After another scary incident, Heather takes Dylan to the hospital, and they think it might be schizophrenia. The radio people talk about the earthquake fault under the city as Heather drives through wreckage. She calls Robert, whose answering machine says he’s going to be out of town for some time. She goes to talk to Wes Craven, who’s as upset about his script as she is. He knows it’s all becoming real, and the only way to stop is to make another movie.
One night, Freddy finally shows up and chases Heather around her bedroom. He slashes her arm before getting pulled away. She goes to the hospital, where Dylan is in intensive care and an oxygen tent. The doctor thinks Heather is losing her mind.
Some evil nurses inject Dylan with something to help him sleep, and only Julie is there to watch him. Outside, Heather is being interrogated by the doctor and two security guards about her drug use. The doctor starts talking about putting Dylan in foster care. Everyone watches as the invisible Freddy does terrible things to Julie on the ceiling of one of the hospital rooms.
Dylan vanishes from the hospital, and Heather calls John. She stops him crossing the freeway with Freddy’s help. Dylan finds his way home, where John is waiting for them. He starts calling her Nancy, and now, he’s suddenly the sheriff again, just like in the movie. As they play out a scene from that film, Freddy arises inside the house... on Elm Street.
Dylan has left a trail of sleeping pills so that Heather can find him. She takes the pills and soon finds herself in Freddy’s world. She finds the script to this movie and reads that there’s no movie, only her real life.
Freddy reveals himself, and both Heather and Dylan fight him. Together, they’re pretty effective at hurting him. Dylan locks him in the furnace, just like in Hansel and Gretel, his favorite story. Freddyworld explodes as the two make their way home.
They find the script again, and it’s got an ending now.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s just full of cameos from real Hollywood and New Line people, mostly playing themselves. It may be the most “meta” Hollywood horror movie ever. It’s an interesting concept that the old movies were holding back the real evil.
Miko Hughes, as Dylan, really stands out in this one; he’s the same kid from the original “Pet Sematary” (1989), and he’s only gotten creepier. The others play their parts, some of them as themselves, and they’re… OK. This time around, they’ve dropped all Freddy’s humor and made him much more like he was in the original film.
It’s far too long and drawn out. It’s an hour and ten minutes before Freddy actually shows up and then the battle doesn’t really go on for very long. Nope. I didn't like it.
Kevin’s Commentary
I did like the concept behind this, but it really should have been tightened up. It drags out the meta stuff too long and takes too long to get to the good stuff. There are some bright moments, but overall I didn’t care for it. And after some thought I’m adding this statement that I’d call it my least favorite of all the Nightmare movies.
2004 Seed of Chucky
Directed by: Don Mancini
Written by: Don Mancini
Stars: Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Waters
Run Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Chucky and Tiffany are back in action with their gender confused child Glen/Glenda, fully embracing humor and silliness in Hollywood with Jennifer Tilly playing herself as well as Tiffany. If you’ve enjoyed the other Chucky movies where they stray from horror to humor, you’ll probably enjoy this one as well. We certainly did.
Spoilery Synopsis
After one of the most ridiculous title sequences ever, a little girl opens a present. It’s a really ugly doll that quickly gets shoved into a toybox and forgotten. Later that night, the doll climbs out of the box and grabs a knife. Mayhem ensues. The doll stabs the father and stabs the mother in the shower, Psycho-like. As the doll looks into the mirror, we see that it’s not Chucky. The little girl, Claudia, taunts the killer.
Glen wakes up; it was a nightmare. He’s actually a dummy in a ventriloquism act. Glen narrates his life and weird nightmares. He’s not really violent at all. He wonders about his own parents; they must have been very good people…
We flash back to a scarred-up Chucky in a cemetery fighting a man in a Santa Claus suit. Tiffany finishes off “Santa,” taunting that he’s not real after all.
No, wait– this is all a movie, and the Chucky prop doesn’t work very well. “Chucky Goes Psycho” is the newest movie about Chucky and Tiffany, two dolls that were found, in real life, at a crime scene. The famous actress Jennifer Tilly is going to be in the film. She complains about not getting any good roles anymore.
Glen watches the two doll props on a TV show and realizes that he’s their son. He’s being abused by his keeper and soon escapes from the show. He makes his way to Hollywood, where they’re making the film.
Jennifer auditions to play the role of the Virgin Mary with the famous director Redman. He likes Julia Roberts for the role instead. Jennifer really hates Julia Roberts. Jennifer plans to get the role, one way or another.
Meanwhile, Glen finds the Chucky and Tiffany doll-props at the movie set and talks to them, not realizing they aren’t real. He reads the words on the medallion they left with him, and lightning happens. Both dolls soon wake up, alive again. They soon all realize they are all family. The animatronics technician shows up and loses his head. Chucky and Tiff make out after the killing, but Glen just pees himself. They debate over whether their child is a boy or a girl; he’s not anatomically correct either way. His name is either Glen or Glenda.
Jennifer Tilly finds the technician’s head and gets lots of press. The three dolls stow away in her limo. Tiff loves the idea that Jennifer is playing her in the movie, but Chucky hates her voice. Glen doesn’t understand why his parents are killers. They say it helps them relax. Chucky likes killing, but Tiff says it’s an addiction, and maybe they should try to quit cold turkey for their child.
Jennifer plans to sleep with Redman, but her secretary, Joan, doesn’t approve and gets fired. As Redman arrives, sneaky reporter Pete Peters stalks around outside. Tiffany has spiked the drinks, but they aren’t in any hurry to drink. Chucky and Tiffany have a whole subplot where they plan to artificially inseminate Jennifer to have a baby for Glen/Glenda to possess and then take over the bodies of Jennifer and Redman themselves
Tiffany confronts Jennifer, and Jennifer’s a little more than shocked. They knock her out and use the turkey baster for insemination. Pete takes photos from outside.
Chucky and Glen go out for a night of fun and run Britney Spears off the road. They follow Pete home to his darkroom and Pete soon finds out the real story. Glen seems to have a natural, if unintentional, talent for murder.
In the morning, Redman and Jennifer wake up with no memory of what they did last night. They remember a lot of screaming and assume it was great sex. Shortly after, she announces that she’s pregnant. Redman says he’s had a vasectomy, so it’s not him. Also, since she’s pregnant, he cuts her from the film he’s making.
Tiffany, who wants to stop murdering, battles with herself over her desire to kill Redman. After a call to the addiction hotline, she gets permission to finish him off. Glenda witnesses the whole thing.
Jennifer’s Voodoo-assisted pregnancy is very fast. The next day, she’s huge. The two evil dolls tie her up to wait for the baby. They all argue again over the child’s sex. Is he a boy or is she a girl? Either way, he doesn’t want to be a killer. Tiff’s OK with that, but Chucky wants his son to be a killer.
Since Redman’s dead, they call Stan, Jennifer’s chauffeur, to receive Chucky’s soul. Joan, the fired secretary, returns and bangs on the door, and Chucky goes to take care of her. Tiff just can’t hold herself back and takes care of things. No, that wasn’t Tiff, that was Glenda, who’s really good at murder and being insane.
Jennifer’s about to give birth. It’s a boy, and it looks totally human. No, wait– there’s more. There’s also a girl. Twins! Tiff thinks they can put Glen in the boy and Glenda into the girl. Due to all the screaming, Chucky blows his top and decides to forget all this Voodoo nonsense and just stay a doll. Tiff wants to live inside Jennifer, which causes a bunch of conflict.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the police break in and start finding bodies, along with Jennifer Tilly tied to the bed. At the hospital, she wants her babies back. Everyone thinks her story is a little crazy. Tiff and Glen show up and she starts the ritual to put herself into the movie star. Chucky breaks in and hits Tiffany in the head with his ax.
Glen, angry at the death of his mother, goes full ninja on Chucky, giving him the ax as well. Chucky loses all four limbs and says “Attaboy, kid!” just before he decapitates Chucky. Jennifer gets up off the floor and consoles Glen.
Five years later, successful actress Jennifer Tilly hears reports from the nanny about Glen, a nice boy, and Glenda, a bad girl. The servant is afraid of her Tiffany doll, and Glenda as well. The maid quits. Jennifer kills her on the spot– she’s really Tiffany. Glen and Glenda are the two babies, and Glen knows that his father really loved him. Glen gets a present in the mail and opens it. Turns out, it’s Chucky’s arm.
Brian’s Commentary
After the previous film, “Bride of Chucky” leaned way more into comedy than horror, this one stretches things even further into pure silliness. The puppets have never looked better, but even they seem to know how silly this has gotten. I love how Jennifer Tilly repeatedly makes fun of herself, and her one hit movie. “God she’s fat!”
“Glen or Glenda” is, of course, a real film about transvestites from 1963. In this film, Glen/Glenda is just a very confused puppet, but in the TV series, takes on a whole Trans/LGBT identity and Chucky’s acceptance of that makes Chucky the most LGBT-friendly of all the horror monsters.
There is a body count, but they’re all just ancillary to the comedic family drama.
You’ll either love it or hate it, there’s very little middle ground here.
Kevin’s Commentary
I was kind of surprised that in the 21 years since it’s been made, I had never seen this one. They do fully embrace the silliness and raunchy humor in this one. I thought it was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it.
Short Films:
2024 Short Film Stalker
Directed by: David Cholewa
Written by: David Cholewa, Remy Gente
Stars: Sandra Hohenadel
Run Time: 20 Minutes
Watch it: NOT YET– Still on the festival circuit. Stay tuned!
What Happens
Sarah walks home after a party in the strangely deserted streets of Paris. It’s dark, and she’s alone, and there may or may not be someone following her. She keeps hearing his whistle, and sometimes gets a glimpse of the strange man behind her, but what are his intentions?
They aren’t what you think.
Commentary
This one is pretty amazing. It starts out in territory familiar to horror/thriller fans and then goes somewhere else entirely. There’s no dialogue here other than some on-screen text at the beginning and end. The whole drama plays out on Sarah’s actions.
Very, very good!
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