You'd Better Chuck Up Your Ideas: Horror Icon Returns In 'Cult Of Chucky' Teaser Trailer

Alongside evil clowns, masked murderers, and Slendermen, possessed dolls are probably the creepiest creatures out there in the horror world. As one of horror's longest-surviving film franchises, Brad Dourif's #Chucky will once again return for the seventh #ChildsPlay film later this year: Cult of Chucky.

It has been four years since we saw the red-haired horror in Child's Play 6, a.k.a. Curse of Chucky. It may have been direct-to-video, but Curse smashed the ratings by taking Chucky back to his more serious murderous ways and a darker tone. The attempt to reboot the franchise had just enough original Child's Play magic to keep us interested and even included a cameo from original final boy Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay — let's be honest, he doesn't have much else to do. Curse left us with a typically ambiguous ending, but now it looks like Cult of Chucky will pick up right where we left off.

Ready For A Good Chuckle

The first teaser for Cult of Chucky is a cocktail of classic footage as it recaps some of the "Good Guys" doll's greatest thrills and kills, while reminding us that Chucky will be "your friend 'til the end" while he laces up his booties for another bout of mayhem. Again taking the direct-to-video route, Cult will be a big ol' family reunion from the Child's Play of yesteryear. Obviously Dourif will be back as the titular terror, joined by franchise veterans Jennifer Tilly and Alex Vincent, while Dourif's daughter Fiona will once again play survivor Nica Pierce.

You will also be pleased to hear that Cult will be a direct sequel, as we find Nica imprisoned in an insane asylum for the past four years. Still maintaining that it was Chucky, and not herself, who murdered her family, Nica's group therapy sessions involve the infamous "Good Guys" dolls as a treatment tool. Chucky's original nemesis Andy rushes to help Nica before it is too late, but he will still have to contend with Chucky's long-suffering bride, Tiffany (Tilly).

We aren't quite sure how the "cult" bit of Cult comes in, but could we see the cutesy killer recruit more followers to his murderous rampage? Cult could easily follow in the vein of the Saw films as the original bad guy spreads his teachings, and given that Nica will find herself in group therapy, it seems like the perfect opportunity to gather some more unhinged souls to Chucky's cause.

Go Chuck Yourself

Let's just hope that the seventh films is more like Curse than some of the franchise's other entries. After the first three films, Chucky started to lose his way with the Frankenstein-inspired Bride of Chucky in 1998, which chose chuckles over carnage. Universal then completely dropped the ball with the outlandish Seed of Chucky in 2004 — who can forget S Club 7's Hannah Spearritt being burned alive, or the random cameo and murder of Britney Spears?!?

Following Seed, the Child's Play films lay in limbo for nearly a decade, but ever since Dourif put his dungarees back on for Curse, we have been clamouring for more. Unlike the failure of the Scream films, which attempted to boost a "new era" of the characters, Curse succeeded in rebooting where most #horror entities failed. Thankfully, Chucky creator Don Mancini is back on board, having written all six films and directed the previous two (take that as good or bad). Filming begins now, with a planned pre-Halloween 2017 release, so we don't have long to wait to witness the madness of the pint-sized psycho.

Glenn Ross, Universal's General Manager and Executive Vice President, reminisces on what makes Chucky one of the studio's most successful characters:

"It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 30 years since Chucky first terrified moviegoers in Child’s Play. Since then the films have generated millions in worldwide box-office revenue. Now Chucky’s back with more scores to settle in his trademark twisted style, and you can bet he won’t stop until he gets his revenge.”

If Cult is a success, expect to see more of Chucky in the future, and a possible third film in a new trilogy. Given the popularity of Chucky in the likes of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, and Dourif's willingness to reprise his role, don't expect Chucky to be going back into the toy box anytime soon!