- The 2019 reboot of "Child's Play" recently hit theaters and it isn't the first film in the "Chucky" franchise.
- Based on audience reviews, the two least-loved movies in the "Chucky" franchise are "Child's Play 3" and "Seed of Chucky."
- According to audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the 1988 and 2019 "Child's Play" films are equally as great.
- View INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
Chucky the killer doll has been terrifying viewers in films since 1988. Recently, the production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) released "Child's Play," its own, new movie following the killer toy.
It was just released this month but it has already been receiving some mixed reviews. And although this new film shares a name with the original movie, it notably had no involvement from Don Mancini, the man who created the Chucky character.
In honor of the new release, here are all of the films in the "Chucky" franchise ranked from worst to best, according to audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. It's worth noting that the audience scores were up to date as of publication but are subject to change.
"Child’s Play 3" is considered the worst of the bunch by fans, with a 33% rotten audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Year: 1991
Director: Jack Bender
Starring: Brad Dourif, Justin Whalin, Perrey Reeves, Jeremy Sylvers
Some viewers wrote that this movie doesn't deserve its bad reputation— but the general consensus from audiences seems to be that this film isn't very good. A few viewers wrote that some of the movie's jokes were funny and some of the kills were well-executed, but it's still the worst of what is considered to be the original "Chucky" trilogy.
In a one-star review on Rotten Tomatoes, one audience member wrote, "I think the only horror about this movie is the amount of time I wasted watching it."
Critics found it even more unpalatable, rating it 29% rotten.
With a 39% rotten audience score, "Seed of Chucky" is the next film in the ranking.
Year: 2004
Director: Don Mancini
Starring: Brad Dourif, Billy Boyd, Jennifer Tilly, Hannah Spearritt, John Waters
Although the first three movies in the "Child's Play" series seemed to be straight horror, this is the second film that went in the comedic-horror direction.
Of course, jokes only work if people laugh at them — and it seems a lot of audience members didn't find this film satisfying on either a comedic or horrific level. In one review, an audience member summarized the film as "actively trying to disappoint 'Chucky' fans."
Critics disliked it even more than audiences, bestowing a 33% rotten rating on "Seed of Chucky."
"Bride of Chucky" scored fairly low, too, landing a 46% rotten audience score.
Year: 1998
Director: Ronny Yu
Starring: Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alexis Arquette, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl
Some viewers appreciated this film as the franchise's first turn toward the horror-comedy genre. After all, there were about seven years in between the release of "Child's Play 3" and this film — and if you watch the two back-to-back, this tonal shift is somewhat noticeable. Still, not all audience members thought this was a change for the better.
In a one-and-a-half-star review, one audience member wrote, "Like a comedy, it turns out well. But it's an insult to the franchise."
This is the only time in the franchise in which critics perfectly agreed with fans — they also found the film to be 46% rotten.
"Child's Play 2" tied for fourth place with an audience score of 47% rotten.
Year: 1990
Director: John Lafia
Starring: Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Christine Elise
Some viewers praised this first sequel in the series, including one audience member who wrote, "Even better than the first, A dark commentary on children's marketing. It's a perfect example of classic horror done correctly. Scary, intense, and impressive."
Other reviewers were less impressed. One simply wrote that this film was "an ugly and cynical sequel."
Once again, critics liked this film even less than audiences did, rating it at 44% rotten.
Tied for fourth place in audience rankings is "Cult of Chucky," which also got a score of 47% rotten.
Year: 2017
Director: Don Mancini
Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Fiona Dourif, Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent, Allison Dawn Doiron
To date, this is the most recent entry in the franchise that series creator Don Mancini both wrote and directed. This movie is also known for rewarding longtime fans because of how often it references the universe that the "Chucky" films have spent years establishing and building up.
Unsurprisingly, some audiences loved this film, others hated it — and some were just a tad confused by it. In a three-star review, one audience member wrote, "More effort was put into this than I would have expected, considering the last few installments. The franchise seems to be fighting with itself, trying to find the right balance of comedy and horror."
Critics loved this movie a lot more than fans did, rating it 77% fresh.
Read More: 16 must-watch horror movies, according to critics
"Curse of Chucky" is the third-favorite film of the franchise, rated 56% rotten by audiences.
Year: 2013
Director: Don Mancini
Starring: Brad Dourif, Chantal Quesnelle, Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Summer H. Howell
After hitting a fairly low point with his directorial debut "Seed of Chucky," Mancini directed this film and, according to audiences, added a "dark" twist to it. This is also the first film where the voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif, had his daughter, Fiona, join the "Child's Play" family onscreen.
As one audience member wrote in their three-star review, "Fun and clever reboot is just what the 'Chucky' films needed. This film is not your usual crappy horror reboot that is simply described as pointless. The film is rather dark for a series that is usually somewhat humorous and adds fresh new characters to the mix. What we get is a satisfyingly gory and original film that is creative but sticks to the original plot points and story from the earlier 'Chucky' films. Overall, a decent reboot that is worth watching if you are a fan of the franchise."
Critics again were more positive than audiences, giving this film a 76% fresh rating.
At 63% fresh, the original "Child's Play" ranked high up on this list and it's tied with the reboot.
Year: 1988
Director: Tom Holland
Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif
Mancini's original creation went over pretty well with both fans and critics.
A five-star review from one viewer reads, "I would compare Brad Dourif's character performance of Chucky, with Robert Englund's performance of Freddy Kruger. 'Child's Play' is a unique film in that it is funny at times, considering you're dealing with a killer foul mouth doll, but still always genuinely holds on to its suspenseful horror tone throughout the movie. It's a unique horror film that has developed into a cult franchise for good reason. Largely because of the charismatic evil character work of Dourif. Definitely a must watch!"
Critics were also mostly positive about the film, scoring it at 67% fresh.
So far, audiences are mostly positive about the "Child's Play" 2019 reboot, scoring it at 63% fresh.
Year: 2019
Director: Lars Klevberg
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry, Gabriel Bateman, Mark Hamill
This 2019 reboot was made by MGM and it was the first "Chucky" film in which Mancini was not involved, though his characters are used in it. Mancini was asked to be an executive producer on the film but said he wouldn't actually have any input so he declined, reported Slash Films.
This is also the first "Chucky" film in which Brad Dourif did not voice the killer doll.
And though Mancini was publicly not pleased with the reboot, many viewers have been cautiously enthusiastic about it. In a four-star review, one audience member wrote, "I gotta give them credit, it was a good movie and as much as it wasn't like the original 'Child's Play,' it did very well for my expectations. I would definitely give it a try."
Critics also largely enjoyed the film, scoring it at 61% fresh.