5 Times Chucky Proved He’s the Best Slasher Movie Villain

After 35 years and counting, Child’s Play‘s Chucky has cemented himself as every bit the iconic slasher villain as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers. In fact, there are a few ways in which he is even better than those antagonists from Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, respectively.

As Terrifier 3 recently proved, straightforward slashers are still very much financially viable. Yet while Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street have both been dormant for about a decade and a half, Chucky has kept on chugging. What is it that allows him to do so? What is it about the miniature tyrant that keeps viewers from tuning out once and for all? Well, there are a couple of factors at play.

Killer Timing

It took Freddy Krueger three movies to start having some fun with his misdeeds, Chucky was that way right off the bat. For instance, there’s the iconic batteries scene in the first film. Karen Barclay is like every other adult in that she doesn’t believe her son’s doll is alive. But, unlike the police investigating the murder of her friend, she also doesn’t believe her little boy is a killer.

On the first point, she’s proven wrong, but proven right on the second point when she shakes Chucky, yelling at him to talk. She then notices that, technically, the doll shouldn’t be able to talk because his batteries are still in the Good Guys box. Yet, he does. It’s not a pleasant conversation. It’s arguably the best scene in the entire franchise, thanks partially to Catherine Hicks’ acting, but also thanks to how Chuck isn’t averse to taking advantage of the moment. He knows the jig is up and seizes the opportunity to scare Karen half to death (entirely to death, if he had his way).

Teaching Miss Kittlewell in Child’s Play 2

Child’s Play 2 is superior to its predecessor and arguably the best installment of the franchise as a whole for several reasons. For one, it has an incredible third act, set in the Good Guy Doll factory. Two, it tones down the voodoo stuff a bit, spending that time instead on letting Chucky come into his own as a homicidal little wisecracking jerk. The only thing it’s really missing is Catherine Hicks and Fright Night‘s Chris Sarandon (though the latter is open to coming back).

As great as the third act is, the highlight of the film comes towards the middle. Chucky infiltrates Andy’s classroom (name another slasher villain who can do that) and, after framing his target for writing some seriously foul language on an assignment, kills the teacher with a ruler. Jason has been known to make do with what’s around him, but a ruler in an elementary school classroom? That’s something only Chucky can do.

The Only Slasher Icon to Be in a (Ridiculously Complex and Unhealthy) Relationship

Did Chucky willingly share his franchise with a counterpart? No. In fact, that’s what makes his interplay with Tiffany in Bride of Chucky so compelling. Arguably the best film of the franchise outside the second, Bride of Chucky consistently makes the case as to why director Ronny Yu was the right choice to finally bring Freddy vs. Jason to the big screen.

Bride of Chucky in and of itself is a testament to just why Chucky may be the best slasher villain. Jason got a bit meta with the Camp Crystal Lake simulation in Jason X, Freddy had the Hollywood-set New Nightmare, but Chucky took things to the next level with Yu’s film. It’s a concept that would jump the shark by having Jennifer Tilly actually play Jennifer Tilly in Seed of Chucky, but the Good Guy Doll is the only one who could successfully lead a meta horror comedy.

[RELATED: Chucky and Tiffany Funko Pops Get Bloody]

The Only Slasher Icon to Successfully Transfer to Direct-to-Video Entries (and Duplicate Himself)

Just as he is the only slasher villain to get hitched, Chucky is the only one of Michael, Jason, Freddy, Ghostface, and Leatherface to star in direct-to-video films (even 2017’s Leatherface played in a few U.S. theaters for a bit). And, while that may sound like a slight against the IP, it’s not. Why? Because both Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky are surprisingly solid entries in the overall franchise.

Curse plays things relatively straightforward and wisely retains the elements that have allowed the franchise to remain a favorite, most notably the continued participation of voice actor Brad Dourif as Chucky, and even incorporates Brad’s daughter, Fiona. Cult, however, isn’t quite so straightforward, but it also goes a long way toward standing as a summarization of the entire canon up to that point. Not to mention, it features the character expanding from theatrical ventures to DTV ones, while also splitting his soul into multiple dolls, as well. Not even Freddy has made himself a literal triple threat.

The Only Slasher Icon to Successfully Transfer to Television

Both Freddy and Jason had television series in the ’80s. And, while neither was critically reviled, neither was a runaway success, either. Not to mention, when it came to Friday the 13th: The Series, the Jason-less project wasn’t even that much of a success with the franchise’s fans.

Chucky was on a higher plane. It functioned as an elongated continuation of Curse and Cult, retaining those films’ tone as well as their most important character: Nica. No slasher IP besides Child’s Play has continued its franchise’s narrative directly via television (not even 2015’s Scream show), and outside of its surprisingly PC storytelling, that’s largely due to just how captivating Chucky’s horrendous personality is. He’s layered, even if most of those layers smell like rotten eggs. Though it was sadly cancelled after Season 3, series mastermind Don Mancini has promised we’ve yet to see the last of Chuck.