Don Mancini really knows how to do a season opener now, doesn’t he? Right back into the action we go.
Resuming on the night of the Hackensack Theatre Massacre with Andy in the hijacked truck full of Chucky dolls, our first glimpse of the titular doll-bound spree killer is with more Cult of Chucky shenanigans with a Three Stooges-esque trio of dolls, including a new flavor, Bald! Brad Dourif’s iconic voice really is at its best when balancing conversation between the multitude of Chucky’s running around, and I can’t wait for more of it in the season.
Spoilers Ahead!
Outnumbered and out-knived by a horde of Chucky’s after killing Doll Tiffany, Andy drives the delivery truck off into the Hackensack Gorge and meets his “demise”. Death of the second Tiffany doll so soon was a shocker, but is this the actual death of Andy Barclay? Probably not since we didn’t see a body, but if it is, I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to pass than a 72-doll kill streak for the last of the OGs. You know, assuming Kyle isn’t skulking around in black gloves still.
We then get the return of Jake (Zachary Arthur), Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), & Lexy (Alvyia Alyn-Lind) after a 6-month time skip, and they are just as great as they were last season. They’re so developed and natural with their performances, you can’t help but feel bad for them all going their separate ways.
Devon and Jake’s initial goodbye is perfectly done, and kind of bittersweet even if we know they’re going to be reunited in about less than 5 minutes on screen; I love that the big dramatic goodbye kiss is undercut in its weight by the flash forward and serves as the beginning of an even more stressed relationship that’s damaged by their distance and Jake’s homophobic family.
And as predicted in our theory article, Lexy has indeed fallen on hard times in her grief and gotten into some heavy drug use that leaves her open to an almost successful Chucky attack following a night of menacing phone calls to the Hackensack Gang (replete with references to the killers from The Strangers franchise; “Is Tamara home?”).
It then leads into Chucky’s second assault, and if there’s one thing this season is already succeeding in showing us is how menacing and meanspirited Chucky can be when he puts his mind to it. Chucky is menacing again in his quest for vengeance, without sacrificing the pitch-black comedy of the show; he’s holding four people hostage with a bomb while waiting for Lexy to finish doing key bumps in the bathroom, which is tragic, horrifying, and hilarious all at once. Unironically, masterful screenwriting.
It’s even more wild juxtaposed with the fact he does straight up kill Jake’s young foster brother Gary with the bomb, which made my jaw drop! The cover-up story made for the children in the aftermath of the explosion ends up getting them all sent to the School of the Incarnate Lord by Lexy’s therapist, Dr. Mixter.
While I think Chucky’s explosive reintroduction into the kids’ lives is perfect for the opener, it’s a bit contrived given they commute the sentencing for blowing up a child with a homemade dirty bomb. Just me? Maybe I’m just overthinking the show where a killer doll Ubers everywhere, who knows.
Our episode ends with the arrival of three new students (and a suspicious doll-sized package) to Incarnate Lord, and the big reveal that it’s the same boarding home for a wayward young Charles Lee Ray and Eddie Caputo lived at, which is a neat callback to the first season!
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: While the kids were fantastic, I must give props to Barbara Alyn-Lind’s performance as Mayor Cross. Her canned responses and political posturing meant to reassure voters during the interview was golden alongside her strung-out daughters. And do I really have to say that I missed Brad Dourif’s voice, or do we all know that the main man just kills it every time like his onscreen counterpart?
VISUAL HIGHLIGHTS: We get an impressive set piece right within the first minutes of the show with dozens of dolls awakening at once inside of the truck and careening through the air as they fly off into the Hackensack Gorge. The Chuck-o’-Lantern was also a wonderful touch, so kudos to the prop master who made it!
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
“She looks like the Bride of Chucky. From that old movie.”
“Yeah…like Jennifer Tilly…who is the real Bride of Chucky.”
“…Oh shit.”
OVERALL RATING: 10 (Returns to the Cursed State of New Jersey)/10. I’m allowed to make that joke, I’m from here. In terms of technical issues, the only thing that didn’t work for me was the editing being a bit camp for the juicy black horror comedy the rest of the episode is filled with. Outside of that, “Halloween II” is a solid continuation that doesn’t miss a beat, and is every bit as good as the Pilot episode, succeeding in hooking me for the rest of the season off the bat. Bring it on, Don!