Child's Play: Blog of Chucky

CHILD’S PLAY (FILM)

Release Date: November 9, 1988 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Child’s Play

The Story: Using voodoo, serial killer Charles Lee Ray transfers his body into a “Good Guy” doll before his execution. The toy is bought for a young child, and “Chucky” continues his murder spree as a living doll.

Notes: This is the first of the series, followed by Child’s Play 2. A later sequel, Bride of Chucky, will have minor cameos of the claws of Freddy Krueger, the masks of Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees, and the chainsaw of Leatherface. Those crosses with A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre bring Child’s Play into the Horror Universe. This film was remade in 1993 as Zapatlela. This film has been referenced as fiction, paid homage to, and spoofed numerous times in other films and on television.

CHILD’S PLAY 2 (FILM)

Release Date: November 9, 1990 (Contemporary Setting; Two years after Child’s Play)

Series: Child’s Play

The Story: Following the events of two years earlier, Andy, the little boy from the first film, is in foster care after his mother went insane. Meanwhile, the toy company decides the best way to recover from bad publicity is to rebuild the same killer toy, which is still possessed by Chucky. Chucky revives in the doll, and goes after Andy to seek revenge.

Notes: This is a sequel to Child’s Play and is followed by Child’s Play 3. This film is referenced as fictional or paid homage to numerous times in other films and on television. It was also spoofed in the Goosebumps episode “Night of the Living Dummy II” in which Slappy the Dummy is a parody of Chucky.

BRIDE OF CHUCKY (FILM)

Release Date: October 16, 1998 (Contemporary Setting; one month after Child’s Play 3)

Series: Child’s Play

Horror Crosses: Friday the 13th; Halloween; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Story: Tiffany, the girlfriend of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, steals the doll and performs the ritual to place his soul back inside it. The plan is to find a human for Chucky to inhabit, but when the couple have a fight, Tiffany resolves not to help him. As revenge, he performs a ritual to trap her in a doll, knowing this will force her cooperation. And it does, as the two seek out a young couple to possess

Notes: Chucky is brought in by the Katrina Protocol. This film occurs between Child’s Play 3 and Seed of Chucky. At the evidence locker where the Chucky doll is kept, are also the masks of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, the glove of Freddy Krueger, and the chainsaw of Leatherface. This brings Halloween into the Horror Universe. The others have already been brought in. Even though it was meant as a quick prop gag, this quick film moment connected five of the most famous modern horror icons. This film has been referenced as fictional and paid homage to numerous times in other films and on television. It was also spoofed on the Roseanne Show.

THE KATRINA PROTOCOL (NOVEL BY JEAN-MARC AND RANDY LOFFICIER)

Release Date: 2007 (Setting is August 2005)

Series: Club Van Helsing

Horror Crosses: Dracula (Bram Stoker); White Zombie; Brother Voodoo; Child’s Play; Tales of the Zombie; Revolt of the Zombies; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; I Walked with a Zombie; Zombies on Broadway; Kolchak the Night Stalker; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; The Works of Stephen King; Charmed; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Lives of the Mayfair Witches; The Body Snatchers (novel); Carnacki Ghost Finder; The Exorcist (novel); the Thing

Non-Horror Crosses: Too Numerous to List.

The Story: During Hurricane Katrina, Hugo Van Helsing must fight zombies raised by a voodoo priest.

Notes: Hugo Van Helsing comes from the famous vampire hunting family, and his ancestors have met many famous figures of fiction, accounting for the large number of crossovers.

HACK/SLASH VS. CHUCKY (DEVIL’S DUE PUBLISHING)

Release Date: March 2007 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Hack/Slash; Child’s Play

Horror Crosses: A Nightmare on Elm Street; Friday the 13th; Halloween; Zatara

The Story: Cassie Hack teams up with Chucky for a mutual cause.

Notes: In the story, Chucky compares himself (as being better) to Freddy (Krueger), Jason (Voorhees), and Michael (Myers). Cassie once again meets Laura Loch, who says her spells backwards just like John Zatara and his daughter Zatanna from DC Comics.

HACK/SLASH ANNUAL 2011: HATCHET/SLASH # 1 (IMAGE)

Release Date: December 7, 2011 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Hack/Slash

Horror Crosses: Hatchet; Child’s Play

The Story: Cassie heads to New Orleans to stop Victor Crowley.

Notes: Crowley is the slasher from the Hatchet films. Cassie also refers to her previous encounter with Chucky from the Child’s Play films.

CABIN IN THE WOODS (FILM)

Release Date: April 13, 2012 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Cabin in the Woods

Horror Crosses: Alien; Half-Life; Evil Dead; Poltergeist; Frankenstein (Universal); Child’s Play; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Corpse Bride; Killer Klowns from Outer Space; Stephen King Universe; Killjoy; Devil’s Rejects; Clownhouse; Drive Thru; Funhouse; Amusement; Circus of Fear; Clown Camp; Demonic Toys; Demons; Night of the Demons; Supernatural; Charmed; Gremlins; Ghoulies; Creeps; Troll; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Frankenstein (novel); Dr. Giggles; The Human Centipede; House on Haunted Hill; The Dead Pit; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; The Strangers; Underworld; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; Troll Hunter; Anaconda; Python; Mega Snake; Snakes on a Plane; Resident Evil; Hellraiser; Cannibal Holocaust; Creepshow; Legend of Sleepy Hollow; Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns; Pumpkinhead; Frankenfish; The Mummy! Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century; The Mummy (Universal); The Hills Have Eyes; Wrong Turn; Chernobyl Diaries; 28 Days Later; Signal; the Works of Quentin Tarantino; Left 4 Dead; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Re-Animator (film); Siren; The Exorcist; The Exorcism of Emily Rose; Reptillicus; Jurassic Park; Abomidible Bigfoot; The Legend of Boggy Creek; Ape Canyon; Curse of Bigfoot; Night of the Bloody Apes; Wendigo; Night Beasts; Night of the Scarecrow; Scarecrows; Husk; Scarecrow Gone Wild; The Scarecrows Walk at Midnight; The Town that Dreaded Sundown; The Craft; Witches of Eastwick; Hocus Pocus; Jack Frost; Hellboy (film); Rumplestilskin; Lephrechaun; Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters; Gingerbread Man; The Vampyre; Dracula (novel); Nosferatu; The Wolf Man; An American Werewolf in London; The Howling; Wolf; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Friday the 13th; Night of the Living Dead; Return of the Living Dead; F.E.A.R.; The Blob; Feast; Horrors of the Wendigo; Frostbiter; Ghost; Bram Stoker’s Dracula (film); The Cyclops; Cyclops Giant; Nightbreed; Leeches!; Attack of the Giant Leeches; Rows of Teeth; The Birds; Killing Birds; Birdemic: Shock and Terror; Silent Hill; Attack of the Killer Lane Gnomes; Alligator; Lake Placid; Them!; Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!; Ants; Empire of the Ants; King Kong; Centipede Horror; The Giant Claw; The Ring; Attack of the Giant Gila Monster; The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; Tarantula; Eight Legged Freaks; Jaws; Frogs; Lord of Darkness; House of the Dead; The Grudge; Chopping Mall; BlinkyTM; The Kraken; Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep; Octopus; The Beast; Deep Rising; It Came From Beneath the Sea; Tentacles; Eye of the Beast; Mega Shark; Giant Octopus; Castle Freak; Tokyo Gore Police; Septic; Mutants; Ogre; Blood Pool; Legend of the Ogre; Killing Floor; Little Shop of Horrors; The Breed; Hatchet; Phantasm; See No Evil; Thinner; Monster House; Attila; Dead Snow; Frankenstein’s Army; Manhunt; The Monster in the Closet; Killer Eyes; Demomata; CSP-682; Parasite Eve 2; Dead Space; Night of the Lepus; Creature from the Haunted Sea; Tremors; Hostel; The Collection; The Butcher; Dead Rising; My Bloody Valentine; The Exterminator; Willard; War of the Worlds; Signs; Lollipop Chainsaw; Ghost Ship; Curse of the Pirates; Jolly Roger; Lead Soldiers; Vampire Vikings; The Witch; Blair Witch Project; The Village; The Thing; Vampire Breath; Goosebumps; Angel; King Cobra

Non-Horror Crosses: Harry Potter; Wizard of Oz; Great Expectations; Batman; Labyrinth; Land of the Giants; The Wrath of Paul Bunyan; Dreamscape; Last of the Mohicans; Blood Meridian; Scalps; Savage Sam; Sin City; Kevin Spencer; We Need to Talk About Kevin; Jacob’s Ladder; Doctor Who; Black Swan; Pan’s Labyrinth; Nutcracker; Blade Hunter; The Chronicles of Narnia; Time Bandits; The Princess and the Frog; Pirates of the Caribbean; Futurama; The Incredible Shrinking Man; Pee-Wee’s Playhouse; Red Planet; Terminator; Zathura; Hardware; Robot Wars; Bacterial Contamination; Firefly; Clash of the Titans; Team Fortress; Man from Planet X; Starship Troopers; Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal; Twisted Metal

The Story: A group of teens head out for a weekend in a cabin in the woods, not knowing that they have been chosen as sacrifices to an ancient deity in order to save the world from his wrath.

Notes: This film exposes the secret truth behind modern horror. Behind it all is a secret organization, chosen to sacrifice youth to ancient gods. All of the above named crossovers have been linked in this film, and revealed to be part of this secret conspiracy. Most of the crossovers above come from the monsters and artifacts contained in the facility. While some of the monsters and artifacts are clearly from certain films above, many are based on certain types of horror films, in which case I included the more well-known of these film types. I recommend the well-researched Cabin in the Woods Wiki for a more detailed listing of the monsters and their inspirations. Note that I included in the above crossovers some monsters that only appeared in the official novelization and the official Universal Theme Park attraction tie-in. With this film, I break one of my major rules of crossover connecting. Though some of the crosses are direct crosses, like Evil Dead and Left 4 Dead, most of them are only connected because the films represent the more well-known films of the trope from which a certain monster comes. Normally, I would not count something that is “like something from”, but there is dialogue within the film that makes me break my rule. In one scene, referring to the monsters, security officer Daniel Truman says “They’re like something from a nightmare.” Lin, a head scientist, responds, “No, they’re something nightmares are from.” She goes on to explain that these monsters are the creations of the Ancient Ones, having been around since the beginning, and different cultures have told stories that interpret them in different ways. Thus, in the instance of this film, “like” is enough because of the author’s intent. And thus my love/hate relationship with Joss Whedon, for expanding the Horror Universe dramatically but making me do a lot of work to write this entry. Note that this film ends with the start of an apocalypse, so the end must veer into a divergent timeline. We must presume in the main Horror Universe, the virgin shot the fool. And if you haven’t seen the movie, that last sentence probably seems very bizarre. This film has been referenced as fictional in South Park, The Cinema Snob, Scary Movie 5, and Doc of the Dead. It is also paid homage to in Red Dawn when Chris Hemsworth and his friends once more wind up in a cabin in the woods. The film has also been spoofed in Robot Chicken and Scary Movie 5.