Chucky – S2 E3 – “Hail, Mary!”
We are back with Haunted MTL’s continuing coverage of the Chucky franchise. This week, we talk about Chucky S2 E3, “Hail, Mary!” While the previous episode teased two significant legacy characters in Glen and Glenda – we also had a dangling plot thread involving a dead detective. All that goes out the window this week as we spend our entire runtime at Incarnate Lord.
Worry not; this episode is some of the wildest stuff to happen in the Chucky franchise in a long time.
Chucky – S2 E3 – “Hail, Mary!”
A few keystone moments in the Chucky franchise radically shift the series’ trajectory. First was the introduction of Tiffany. Then there was the introduction of Glen/Glenda. The idea of soul-splitting also created a radically new direction for the franchise. This week, the series posits a question: Can you brainwash Chucky?
The episode spends the entirety of the runtime at Incarnate Lord exploring moments of characterization while eliminating some possible narrative angles. The A-plot involves the Chuckybusters trying to brainwash their captured Scout Chucky to get some answers regarding his mission. However, their brainwashing is much more potent than intended and creates a surprising new version of Chucky that is new to the franchise. A good Chucky.
Of course, the writers also enjoy complications – but don’t we all? Hence, the arrival of a new delivery truck to the school featuring a familiar box. This arrival introduces another variant of Chucky – perhaps the strangest one yet.
All the while, character relationships are explored, and power dynamics are established. Father Bryce (Devon Sawa) learns something new about the kids and sets to work punishing them. Sister Catherine (Andrea Carter) is the coolest adult in the current season, and Sister Ruth (Lara Jean Chorostecki) is the worst. Meanwhile, Lexy’s bully, Trevor (Jordan Kronis), gets to work to assert control over her, but this does not last long.
All the while, Jake and Devon clash over guilt and distrust, Nadine’s character grows more intriguing, and Nadine and Lexy seem to bond.
How Was It?
Samir Rehem’s fourth directed episode of the series proves to be fun and a good follow to last week, which he also directed. The direction is solid, and some interesting cuts and camera tricks create some fun variation in an episode locked more or less to a couple of locations. One criticism is that this episode was overly dark when it came to light, especially compared to last week. Some of the scenes in Jake and Devon’s room could have benefited from a touch more brightness.
Rachel Paradis and Nick Zigler get the opportunity to write one of Don Mancini’s long-standing ideas of a Good Chucky, make it work, and garner sympathy for the little psycho during the A Clockwork Orange brainwashing segment. Sympathy for Charles Lee Ray; who knew that was possible?
“Hail, Mary!” is Paradis’ second series writing credit since “Little Little Lies” in season one. Zigler serves as one of the go-to writers for the show, with this episode being his eighth writer credit on Chucky. He penned most of season one’s episodes.
However, as new possibilities open up, the episode does close the door on a character that could have created some solid dramatic potential. It’s a risky move, but I feel the show thrives when it throws caution into the wind.
Highlights
I won’t factor in my disappointment to be drifting away from the Glen and Glenda developments from last week in scoring the episode. This largely single-location episode provided exciting developments that could radically shape the franchise.
I do feel the episode’s lighting was an issue, and I am still unsure how to feel about removing a character from the overall narrative. However, the moments of character building combined with the utter insanity of how various Chuckies seem to become their own unique entities is fascinating.
(4 / 5)
Chucky – S2 E3 – Kill Count and Spotlight
So far, two more kills have been added to the list for season two, bringing the season total to five. One kill returns Chucky to his roots as “the Lakeshore Strangler.” However, the more dramatic and jaw-dropping kill this week involves a Mortal Kombat fatality and is one of the franchise’s messiest and craziest kills.
Seeds of Chucky
As always, each review features some notes on references and continuity in the whole Chucky franchise.
- SyFy’s post-show featurettes have been a delight, and if you head over to Syfy.com, they should be available to watch.
- Part of the fun of those, beyond the behind-the-scenes reveals, is that Chucky hosts them. I hope Brad Dourif runs away with a heavy paycheck week after week.
- Speaking of reveals – Don Mancini confirms he’s been thinking about a good Chucky for a while.
- Also revealed – the prosthetic worn by a character for a death scene smelled like vinegar.
- This week’s title card features crucifixes. We’re firmly in religious horror now.
- I am annoyed we’ve swerved away from Glen and Glenda’s reveals this week, but I can also see why they would do that.
- That was the most Irish priest I have ever seen.
- Mentions of MKUltra this week. And no, not Mortal Kombat Ultra.
- Speaking of… Chucky needs to be a DLC character in a future Mortal Kombat… he just has to be after tonight’s episode.
- Regarding movie references this week, we have a huge one with A Clockwork Orange. Also, films used in Chucky’s conditioning seem to include The Thing and Psycho II.
- Something that made my millennial heart flutter – a direct reference to Child’s Play.
- Also, we can confirm My Little Pony exists in the Chuckyverse.
- Nadine is the coolest. “I’ve got this bitchin’ knife.”
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 S2 E2, “The Sinners Are Much More Fun,” 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.
No products found.
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)
![Eight Legged Freaks [Blu-ray] [DVD]](https://hauntedmtl.com/wp-content/plugins/aawp/public/image.php?url=YUhSMGNITTZMeTl0TG0xbFpHbGhMV0Z0WVhwdmJpNWpiMjB2YVcxaFoyVnpMMGt2T0RFNGFuZ3lUMUpJYzB3dVgxTk1NVFV3TUY4dVgxTk1NVFl3WHk1cWNHYz18MTc1MDg2MTYxMQ=)
- What do you get when you cross toxic waste with a bunch of exotic spiders? Eaten! The townies of Prosperity, Arizona will all become a screaming smorgasbord if mutated arachnids as big as SUVs have their way in this comedy/horror crowd pleaser whose creators include the producers of Independence Day and Godzilla
- Spiders that leap like gazelles, web-spitting spiders, spiders that suck your insides out as if through a straw—they’re all among the behemoths conjured up by an inventive effects team
- David Arquette (Scream) leads the two-legged stars, mobilizing the citizenry in a last-ditch fight to survive
Last update on 2025-03-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API