Chucky – S1 E1 – “Death By Misadventure”
Welcome to Haunted MTL’s series of Chucky reviews, this week tackling Chucky S1 E1 – “Death By Misadventure.”
This series of reviews will be spoiler-free for the events of each episode but will bring up plot points from previous episodes as needed to contextualize the current week’s events. For a spoiler-centric view, please turn to the podcast Kids’ Stuff for a detailed discussion.
Chucky – S1 E1 – “Death By Misadventure”
It is a homecoming of sorts for America’s favorite killer doll when he finds himself for sale at a Hackensack, NJ, yardsale. He is purchased by a bullied teen, Jake, who intends to use the doll for an art project. Soon enough, Chucky’s attempts to save his plastic skin pull Jake into a world of murder, revenge, and what might be a growing acceptance of himself.
How Was It?
Chucky is part of a franchise that translates incredibly well to the serialization of television based on this initial outing. However, this isn’t surprising given the series has maintained a strict continuity since the first film in 1988. It’s an incalculably strange move for the world of slasher horror, where characters and plot points are jettisoned from each entry, and soft reboots are common. None of that for Chucky, though. The first episode is clever in rhyming its story with previous entries in the franchise. It evokes scenes and characters in a new generation in respectful enough ways without feeling like a rote copy. It helps that the first episode is in the hands of series creator Don Mancini, who proves quite capable of the task.
The performances and style across the board are pretty satisfying. It feels like modern Chucky, akin to Curse and Cult, and contemporary music keeps the show feeling fresh and of the time. Brad Dourif sounds more comfortable here than in the previous two films. He seems to have settled into the voice a bit, given how his voice has changed over the years. Devon Sawa plays two characters in some clever stunt casting that lasts long enough not to get silly. It’s pretty fun.
The series, however, lives and dies based on the performances of the kids. After all, this is Chucky vs. the zoomers. Thankfully, the series lead (arguably co-lead with Dourif), Zachary Arthur, is great. We get the sense that Jake Wheeler is a generally good but troubled kid. But it also seems to be a little darkness that it seems that Chucky is going to want to bring out.
Björgvin Arnarson as Devon Arnarson, a podcasting classmate, seems fine. However, it might be a bit too early to tell. I wonder if he is more aware of the significance of the Good Guy doll than he is showing. Teo Briones’ Junior Wheeler, Jake’s cousin, has some secret. Nothing about him stands out beyond arrogant cattiness, yet.
The real presence this week comes from Alyvia Alyn Lind as Lexy Cross. She is a teen ripped from an R-rated cut of Mean Girls. She’s fantastic and easily hateable and plays arrogant and utterly destroyed quite well. It will be interesting to see how her arc plays out in the coming weeks.
As for the look and feel of the Chucky doll in the show? Pitch perfect. The animatronic motion is incredibly fluid. Indeed, the design feels closer to the appearance of the original film than the Good Guy dolls of Curse and Cult. The fact that the series has gone on long enough to leverage some impressive technology is a blessing.
As a first outing, this is an exciting way to kick off a whole new era of murderous fun! Chucky – S1 E1 – “Death By Misadventure” is worth five Cthulhus.
(5 / 5)
Chucky S1 E1 – Kill Count and Spotlight
The show sets up about 11 kills within the last year in Hackensack. However, we get an additional three – only one of which is human. It is a very technical count, admittedly. Animal fans, be warned. With that being said, we only see one of the kills in the episode. Yet it is certainly novel enough given the franchise as a whole and hilarious and horrifying in pretty equal measure. Is projectile vomit a lethal weapon? I’d argue yes based on what we see in the first episode.
Seeds of Chucky
Some elements of this week’s episode are callbacks to previous installments of the series. They may hint at the return of key figures from the past. Here are some of the highlights.
- We get some references to some of the previous films via an internet search and a local podcast produced by Jake’s classmate, Devon.
- A set of basement stairs evokes Child’s Play 2. As does a certain moment with a trash can.
- Some very specific dialogue toward the end of the episode evokes Karen Barclay’s experience with Chucky before he reveals himself to her in Child’s Play (1988). We also get a fun callback regarding batteries.
- We also will be diving into the life of Charles Lee Ray, further back than the events of Curse of Chucky, which was just prior to his death.
- A mysterious phone call from a man interested in Jake’s listing to sell off Chucky seems to know a lot about the doll. Who could it be?
- Speaking of blink and you miss it cameos, SyFy has confirmed a key character in the franchise shows up early on. Keep an eye on for a red dress.
- Moreover, while not Chucky-specific, the ending to the episode has shades of John Carpenter’s Halloween.
We will be covering the show episode-by-episode on Kids’ Stuff – A Chucky Podcast. However, don’t expect spoilers in these written reviews. You can expect them to fly during the podcast.
If you want to catch the first episode for free, please check out the premiere below, provided by USA Network’s YouTube account. You can see it Tuesdays at 10 PM PST on SyFy and USA Network.
Episode two of Wheel of Time felt like the beginning of a long journey. Stories are unfolding, lives are changing, and blood is spilling.
Let’s discuss.
The story
We begin this episode in the past with Elayne’s mother, Queen Morgase. It turns out her rise to the throne was a bit, shall we say, cutthroat. So when she shows up at the White Tower, Siuan is concerned.
She might have reason to be, too.
Meanwhile, Rand, Egwene, Moiraine, Lan and Aviendha are in the Spine of The World. As they travel through some of the most breathtaking lands I have ever seen on a TV show, Egwene is plagued with nightmares. We think at first that’s just her trauma working itself through her system. But we soon find out that it might not be that straightforward.
Finally, Perrin returns home to heal after his hand is almost cut in half. But when he gets there he finds the town has been infested by Children of The Light. And they’re looking for him.
What worked
There was something heartwarming in this episode about political espionage and choking religious persecution. And that is Elayne’s relationship with her family.
I have consumed a lot of fantasy content with royal families. And I have never once heard a princess call her mother ‘Mum’. I’ve never seen royal siblings get along. And I have sure as hell never seen a princess have a good relationship with her step-parent.
This was refreshing. Even though Queen Morgase is kind of a horrible person she seems like a good mother. And that’s an unexpected delight.
Of course, this is just one storyline among many. And while this can sometimes be overwhelming, in this case it wasn’t.
I’ll be honest, some of these storylines are going to drag for me. I know this because I’ve read some of the Wheel of Time books and I have an idea that not all the characters exactly pique my interest.
No one likes all the characters. No one likes all the storylines. While I am here for the political espionage between Queen Morgase and Siuan, not everyone likes it. While others might be fascinated with Selene trying to win Rand back, I couldn’t care less.
Having multiple storylines keeps everyone’s attention better. So long as things don’t get out of hand. Things can easily get out of hand. But this seems to be managed well.
So far.
What didn’t work
As I mentioned above, I’m not thrilled with Rand’s story at this point. And while it’s fine to not like a storyline when there are this many to choose from, it’s not fantastic that the one I like the least is the one involving our two main characters. And anytime we were with the team at the Spine of The World, the only thing that brought me joy was Moirain’s hat. It reminded me of Stockard Channing’s hat in Practical Magic.
The problem is that Rand is Charlie Brown with controversial magical powers. He is boring, serious, and pessimistic.
And yes, I understand that he has a heavy emotional burden and he’s the Dragon Reborn and that’s quite taxing and all. But let’s be fair, there isn’t a single person in this show that doesn’t have a heavy burden. And most of them manage to be fun occasionally.
All that being said, this episode of Wheel of Time did exactly what it needed to do. It set up conflicts at each of the three locations. It established emotional ties between the characters and the events. And it established goals for everyone.
This was, in short, a solid episode. Not groundbreaking, not mind-blowing or life changing. It was simply good. It was entertaining and moved the plot forward.
Well done.
(3.5 / 5)
Wheel of Time is back for season three. There are mixed feelings regarding this. Last season, there were some serious pacing issues. And some serious sticking to the book’s storyline issues. But we’re two seasons in, and we don’t give up so easily. So let’s dive into episode one, To Race the Shadow.
By the way, I highly recommend watching this episode with the subtitles on. You’ll see why.
The story
We begin this episode with Liandrin facing a trial of sorts for her rampant betrayal. She does her best to gaslight her Aes Sedai sisters into thinking that Siuan Sanche is the real traitor.
When that doesn’t work, she reveals how many Black Aes Sedai have actually infiltrated the tower.
Spoiler, it’s a lot.
In the aftermath, our whole team gathers to drink and enjoy one night of relaxation before they head out to the Tear to form an army for Rand. All is going well until they’re attacked by myriad creatures and a sentient axe.
What worked
This episode was long. It had a run time of an hour and eleven minutes. And a lot of that run time was spent in heavy dialog scenes.
Fortunately, these were well-done scenes.
If you’re going to have a lot of talking scenes, there are good ways and bad ways to do it. Last season, we saw lots of examples of the bad way to do it. But this episode did it well. For one thing, other things were going on while conversations were taking place. The characters are drinking, playing games, walking through an interesting city. And the scenes themselves didn’t stretch out. They weren’t repetitive. We heard what the character had to say, then we moved on.
It was also nice that the point of these scenes wasn’t just info dumps. We had character development. We had romantic interactions. We had plot development and foreshadowing.
Overall, this episode felt like what it was. A moment of calm before a storm.
Taking a step back, I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the fight scene at the start of the episode. Because it was epic.
The magic looked amazing. The martial arts that went along with it looked fantastic. The costumes were beautiful. It was just incredibly fun to watch.
More than that, it was emotional. We lost some characters in that fight that were important. And it was clearly emotionally shattering for many of our characters, who found themselves betrayed by people they trusted.
So many of them.
It was a great way to open the season.
What didn’t work
Despite that, this episode wasn’t without its flaws.
First off, there were a lot of dialog scenes. And they were good scenes, as I’ve already discussed. But it was one after another after another. And when your episode is, again, an hour and eleven minutes, it’s maybe a little much to have so much chit-chat. Couldn’t some of these conversations, important as they were, have been moved to maybe another episode?
Finally, I want to talk about Egwene’s travel through the arches.
I feel like maybe there were some deleted scenes here. Because there must have been more to that visit than what we saw, right?
We could have seen Egwene battle Rand. That would have been badass and emotionally devastating. We could have seen her with a quiet life with Rand back home at the Two Rivers. We could have seen anything except for the quick clip of Rand in a bloody river, followed by Egwene being shoved back out in a bloody shift.
Bad job. But at least it wasn’t an extended scene of Moiraine collecting bathwater, and then taking a bath while looking sad. If we’d started this season with another scene like that, it might have broken my brain.
Amazon dropped the first three episodes at once. So we’ll be back soon to talk about episode two. See you then.
(4 / 5)
Early 2000s is a special era for the industry. It accepts the cheesiness and corniness of movie making, in turn producing some gems in their own right. Eight Legged Freaks starring David Arquette and young Scarlet Johanson is a horror comedy about giant spiders who overtake a small town. As crazy as that premise sounds, the movie surprisingly has a ton of heart and is super entertaining. Let’s review, shall we?
Plot
We start Eight Legged Freaks with a shot of toxic waste spilling into the water supply of Joshua, a spider farm owner. He is friends with Mike, one of our protagonists, who is a science geek and a spider enthusiast. Mike notices something quite right upon visiting Joshua, but no one takes him seriously. We are then introduced to the rest of the crew. Mike’s mother Samantha, the town sheriff, is too busy chasing Ashley, his sister, who is dating the town mayor’s son Bret (something Samantha does not approve of). We also have Chris, who returns to the town to save his father’s legacy in the town mines. He has opposition from Wade, Bret’s father, who wants to use the mines for his business ventures. Lots of drama going on that will only get juicier once the spiders get loose.
The creepy crawlies quickly dispose of Joshua and make their grand appearance after Ashley rejects Bret’s advances, abandoning him in the middle of a desert. A glorious chase sequence ensues as the spiders make their way towards the town, wreaking havoc on its residents. In a true horror fashion (which the movie acknowledges), it takes some convincing from Mike and then from Samantha for the town to take the threat seriously. The tongue-in-cheek style of narrative adds the comedy aspect to a movie that would otherwise burn out fairly quickly.
The remaining characters hide out in a shopping mall as it’s the only somewhat sturdy building in the area. This doesn’t last long as the spiders break in, forcing them to run through the mines. Their resources to fight the creepy crawlies off are limited as the methane gas doesn’t allow them to use firearms. Such conditions require resourceful thinking from Chris, who uses perfume to fend off the leader of the spider group and save himself during the climax of the movie.
Character dynamics are not forgotten once the action kicks in. We have Chris confessing his long-term feelings for Samantha which she knew all along, which provided some comedic relief. Bret also reunites with Ashley and apologises for being an asshole. Mike finally gets the appreciation he deserves as his knowledge saves the townsfolk more than once during the whole ordeal.
We end the movie with the town’s radio show person telling the story as an urban legend during his segment. This brings it into question – how much of it happened the way he said it did? We can only guess…
Overall thoughts
Eight Legged Freaks is a fun creature feature with some self-aware commentary on genre tropes that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The acting is good, the pacing fitting and the characters are likeable enough for you to want them to make it through. Definitely a must watch, if you don’t suffer from arachnophobia, that is.
(5 / 5)