All Child's Play Movies, Ranked Worst To Best

The best Child’s Play movies reveal just why the evil doll Chucky is such a beloved horror movie villain. 1988 Child’s Play movie started out as a script called Batteries Not Included by writer Don Mancini which was later retitled Blood Buddy. The initial concept was that a boy named Andy was given a doll that was filled with fake blood but would later come alive when Andy accidentally mixed his own blood with it. The doll, who would become known as the infamous Chucky, would come to life when Andy went to sleep, acting out his unconscious desire to kill.

When Tom Holland (Fright Night) came on board to direct Child’s Play, the concept was completely changed. A serial killer named Charles Lee Ray transfers his soul into a Chucky doll just before his human body dies. With his soul trapped in a toy, he needs to transfer his evil spirit to a human body or be trapped in the doll for good, so he selects Andy as a host. The 1988 movie was a smash hit, and Chucky would return many times in the years that followed, although the tone and genre of each Child’s Play movie would vary wildly.

Child’s Play 3 (1991)

Directed By Jack Bender

Child’s Play 3 is the third entry in the horror/slasher franchise and sees the killer doll, Chucky, return to continue his murderous ways as he seeks revenge on Andy Barclay eight years after he was last destroyed. With Andy’s time in foster care unsuccessful, he is sent to the Kent Military School, where he tries to adjust to a life without Chucky hunting him down. However, when Chucky ends up in the hands of a younger cadet, Andy and his allies are forced to stop the killer doll once more.

Director

Jack Bender

Release Date

August 30, 1991

Cast

Justin Whalin , Perrey Reeves , Jeremy Sylvers , Andrew Robinson , Brad Dourif , Travis Fine

Runtime

90 Minutes

The only entry in the franchise that’s a true disappointment is 1991’s Child Play 3. Directed by Jack Bender, the sequel to Child’s Play 2 was released a mere nine months after the second movie, and is still considered to be the worst Chucky movie. The rush to shoot a new sequel and cash in on the success of 1990’s Child’s Play 2 ultimately hurt the final product, and risked Chucky’s on-screen rampages ending as a trilogy rather than the long-standing franchise fans know and love today.

The premise finds Chucky coming back to life 8 years after part two and tracking his old nemesis Andy to a military school. While the setting is unique and Brad Dourif (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) is typically excellent as Chucky’s voice, the third movie lacks suspense and new ideas. While Child’s Play 2 was incredibly innovative with the various ways Chucky tormented Andy, Child’s Play 3 didn’t break any new ground. Outside the occasional inspired touch like a showdown in a funhouse, Child’s Play 3 is a relative dud.

Seed Of Chucky (2004)

Directed By Don Mancini

Seed of Chucky is the fifth film in the Child’s Play franchise and follows up six years after the events of Bride of Chucky. The film follows Glen, a living doll and the spawn of Chucky and Tiffany, who discovers and revives his parents, hoping for a family he never had. However, their murderous tendencies create tension as the two dolls bicker over how their child should be raised – all while trying to steal the bodies of Jennifer Tilly and Redman.

Director

Don Mancini

Release Date

November 11, 2004

Cast

Jennifer Tilly , Redman , Hannah Spearritt , John Waters , Billy Boyd , Brad Dourif

Runtime

87 Minutes

Interestingly, since it arrived over a decade after the 1988 release of the first movie in the franchise, 2004’s Seed of Chucky was series creator Don Mancini’s directorial debut. Having Mancini take the helm of the 5th Child’s Play movie was a positive move for the series in many ways, as Seed of Chucky in many ways helped set the tone for the likes of both the following sequels and the 2021 Chucky TV show. Rather than leaning into the horror and scares, Mancini decided to completely embrace a cartoony tone instead of making a straightforward slasher.

Seed of Chucky picks up after the ending of Bride Of Chucky, which features Chucky’s girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) giving birth to a baby doll. The movie has been accurately described as an over-the-top farce with numerous creative stretches, such as Tilly playing both herself and Tiffany and cameos from John Waters (Feud) and Redman. While it’s silly and fun in its own right Seed of Chucky hardly feels like a horror movie at all, which is why it’s one of the least loved entries.

Cult Of Chucky (2017)

Directed By Don Mancini

Cult of Chucky, the seventh installment in the famous horror franchise, follows paraplegic woman Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif), who becomes the target of the demonic toy’s latest killing spree. Directed by Don Mancini, who has been involved in every Chucky film since the original 1988 film, the movie features Brad Dourif reprising his role as the voice of the titular killer doll.

Director

Don Mancini

Release Date

October 3, 2017

Cast

Alex Vincent , Fiona Dourif , Brad Dourif , Jennifer Tilly

Runtime

91 minutes

Don Mancini returned to the directors chair for the third time in 2017’s Cult Of Chucky, and the end result was better received that 2004’s Seed of Chucky (though wasn’t as strong as its follow-up, 2013’s Curse of Chucky). Cult of Chucky finds the survivor of the previous film Nica (Fiona Dourif) in a psychiatric rehabilitation center. The unique aspect of Cult of Chucky is that, in the 7th Child’s Play movie, Chucky can split his consciousness into multiple bodies, creating a whole army of demonic dolls (as well as some human beings, too).

Cult of Chucky is arguably the most experimental installment of the series and features bizarre visuals and creative deaths likely inspired by Mancini’s work on the Hannibal series. The movie also features surprise cameos by previous cast members and ends on an intriguing note that sets up a further story. While Cult of Chucky is a solid and suspenseful entry, it feels a little underwhelming after the home run that was Curse Of Chucky.

Child’s Play 2 (1990)

Directed By John Lafia

Child’s Play 2 is the second installment in the Child’s Play horror franchise. Andy Barclay was placed into foster care after his mother was institutionalized for stating that a doll was responsible for the murders surrounding the two. Years later, Andy sits in foster care, seemingly far away from Chucky – until the killer doll shows up looking for revenge.

Director

John Lafia

Cast

Alex Vincent , Jenny Agutter , Gerrit Graham , Christine Elise , Brad Dourif , Grace Zabriskie

Runtime

84 Minutes

Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise arrived at an interesting time in the world of slasher films. Major series like Halloween and Friday The 13th were starting to wind down after disappointing sequels. This meant there were mixed expectations around Child’s Play 2, though the 1991 sequel to Child’s Play managed to defy genre trends at the time and (almost) lived up to the 1988 original. Child’s Play director Tom Holland didn’t return, with John Lafia instead at the helm. Lafia co-wrote the original Child’s Play alongside Mancini and Holland, which might be in part why the franchise stayed true to its roots for its second installment.

Child’s Play 2 picks up two years after the original, with Andy (Alex Vincent) taken in by a foster family. The toy company behind the Chucky doll decides to rebuild the destroyed doll which comes to life and seeks out Andy. Child’s Play 2 embraces a more comic tone and features a number of fun set pieces. One scene features Chucky a Terminator-style showdown in a toy factory. The sequel doesn’t go too far outside the standard but it’s a lean, energetic follow-up regardless.

Child’s Play (2019)

Directed By Lars Klevberg

Child’s Play is a 2019 remake of Tom Holland’s 1988 film of the same name. Instead of Chucky being a Good Guy doll, he is now a high-tech Buddi doll that becomes evil after a disgruntled factory worker disables his safety protocols and ends his own life. Child’s Play received mixed to negative reviews, and after Don Mancini released his Chucky TV show, any ideas for a sequel were shelved.

Director

Lars Klevberg

Release Date

June 21, 2019

Runtime

90 Minutes

Director Lars Klevberg’s Child’s Play remake has proven somewhat controversial. It didn’t have any of the creative time associated with the franchise behind it, with creator Don Mancini distancing himself from it while he focused on the Child’s Play TV show, Chucky. The 2019 Child’s Play remake also marke the first time Brad Dourif hadn’t voiced Chucky – though it had a great replacement in Mark Hamill. Despite this outside drama, the remake is a surprisingly fun reinvention of the Child’s Play franchise.

2019’s Child’s Play takes the basic concept of a lonely boy being given the Chucky doll only to discover he has advanced A.I. built in, which gives him control over gadgets. After forming a bond with the new Andy, the defective doll takes offense to anyone hurting Andy and starts murdering victims in gory yet darkly comedic ways. The cast is also a highlight, especially Gabriel Bateman (Light’s Out) as the new Andy. The humor in the remake can be too broad at times and Chucky’s backstory is rather thin, but the Child’s Play 2019 reboot was much better than expected (and stands as an example of a particularly strong horror movie remake).

Child’s Play (1988)

Directed By Tom Holland

Child’s Play is a horror-slasher film by director Tom Holland and marked the beginning of the Chucky character from writer Don Mancini, a modern horror icon. When serial killer Charles Lee Ray is slain after a detective catches him, he transfers his soul before he dies into a Good Guy doll, which ends up in the hands of six-year-old Andy Barclay. Naming himself Chucky, the doll begins a killing spree, which leads those around Alex to suspect him as the killer – and his mother is the only one who believes him.

Release Date

November 9, 1988

Cast

Catherine Hicks , Chris Sarandon , Brad Dourif , Alex Vincent , Dinah Manoff , Tommy Swerdlow , Jack Colvin , Raymond Oliver

Runtime

87 Minutes

It’s little surprise to fans of the Child’s Play franchise that the 1988 original still ranks as one of the best. It was, after all, Child’s Play that gave viewers their first taste of Chucky, and had it not been so successful, the franchise simply wouldn’t exist. After a decade of slashers with a repetitive but unique gimmick like A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, Child’s Play introduced the murderous doll Chucky to the world.

The original 1988 movie, which was directed by Tom Holland and co-written with John Lafia and Don Mancini, is quite tame for much of its runtime, playing out more like a suspenseful thriller than a bloody horror flick. The central relationship between Andy and his mother is sweet and director Tom Holland milks a good amount of tension from the stalking sequences. The 1988 movie might be a touch slow for modern tastes, but Child’s Play is still a great and efficient thriller.

Bride Of Chucky (1998)

Directed By Ronny Yu

Bride of Chucky is the fourth entry in the Child’s Play franchise and marks the first film to drop the franchise name from the title. Chucky returns in this darkly comedic slasher and finds himself revived after his former girlfriend stitches him back together with the hopes of continuing their relationship. When Chucky decides to transfer her soul into a doll, the two aim to take the bodies of two young lovers as they prepare to elope.

Director

Ronny Yu

Release Date

October 16, 1998

Cast

Brad Dourif , Jennifer Tilly , Katherine Heigl , Nick Stabile , John Ritter , Alexis Arquette , Gordon Michael Woolvett

Runtime

89 Minutes

Following the lukewarm response to Child’s Play 3, many thought that the Child’s Play franchise and movies about Chucky were effectively done. However, the series fortunes changed with the arrival of 1998’s Bride of Chucky. Releasing almost exactly a decade after Child’s Play, Bride of Chucky reinvented Chucky as a character and the Child’s Play franchise, and is arguably the most important movie in the series outside the original.

Horror movies, in general, entered a weird time in the 1990s. It wasn’t until Scream revitalized the genre that studios regained interest. This led to Bride of Chucky, where Charles Lee Ray’s former girlfriend, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), brings him back to life once more, and they go on a romantic killing spree. Bride has all the gore and creative kills fans could ask for, but the comedic interplay between Dourif and Tilly and Ronny Yu’s (Freddy Vs Jason) energetic direction is what makes it click. Bride of Chucky also introduced Chucky’s iconic scarred look, and remains as perhaps the most popular entry outside the 1988 original.

Curse Of Chucky (2013)

Directed By Don Mancini

The sixth film in the horror/slasher franchise from Don Mancini, Curse of Chucky, is a film that returns to its series roots by focusing on the horror-mystery elements popularized in the first films. The film centers on Nica Pierce, a young woman who uses a wheelchair and must contend with the aftermath of her mother’s supposed suicide. However, the seemingly innocent Good Guy doll Nica receives in the mail is anything but, and Nica’s sister and her family are in for a night of terror.

Director

Don Mancini

Release Date

October 4, 2013

Cast

Chantal Quesnel , Fiona Dourif , Jordan Gavaris , Danielle Bisutti , A Martinez , Maitland McConnell

Runtime

96 Minutes

Following the box-office disappointment of Seed Of Chucky, Mancini considered remaking the original and revisiting his Blood Buddy idea. When untangling the rights proved too difficult, he instead opted for Curse Of Chucky, a tonal reboot that was also the first to go straight to DVD. While this has spelled the death of other horror franchises like Hellraiser, it surprisingly resulted in the best entry in the Child’s Play series to date. Everything about 2013’s Curse Of Chucky works superbly.

The best features include Fiona Dourif’s strong new heroine Nica, the overall gothic tone, the intriguing family drama, the impressive set pieces, and the surprising links to past entries. Curse of Chucky is a love letter to the franchise and to its dedicated fans, proving that Chucky actually could be a hit again. These qualities solidify Curse of Chucky as the greatest movie in the Child’s Play series.