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.)
DM: Brad is indispensable — a great actor who has made the role his own. And when it came time to write the sequels, I was certainly influenced by Brad's performance in the first film. Like Jennifer Tilly (and now Billy Boyd), Brad doesn't condescend to the material, as many actors might; he treats the character very seriously.
TD: Barring an episode of "Tales From The Crypt", "Seed Of Chucky" is your first directing gig, right? To the eyes of yours truly, it seemed almost like a gothic fairy-tale at times, particularly the early scenes where Glen / Glenda is embarking upon his quest. Like some kind of androgynous Pinocchio. Visually, what were you aiming for with the flick? It's a lot more lavish than earlier entries, I would venture, even though much of the action takes place in fairly confined environments.
DM: Actually, I didn't direct that "Tales From the Crypt" — I don't know how that rumor got started. I co-wrote the episode, and it was directed by Jack Sholder ("The Hidden," "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2"). I had directed some second-unit stuff on "Bride of Chucky" (including the birth of the baby at the end), and that led to my getting the gig on "Seed." I'm glad you saw it as a "gothic fairy tale"; I was certainly aiming for that sort of thing. I wanted to create a somewhat stylized world for the dolls to inhabit, since the dolls themselves are, after all, sort of stylized distortions of human beings. (For that matter, so is Jennifer Tilly!) This sort of material wouldn't really work in a completely naturalistic-looking environment. It's interesting and gratifying that you saw the film as being "more lavish than earlier entries," because "Seed" was the least expensive of all the "Chucky" films, and FAR less expensive than "Bride." With limited money and resources (we shot in Romania), we had to figure out a way to turn this liability into an asset. Setting sixty-to-seventy per-cent of the story inside one house was key, but given that constraint, it was important to somehow provide constant visual interest and variety. So, Jennifer's house is a massive, Spanish Colonial-cum-Gothic space, with huge rooms looking onto other huge rooms in the background, all with bold, contrasting colors — Argento's "Suspiria" was an inspiration here.
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
I was so inspired by your interview, I downloaded the movie. Now I just have to watch it.
Brad Dourif is your mark of quality for really bad things happening (even when he is playing a decent guy as the doctor in "Deadwood").
2 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
Jim, i'm glad you were inspired, and i wager the flick itself will inspire you just as much, although in the case of the celluloid, i'll have to hand over at least 82% of the credit for said inspiration.
3 - Greg Smyth
Great interview Duke! A damn fine read as ever...
4 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
thanks greg, glad you enjoyed it.
5 - indika
are going to make a another chucky movie although chucky is "dead"? Is he really dead or is he coming back? Whats the next movie going to be called?
6 - honey
Hi my name is honey am 12years old and
my favourite movie is seed of chucky.
My favourite actor of seed of Chucky is Brad Dourif(Chucky),Jennirfer Tilly and Tilly (Tiffeny).
i would like to thank Don Mancini for doing this brillent movie i can wait for the next movie to come Chucky goes psycho.
Also i would like to say hi to Jennirfer Tilly,Brad Dourif and Don Mancini xxx
7 - honey
Hi my name is honey am 12years old and
my favourite movie is seed of chucky.
My favourite actor of seed of Chucky is Brad Dourif(Chucky),Jennirfer Tilly and Tilly (Tiffeny).
i would like to thank Don Mancini for doing this brillent movie i can wait for the next movie to come Chucky goes psycho.
Also i would like to say hi to Jennirfer Tilly,Brad Dourif and Don Mancini xxx
8 - Alexsis (alex) neuman
I loved all the Chucky films. "Seed was kinda like watching another installment of "Scary movie", don't ya think? It was funny though. Ya should see my freakin' room. I have Chucky shit every where!! Plus I wrote a screen play for the next Chucky movie. I'd tell ya'll what I call it, but I need to see if I can get ahold of Mancini before I do. Just incase some one magically decides to take the idea. I am telling you, any Chucky lover is gonna love my Child's Play 6 installment. TELL Mancini about me please!All the Child's play films totally rocked!!! Hey Duke do you think Mancini would ever read my screenplay??? O yeah and KICK ASS SITE!!! ROX BIG TIME!!!
9 - kimberly
i love the all the chucky movies there the best horror movies in the world!!! althooo people are tryin to say that seed of chucky was lame it wasn't i loved it and so did my family and friends..jennifer tilly makes the movie awsome thanks jen... n i would like to thank don mancini for creating this chucky movies. i can't wait to see the next chucky movies.. PEACE OUT YO =]
10 - Rebecca Wilson
Hi my name is Rebecca Wilson Im 12 My favourite movie has got to be the the Bride of Chucky I loved it that much I actually wanted to send Don Mancini a Idea of my own but on every website I check I can never find his Address or where he works now please can anyone tell me where theese places are it is really inportant to me my
11 - DJ
Seed of chucky is cool.