PRIDE OF CHUCKY

Charles Lee Ray, homicidal maniac, wisecracking killer doll, and LGBTQIA+ ally. Shocking? Not so much.

Child's Play as a franchise is refreshingly and outrageously queer. In horror, a medium that has always been home to our kind, one franchise icon stands out among the rest. Chucky.

The first three films of the Child's Play franchise are as straight as they come. Don Mancini, the creator of Chucky, has allowed his slasher villain to evolve with the times while blending his own queerness into the series as it has progressed. It all starts with Don.

Mancini is a creator championing the deep-rooted connection between all things horror and queer. From James Whale's Frankenstein to Seed of Chucky, horror has always been a medium that explores what it means to live a life outside the conventional. For queer people, those themes resonate deeply. In the Chucky franchise, you don't have to look for a connection between the macabre and the queer, it's already there. Sometimes, in a way that's left audiences polarized.

While the original trilogy lacks the urgent gayness of later installments, the themes can still be read through a queer lens. Starting with the slasher classic, Bride of Chucky, you no longer needed subtext or a magnifying glass to see Don's pride in his work. Bride of Chucky was the first film in the franchise to feature an openly gay character. The film is beloved by all manner of franchise fans. Bride of Chucky was just the first step in Chucky coming out of the closet. Then came Seed.

Seed of Chucky was a meta, soul & side-splitting campy slasher that took the franchise out of the box while introducing the queerest elements yet. The film featured a kill scene for the campy, gay trash master himself, John freaking Waters. You know, the guy who helped the famous filthy drag queen Divine achieve fame. Gay cameos. Themes of gender expression and dysphoria. Britney Spears. It didn't get much gayer than that in mainstream 2004. For better or worse, the film suffered because of outrageousness, flamboyancy, and overtness. That's exactly why I, and countless other Chucksters, love this film.

Seed of Chucky not only managed to amplify the campy nature of the previous installment, but it also featured a genderfluid character in the form of Chucky's evil (?) offspring Glen and Glenda. Glen and Glenda are icons for gender expression. Long before our vernacular caught up with the themes of the film, Glen and Glenda's expression of identity had been there all along. The "twins" as their mother Tiffany Valentine so lovingly calls them have become one of the most widely accepted parts of a lambasted film. (If you look in any Chucky Facebook group, someone is always seeking a Glen doll.)

Seed has since grown to become a cult film. Legions of fans clamored for callbacks and reappearances. Sadly, due to the reception of the movie, it took many years for Glen and Glenda to show their sweet faces again. Seed of Chucky was released in 2004. We didn't even hear their names on screen until the finale of 2021's Chucky (television series). It was a long and brutal wait, but we knew Don was fighting for a comeback.

Rumor has it, due to the reception of Seed, Universal was hesitant to bring the kids back on board. According to Reddit, Don tried with Cult of Chucky, but the studio cut all references to Glen and Glenda. The world wasn't ready for them back in those days.

Media has changed a lot in the way it represents people since 2004. Some say that it's too much. I disagree. Seeing characters like myself in a time when it was so not okay to be gay gave me hope. Even if that connection was with the conflicted offspring of a killer doll, I could see myself in the character. In a world that was constantly trying to push us away, one franchise was bold enough to uproot the history of the horror genre and openly exploit it; showing the shadowy fears of queerness overtly. God bless Seed of Chucky.

It took a long time to see Glen and Glenda again. The end of the 2004 film left it open for a return but it never came. Fans waited for years for an update. Meanwhile, Chucky was running around killing and maiming everyone he could. The plastic monster was straight up ignoring his children, acting as if they didn't exist. Father of the year. But it's not old Chucky's fault. I'm going to choose to believe the internet on this one and boil it down to the studio. Either way, it has been worth the wait.

Chucky (2021) is currently running on Syfy & USA in a joint effort television continuation of the franchise. From the first episode, the show made one thing queer, Don wasn't having any of your bigotry. Chucky is an ally goddammit. This may be a horror show but we're doing a gay love story! I was all for it.


The show revitalized the franchise after an awful reboot if viewed in the terms of a Chucky movie. It was alright if you could distance it from the original. The film has merits but it feels like buying generic when the name brand is the same price. (Sorry Mark Hamill!)


Thanks to the reception of the show, and the fact that it's airing in modern times, we finally got to see the return of Glen and Glenda. It was fabulous.

Season Two, Episode Four, "Death on Denial" is a wild, glorious return to the on-again, off-again abused redheaded children of the franchise. The episode was as campy as the film that inspired Glen and Glenda while including some awesome moments of gayness. That felt like a slap in the face to the people who don't understand the 'gay shit', as Facebook comments so lovingly put it.

The thing the online trolls don't seem to grasp is that the creator of everyone's favorite family of killer dolls is a gay man himself. As times change, and society progresses, why wouldn't a queer creator infuse their product with more of themself? Love it or hate it, this show is an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. Everyone involved deserves a round of applause for finally letting Don Mancini become unhinged.

The TV show is weird, funny, horrific, and full of gay love. This is where Don has been heading all along.

Don Mancini, if you're reading this, you're a pioneer. You're probably a serial killer with the ideas that come out of your head. But, you're also a gay icon in your own right. Thanks for giving horror the representation it deserves and fought for. Chucky is the only slasher icon who is still running around in their original playground. He's doing it fabulously.

Chucky might be a monster, but he's got a heart of gold beating behind the chills and spills. A killer creator is showing their queerness while helping the next generation see themselves in media. Chucky's universe might be hella chaotic but ours is better for it.

P.S. I don't think the mirror motif is unintentional. Media is a mirror of our world. I see you Don.