The Duke: How influential were the likes of "Scream" in your decision to adopt a much more ironic, self-referential tone for "Bride Of Chucky"?

Don Mancini: Very influential. In fact, it really was the success of "Scream" in 1997 which prompted Universal to make another "Chucky" film. That said, I had already flirted with said ironic tone in several early screenplays. For example, the first draft of "Child's Play 2," in 1990, included the scene in the evidence depository, where we glimpse Freddy's glove, Jason's hockey mask, Leatherface's chainsaw, and Michael Myers's mask. The scene was never filmed, but I recycled it for "Bride," just in time to take advantage of the post-"Scream" era's vogue for self-referential horror flicks.

TD: Was there any hesitance from either production-types or, god forbid, the "fans", with regards this radical turnaround, from the straight-ahead slasher fare of the first three pictures to the black comedy of the fourth?

DM: Yes, there was. Some genre fans seem adamantly opposed to mixing comedy with horror, and the studio is wary of alienating that faction — justifiably so, since they represent a significant portion of the audience. But after the first three "Child's Play" films, I felt that we'd tapped out the concept's potential for truly disturbing scares, and besides, I didn't want to go on repeating myself; I wanted to do something different. So we decided to embrace the inherent absurdity of the concept, while taking advantage of the opportunity to explore Chucky as a more fully-rounded character. Some people prefer the earlier, more straightforwardly scary films; others prefer the black comedy of "Bride" and "Seed." I like both, and the nice thing is, by creating and exploring these characters, I've had the opportunity to make five very different films. I mean, "Child's Play" and "Seed of Chucky" represent virtually different genres of filmmaking.

TD: What did you make of all the hoo-hah surrounding "Childs Play 3" a decade or so ago over here in the UK, when it was unofficially banned on account of supposedly being viewed by one of the two youngsters who went on to murder Jamie Bulger? Surely that kinda knee-jerk reaction is incredibly frustrating, and probably insulting?

DM: No one wants to feel even tangentially connected to such a tragedy, and I was relieved when it was revealed in court that the two children had not, in fact, seen "Child's Play 3." But regardless, these films carry "restricted" ratings for a reason: they are not meant for young children, and it is the parents' responsibility to exercise discretion in these matters.

TD: Like your good self, Brad Dourif has been part of the series since way back when. How important is he to the character of chucky, far as you're concerned? (I hear he also had something to do with some hobbit film or other that nobody heard of.)