Face-Off: Child's Play 2 Vs. Child's Play 3

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

We were all in agreement on the outcome of our last Face-Off. Even though Mr. James Wan only turns out quality horror, just like his current THE CONJURING, Insidious was still better overall than Dead Silence. Regardless, I think we are all stoked that Mr. Wan has brought original horror back to the top of the box office!

This week’s Face-Off tips its bloody hat to a certain little bastard blast from the past who’s been making some noise with his latest feature soon coming our way. I’m talking, of course, about everybody’s favorite “Good Guy” who is looking to get back to his frightening roots with CURSE OF CHUCKY! Yes, Mr. Charles Lee Ray who has continued to survive despite leaving his original human body decades ago. Back in the early nineties, he gave us two back to back sequels, neither of which topped the original, but still offered some fun. So, let’s have some fun of our own by pitting Child’s Play 2 against Child’s Play 3!

Chucky violence

Chucky starts ragin the second after his doll body is rebuilt, sending a shockwave of jolts through a machine and into the guy operating it. From there, no person is safe. He suffocates the guy who went on to work on Ally McBeal, whacks the shit out of Andy’s teacher with a ruler, and gruesomely offs the kid’s freakin foster parents! And let’s not forget the shitstorm he releases at the end in the toy factory after his attempt to take over Andy’s body fails.

Chucky’s been dormant for quite a while, meaning he’s built up a helluva lot of aggression. He absolutely goes to town on the first guy he comes into contact with, by utilizing a golf club to the head, some darts to the body, and then a good old fashioned strangulation. From there we get a trash compactor crushing, a throat slashing, and… that’s kind of it.

Andy

Little Alex Vincent, who also played “Andy” in the first Child’s Play and did a remarkable job, returns here for the sequel and immediately makes an impact with how he’s able to convey the traumatized state his character is in. It is very tough to trust a horror movie in the tiny hands of a youngster, but Vincent rises to the occasion and comes off looking better than most of the adults in the flick. However, that’s not saying too much because all the acting is pretty shitty.

Now, we’ve got a teenage incarceration of “Andy” embodied by Justin Whalin, who does a pretty serviceable job taking over the reins of a boy who claimed his doll was a killer. It’s a tough road to walk, but Whalin gives off a pretty solid vibe of vulnerability and quiet resilience. His stalwart protectiveness towards young Tyler also lends a nicely heroic touch. Hell, he even gets to kiss a girl. Not bad for a kid that still wrestles with his dolly.

Scariness

The first Child’s Play was a very well-paced thriller. I feel this benefited part 2 because of it being so close to the original. Even though it isn’t as dark as part 1, it still possesses some nice, scary scenarios. The large house of Andy’s foster parents and it’s dank basement offer up some perfect places for ol’ Chucky to hide and pop out from. The same can also be said for the spacious toy factory from the flick’s finale.

Part 3 represents a clear indication of the series’ crossing over fully into the comedic side (kinda like the Freddy series). I mean, it’s Chucky let loose at a f*cking military academy for teens. All the suspense of the first two are basically dropped for Chucky one-liners and military brats shouting at each other. The fact that it has to resort to having its finale play out in some cheap carnival haunted house only solidifies how desperate they were to include something scary.

Humor

Chucky definitely got jokier with this first sequel from how he begins delivering some one-liners after disposing of his victims. “How’s it hangin, Phil?” is a classic quip after Chucky causes the foster dad to end up swinging upside down. He also adds some helpful hilarity upon killing off the school teacher and foster home worker. And who wouldn’t love his “I hate kids” remark after fashioning his handless stump with a shiny blade?

Now, part 3 truly embraces the humor that could come with a movie about a doll killing people. Upon informing the now grown-up Andy that he plans on possessing young Tyler, who happens to be African
American, Chucky says “Chucky’s gonna be a bro.” It’s a quick quip that I actually missed upon previous viewings, but damned if it isn’t a perfect representation of Charles Lee Ray’s humor and evil racist side. Then there’s the disdain Chucky’s shows after a colonel dies of a heart attack after seeing him, thus keeping the doll from making a violent kill. And “Don’t f*ck with the Chuck” is a line for the ages.

Chucky demise

Oh man, does Chucky get put through the f*cking ringer at the end of this flick. First, he’s forced to painfully rip off his hand. Then he gets sewn down to a conveyor belt and rolled into a machine that hot glues doll parts to him, causing him to lose his legs. Then, Andy, his ‘friend to the end’, unloads a blast of scalding, liquid plastic onto him. And finally, after the Chuck lives through all this, an air tube is shoved into his mouth, causing his head to explode. Ouch.

Again, here we are at the lame carnival haunted house where a mechanical grim reaper actually chops off half of Chucky’s face with its scythe. This already is stupid because what carnival ride is actually going to use a real f*cking scythe in its ride? After that, Andy merely shoots the Chuck and drops him into a friggin’ fan that chops him to pieces. It’s lazy and very lame!

Child’s Play 2

Let’s face it, Child’s Play 2 really is the better sequel here. Even Chucky creator, Don Mancini, considers Part 3 his least favorite. But Mr. Mancini’s opinion doesn’t matter here. What matters is what you, my fellow AITHers feel! Does Part 2 deserve to be the superior sequel? Or is Part 3 a misunderstood classic? Please, spit them bullets below! And feel free to send any future Face-Off ideas to me at [email protected].