Every horror series has a black sheep. "Friday the 13th" had the Jason-less fifth installment, "Halloween" the Michael Meyers-less third entry, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" the silly first sequel. For many fans, "Child's Play 3" is the embarrassment of the Chucky saga. But why?
So many reviews of this film express exacerbation, even confusion, over the sudden shift eight years into the future. What's so hard to understand? We had already had two movies with Chucky chasing a little kid. It was time to move the story along, hence our hero Andy Barclay (Justin Whalin) is now a teenager at a military academy. This change of scenery was the breath of fresh air the series needed, as it opens up all kinds of new options to the murderous doll, which he fully exploits (paintball guns loaded with real ammo, anyone?).
Other reviewers complain this just isn't scary. There they have a point, but how many gorefests actually bring our hands up to our eyes? Scariness is a great complement, but that doesn't mean the whole project goes down the tubes without it. "Child's Play 3" has a smooth storyline, a touch of suspense and a truly memorable, original climax at a carnival (though it doesn't quite surpass the doll factory finale of the the previous film). Chucky's foul mouth begins to be a liability rather than an asset, but we can cut him some slack -- he's certainly never looked better (or more realistic).
"Child's Play 3" does have its ups and downs, however. The romance between Andy and a fellow cadet is a distraction, and there are times when our plastic star just seems brushed aside in favor of more serious moments. Chucky's desire to swap souls with someone other than Andy is a welcome change, but his new target, young Tyler, is one dimensional and uninteresting. He's unable to carry his scenes like Alex Vincent, who played child Andy in the first two films.
As far as I'm concerned, this was the last of the true "Child's Play" films. Once this one was done, the series became a shameful, hokey parody of itself. This entry is by no means perfect and it's certainly not up the caliber of "Child's Play 2". Yet it's not the piece of trash so many would have us believe. In fact, it may just be one of the most underrated theatrical horror films of the early '90s.
