Chucky – S2 E2 – “The Sinners Are Much More Fun”
We are back with Haunted MTL’s continuing coverage of the Chucky franchise. This week, we talk about Chucky S2 E2, “The Sinners Are Much More Fun.” The momentum of a new season continues to establish new players and returning favorites. We also get a surprising team-up and a whole school full of potential victims of a killer doll.
Plus, we get probably the biggest tease in the run of the television series thus far.
Chucky – S2 E2 – “The Sinners Are Much More Fun”
Jake, Devon, and Lexi find themselves in a tough predicament as the house rules of the school restrict their movements. Meanwhile, a Chucky doll has arrived with a mysterious new plan. Jake (Zackary Arthur) deals with the loss of Gary. Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson) takes the new situation in stride. Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) befriends someone new – while reawakening an old enemy.
Chucky airs Wednesday nights on SyFy and USA.
How Was It?
“The Sinners Are Much More Fun” wastes no time establishing a new set of characters and wastes some folks. It also touches on a significant development from last season’s finale that did not make this season’s premiere. The episode is neatly divided between the developments at the Catholic School of the Incarnate Lord and the developments with Tiffany/Jennifer and Nica back in Hackensack.
Our A-plot involves the immediate arrival of a Chucky doll disguised as a donation for a toy drive. He wastes little time getting to work and making his presence known to the kids. Curiously, he seems to be taking photos of his work, but to what ends? We are also introduced to Nadine (Bella Higginbotham), who quickly takes to Lexy. However, Lexy immediately starts trouble with an old frenemy, Trevor (Jordan Kronis). Jake, however, takes some of this new religious discussion to heart, given his guilt. He is quickly focused on by Father Bryce (a returning Devon Sawa).
Meanwhile, in Hackensack, Tiffany Valentine, still playing the role of Jennifer Tilly (as played by Jennifer Tilly), has kept Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) trapped. However, the foundations of her fragile domestic state begin to crumble as Nica continues to resist. A mysterious visitor (Sergio Di Zio), a surprise in the bed, and the inevitable return of the twins, Glen and Glenda, threaten to throw this situation into complete chaos.
Highlights
Don Mancini and Mallory Westfall co-wrote this week’s episode. Samir Rehem returns to direct his third episode, following the season one standouts “Cape Queer” and “Twice the Grieving, Double the Loss.” Rehem is a good choice for this episode, given it has a plot of place-setting while also introducing intriguing new directions. The episode is also gorgeously shot, especially the rich, chiaroscuro lighting that consumed the school even during the day. While other shows can struggle to shoot effectively in the dark, Chucky manages it quite well.
I am eager to see where next week goes, especially given the growing cast of children and how that may play into whatever this Chucky’s mission is. We have quite a mystery on our hands this season, and the tease of Glen and Glenda at the end of the episode, after a very poorly-timed murder, promises to delight.
(4.5 / 5)
Chucky -S2 E2 – Kill Count and Spotlight
Two kills are added to this season’s roster, bringing the season to three. One kill evokes an anti-climax of Child’s Play 3 as a fun little nod. The other is a hasty, bad decision in a traditional slasher sort, and while not the flashiest, offers a ton of potential for next week’s episode.
Seeds of Chucky
As always, each review features some notes on references and continuity in the whole Chucky franchise.
- This week’s title card features hundreds of Nica and Chucky photos. Given the reveal later on, this makes a ton of thematic sense.
- Chucky gets some air in this episode, referencing a popular train of thought on how most people would respond to him.
- I can’t believe the show casually dropped a reference to Jennifer Tilly’s “The Simpsons” money.
- By the end of the episode, the Chuckybusters seem to have an idea of what this Chucky’s job is. The Chucky memory loss element will be a major part of the season.
- I mentioned on the podcast that we’re getting a remix of Child’s Play 3. That seems to be lining up, given one of this week’s kills.
- The franchise trope of leaving traumatized children alone in a room with the doll is continued.
- I had covered in the podcast for the show’s latest episode that I felt confused by the timeline of events. Still, the show has finally addressed that. The events of this episode are about a year removed from the finale, which helps soothe some of my confusion.
- Introducing a new Devon Sawa character every season seems perfectly in line for this show.
- Speaking of which, some references this week include Sawa’s own Idle Hands (1999), The Godfather (1978), and Psycho (1960).
- We get the briefest of teases of Glen and Glenda as they arrive to the sounds of The Slits’ “Heard it Through the Grapevine,” and I loved it.
We’re continuing to cover the Kids’ Stuff – A Chucky Podcast show. However, unlike these written reviews, our discussion show contains plenty of spoilers. If you missed the latest Kids’ Stuff about S1 E2, “Halloween II,” you could listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.
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)