Curse of Chucky

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Don Mancini directs. Michael Marshall behind the camera. Joseph LoDuca scores. James Coblentz cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Earned back only 78% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 2Released 13 years ago.
• 3Part of the "Child's Play Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4Directed by Don Mancini, shot by Michael Marshall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Joseph LoDuca. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor James Coblentz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Fiona Dourif and Brad Dourif and Danielle Bisutti carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Fear has a new home.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt2230358 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 16 themes, including "escape", "voodoo", "wheelchair", "halloween".

The technical file

Cinematography

Michael Marshall

Original score

Joseph LoDuca

Editing

James Coblentz

Production design

Craig Sandells

Costume design

Patricia J. Henderson

Makeup / hair

Alisha Talbot

VFX supervisor

Adam Marihazi

Sound

Ben Wilkins

Stunt coordinator

Chuck Robinson

Runtime

97 min · 1h 37m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$5,000,000

Box office

$3,876,587

Return

78% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Curse of Chucky (2013) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

78% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

58/100

IMDB rating

5.6/10 · 48,484 votes

MPAA

R

Part of

Child's Play Collection

A horror film series franchise featuring Chucky, a killer Good Guys doll with the soul of a notorious serial killer.

• 
  Child's Play

  1988
• 
  Child's Play 2

  1990
• 
  Child's Play 3

  1991
• 
  Bride of Chucky

  1998
• 
  Seed of Chucky

  2004
• 
  Curse of Chucky

  2013 · this one
• 
  Cult of Chucky

  2017

Also by

Don Mancini

• 
  Chucky

  2021 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Cult of Chucky

  2017 · ★ 5.9
• 
  Seed of Chucky

  2004 · ★ 5.5
• 
  Chucky's Family Vacation

  2005 · ★ 4.2
• 
  Conceiving the 'Seed of Chucky'

  2005

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Restricted Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Gimly2017-10-27
  ★ 4/10

  Neither the darker and brutal supernatural slasher of the original Child's Play, nor the cheesier and campy fun found in the other two "Of Chucky" films, so fans hoping for either one of those outcomes will be disappointed. But if you think of it as less a Child's Play film, and look at it for what it really is, a straight-to-video horror, then it's.... Okay I guess? Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.

  Read full review ↓
• Andre Gonzales2023-06-05
  ★ 6/10

  This was an ok movie. What happened to Tiffany and their kid. There just all of a sudden gone. They established a family in the last sequel to being non existent in this movie.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Universal 1440 Entertainment

  US

Key crew

• AnimationJunjie Wang
• Title DesignerAndrew J. Wahlquist
• Assistant Makeup ArtistAlisha Talbot
• Key Makeup ArtistDoug Morrow
• Extras CastingKari Rieger
• CostumerAngela Wells
• Makeup ArtistBrenda Magalas
• Second Assistant DirectorMartin Ellis
• Additional EditorJohn Gilbert
• Digital IntermediateMarissa Shaver
• CastingJim Heber
• Extras Casting AssistantEleanor Erum
• First Assistant DirectorDouglas Mitchell
• Hair DesignerDenise Baer
• Key Hair StylistTravis Marszalek
• First Assistant DirectorJoel Jeffrey Nishimine
• Assistant Costume DesignerPaula Dunfield
• CostumerMelanie Talkington
• Second Assistant DirectorJacki O'Brien
• Special Effects Makeup ArtistDoug Morrow
• Digital Intermediate EditorLee Hultman
• Costume Set SupervisorMichelle Boulet
• Assistant EditorEmily Chiu
• Assistant Property MasterRyan Berzuk

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• escape
• voodoo
• wheelchair
• halloween
• sequel
• evil doll
• killer doll
• serial killer
• slasher
• doll
• aftercreditsstinger
• killer toys
• toy comes to life
• possessed doll
• supernatural power
• gloomy

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2013-10-08R
• Digital2013-09-24
• Digital2026-08-01R· in Netflix

Also known as

International titles

• I katara tou ChuckyGR
• 커스 오브 처키KR
• Child's Play 6: Curse of ChuckyUS
• 鬼娃的詛咒TW
• A Maldição de ChuckyBR