While Chucky thus far has been a welcome and fun expansion of the ginger little prick’s mythos, there’s been a noticable feeling that there’s something big on the horizon. Long time Chuckyphiles will know that since 1988, the franchise has built up a long a varied supporting cast which includes Chucky’s maniacal squeeze, Tiffany; original victim-turned-Chucky hunter Andy Barclay; his foster sister Kyle and Micah, a wheelchair bound woman whom is currently under the thrall of a spot of Chucky possession. It was a given that some or all characters would turn up sooner or later to pick up any of the many dangling threads of 2017’s Cult Of Chucky and Episode 5 finally begins the inclusion of the bigger plotline to the current story of Jake, Lexy and the other players of Charles Lee Ray’s most recent bout of murderous mischief – we just didn’t expect it would be like this.
Having shaken Chucky’s influence and forged a snarky alliance with his frenemy, Lexy; Jake realises he need to take some long overdue responsibility for his actions and, along with true crime enthusiast and potential love intest Devon, the three realise that Chucky needs to be taken out once and for all.
However, despite being all melty and shit from a fire he caused earlier, Chucky isn’t about to be outwitted that easily. Having already slaughtered a police detective with a cluster of syringes, his partner (and coincidently Devon’s mother) is growing increasingly suspicious of Jake’s involvement and taking advantage of the confusion, Chucky once again changes the rules of the game. Shifting his soul into a brand new Good Guy Doll bought for Lexy’s sister Caroline named Tommy (an alias he used in Child’s Play 2), the shrewd little psycho manages to keep one step ahead and buy himself some breathing space to plot anew. However, elsewhere we finally catch up with Tiffany and Mica who is still possessed by the spirit Charles Lee Ray and has been continuing their Natural Born Killers style romance ever since. However, Chucky seems to be losing his grip on Mica’s mind and in her rare moments of lucidity tries to make sense of her nightmarish situation.
Anyone who’s seen The Dollhouse, Kyra Gardner’s 2017 short film about growing up throughout the last couple of Chucky productions (she’s effects guru Tony Gardner’s daughter), you’ll know that the cast and crew of Seed, Curse and Cult Of Chucky see themselves as a big family born out of the bonds forged by making low budget horror movies (if you watch the credits of Chucky, you’ll even see that the small army of puppeteers are included as cast members). However, Little Little Lies takes this to an ever further degree with the fascinating and novel way the returning Fiona Dourif (Brad’s daughter) is utilised in this episode. Not only do we get some much needed answers as to what happened to Mica after her possession, but with the aid of prosthetics and some nifty voice over work by her dear old dad, she actually portrays the young Charles Lee Ray in some extended flashbacks that show his first meeting with Tiffany. It’s a monumental moment and, considering that Fiona has already proved that she has her father’s mannerisms down pat, it’s a delightful fusion of a father and a daughter to (re)create a single character.
As a result, the rest of the episode can’t help but play second fiddle to the flashbacks and character returns (what could stand up against Jennifer Tilly screeching about her overeating at full force), which is a shame because Jake, Lexy and Devon’s union is about to go full Stranger Things as they run about, trying to pin Chucky down and even find time for a little overdue romance.
Also falling a little by the wayside thanks to the two pronged attack of Child’s Play’s dense continuity is the continuing angst of the various adults of the show with the individual plot of the parents and teachers which (including the revelation that Junior’s mother, Brie, has stage 4 cancer) while necessary, simply can’t match with the sight of Chucky getting stoned off his plastic tits on medical waste (surely the season’s biggest laugh so far).
However, what is starting to build nicely is the growing isolation of Jake’s cousin Junior who is deliberately kept separate from things thanks to girlfriend Lexy with the damning claim that he “has no imagination”.
However, as I stated before, it’s the old (or is that new) cast members who steal the show this episode and the predicament of Mica (a male brain living in a female body) further highlights the continuing themes of gender identity creator Don Mancini has been injecting into the franchise for decades.
A slightly lopsided episode that feels like a deep breath before the final three episodes hopefully go for broke, Little Little Lies still manages to keep up Chucky’s continuing high standard despite the past managing to overshadow the present.
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