“It’s kinda interesting to have done the voice of something that is actually a bigger star than you are.”
Living with Chucky takes an in depth look at the groundbreaking Child’s Play franchise from the perspective of a filmmaker who grew up within it. Featuring interviews with cast and crew such as Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, creator Don Mancini, and much more, this personal film recounts the dedication, creativity and sacrifice that went into making the franchise and its long-lasting impact on the horror community.
With her documentary, Kyra Elise Gardner offers, for her first professional film, a surprisingly personal and frankly interesting work. If you grew up with this little monster in your movie culture, you won’t want to miss this movie.
An intimate movie
Who would have thought that a documentary about a horror film franchise could be so intimate? Note that originally, this documentary was only supposed to be a short graduation documentary. Indeed, the director proposed her project to her teacher as a simple project that she was obliged to do, she who disdained the documentary format.
“I originally intended making a short on what it was like growing up with a special effects makeup artist as a dad. I used to think I had a very normal childhood, but as I grew older, I realized not every other kid came home from preschool to monsters, aliens, or fake dead bodies that their father took home from work. Most notably Chucky, the killer doll from Child’s Play, was something I would constantly come home to at the ripe age of four and would give me nightmares for years to come. When I pitched the short in class, a teacher pointed out how often I referred to Chucky as my own brother and encouraged me to focus on that subset of my life since it is something that has been ingrained in my family for the past twenty years.”
Kyra Elise Gardner with her “little brother”
Forgive me for this very long quote. But I think it explains well why this documentary has become such a personal film. That said, the director remains very discreet in the documentary. In fact, for more than an hour, we do not see her intervene. We don’t even realize her presence or who she is.
The documentary is edited at a rapid pace, where discussions, locations and excerpts follow one another as dazzlingly as in a fiction film. A really nice rhythm that makes Living with Chucky stand out.
The last part of the film, on the other hand, emphasizes the link that the young director maintains with this second family. The camera suddenly gives her a place alongside the other speakers. Everyone explains how the director has been an important part of their family since, like Fiona Dourif, she grew up before their eyes, sometimes being one of the people who came to the set. One of the amusing anecdotes of the documentary is the one where the director remembers that one of the first images she saw on set was that of her father being beheaded by Chucky. A little trauma it seems.
This film is, therefore, not only a portrait of these people, but also a portrait of one of the most original horror franchises to have emerged in the last 30 years.
A lot of work
When we watch movies, we rarely realize all the work that goes into those few minutes of pleasure we have, comfortably seated in our cinema armchair or in our living room. As critics, we also tend to forget that. I would therefore like to quote one of the contributors, who said something like this: “Even the worst of films remains an enormous amount of work for those who make them.”
This is especially true for a film like Child’s Play, when even today these films use a real doll rather than CGI effects like the majority of horror films. And honestly, it’s so much better. The actors and actresses are all in agreement with that. They all say that it’s so much easier and more enjoyable to interact with Chucky than with a tennis or ping pong ball that stands for the character that will eventually be digitally added.
Brad and Fiona Dourif
As for the killer puppet, did you know that it takes between 8 and 10 people to make it move? When we talk about an immeasurable task, that is one. One person moves its eyes, another its eyebrows, another its head… You can imagine how complex it is to get the puppet to make exactly the right move at the right time when it walks around and sees its victim.
In this specific case, there are also the typical issues of many people who work in the world of cinema: exile. Behind the encounters and interviews offered by the director, there is a great sadness that shines through. For the filming of the Child’s Play franchise, both the actors and the members of the technical team spent long weeks, even months, away from their respective families. While a lot of films are shot in two or 3 weeks, these have often taken longer than 4 weeks, often in other time zones.
A little more…
Born in the 80s, Child’s Play was a breath of fresh air in horror cinema. The horror movie went on to spawn six sequels, a multi-season TV series, a reboot, comic books, a video game, and tons of merchandise.
Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise with those who were there from the start. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play movies from the perspective of the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s own relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family.
Jennifer Tilly, well watched
Living With Chucky is a love letter not only to the franchise, but to the people who work so tirelessly to continue bringing Chucky into the homes of horror fans everywhere.
I’ll finish with another quote from the director that talks about Chucky fans:
“They had so much passion and love for a character they considered to be their icon, yet to me is just my little brother who always gets to ride shotgun (I’m not joking, you have to buckle up Chucky anytime you travel). I knew other eighties slashers like Freddy and Jason had their own documentaries, but there wasn’t something out there that was solely dedicated to the Child’s Play franchise in its entirety. It was my chance to show fans, either new or day one die-hards, a glimpse into my reality.”
