Gays & Dolls: Child’s Play, the Queerest Horror Franchise – PW-Philadelphia Weekly
When it comes to 1980s Horror, only a handful of names come to mind. These monsters kept us awake at sleepovers, with our eyes fixed on that coat rack that definitely moved just now.
Freddy, Jason, Pinhead, Micahel, Leatherface, and Chucky.
Another feature of 1980s Horror is how poorly it ages. Dated styles, effects, and especially attitudes haunt the fan-favorite genre, with few changing with the times.
Homophobia, Transphobia, racism, ableism, and just every “ism” are all on display. Horror movies are by their nature problematic, and that can ruin the fun for some.
Who could have ever expected Chucky, the literal “short king” of slashers, would be the one to lead one of the most progressive horror franchises ever?
Problem(atic) Child
To be fair to Horror, finding media that is completely free of problematic elements is almost impossible. Horror movies, especially ‘80s slashers, almost revel in their edginess.
These films are supposed to upset and shock, but typically the audience wants that feeling to come from gory violence and not homophobic slurs.
The entire thesis behind Horror films is to showcase the threats to heteronormative monoculture. Whatever is scaring society at the time, that is what is brought to life on film. Reagan’s 1980s had some very specific bogeymen in mind.
Also bogey-ladies and Nonbi-bogies.
Fear of Queerness is a staple of the genre, going as far as making Queerness a motivation for brutal murders.
Outside of the well-known “killer did it because Trans” tropes from Sleepaway Camp and Silence of the Lambs, there’s the jealous lesbian, the rage-filled gay, and every deviant that resides in the rainbow.
Horror is not for everyone. I could talk all day about how Sleepaway Camp is a genuinely fun slasher flick, but the insanely messed up and Transphobic ending could be a deal breaker for you.
And that is totally fine. Everyone has their own limit for problematic material, and it should be respected.
A Horror fan who is a survivor of sexual assault may not want to sit through I Spit on Your Grave or any number of movies that portray sexual violence, and that is okay. It doesn’t mean they just need to ignore it and aren’t a true fan.
Horror is So Gay
Despite some problematic history, Queerness and Horror go hand-in-hand.
Horror flicks have such a Queer fanbase that several streaming services have a “Queer Horror” section, and we even made The Babadook a gay icon.
Part of the die-hard queer devotion is from the themes of otherness and isolation in picture-perfect American suburbs. Growing up different or being labeled a “freak” in a world of malicious bullies and adults who don’t understand is typical Horror film fodder, making them relatable to queer kids everywhere.
Another reason is the number of queer folks behind the scenes that crafted these masterpieces of the macabre.
From classical writers like Mary Shelly and Oscar Wilde to today’s filmmakers, LGBTQ+ artists have guided and molded the Horror genre. Most of the groundbreaking work had to be done through subtext, thanks to conservative studios and audiences.
There may be something brewing between the lines of the script, but the aesthetic is anything but subtle. Campy, theatrical, and drag-inspired visual styles, along with leather/BDSM motifs, are common on-screen.
Just look at Clive Barker’s Cenobites from Hellraiser. They look like they were on their way to a sex dungeon and fell into a tackle box.
With societal changes leading to a slightly more accepting public, there’s an opportunity for gays, lesbians, and trans folks to be more than a monster. There’s more representation in characters but also less need to hide stories about queerness through subtext.
Horror is a great way to tell personal, human stories in an entertaining way. Most of us may avoid the new piece of Oscar bait about coming out of the closet, but throw in some chainsaws and decapitations, and there will be lines around the block.
So, what does this have to do with a possessed doll?
A Boy and His Toy
Don Mancini is the creator of Chucky and the Child’s Play franchise. A rarity in long-living properties, Mancini has been intimately involved with every iteration of the series with the exception of the remake.
As an out gay filmmaker, Mancini found a way to channel his inner feelings by scaring the hell out of people. He also managed to progress the genre forward in some surprising ways that were not obvious at the time.
For those who are unfamiliar with Chucky’s history, here are the basics: During the holiday season in 1988 Chicago, serial killer Charles Lee Ray used a Voo Doo spell to put his soul in the body of a “Good Guy” doll. Andy Barclay, a 6-year-old, receives Chucky as a gift from his single mother, Karen. Since then, the foul-mouthed and fun-sized psycho has been on a decades-long kill streak.
Simple enough, right? Things get crazy after the third movie, but more on that later.
Starting with the original installment, Mancini didn’t set out to make a low-key gay film or even a progressive one. While attending UCLA, Mancini heard stories about fights breaking out in toy stores over Cabbage Patch dolls and wanted to do a story critiquing how things are advertised to children.
Before even getting to the queer subtext, Child’s Play did something most films struggle with even today: create a well-rounded female hero.
Karen Barclay, played by Catherine Hicks, is a working single mother just trying to get by. She’s beautiful but not sexualized. She’s brave but doesn’t “man up” and cover herself with weapons. There’s almost no mention in the final film about Andy’s father, and zero sparks between her and the male cop who is on the case. Karen is a strong-ass woman, and the film doesn’t hang a lantern on it.
Mancini wasn’t an only child raised by a single mother like Andy, but Andy’s story relates to Mancini in some interesting ways.
During a panel for Shudder at San Diego ComiCon 2020, Mancini discussed how the feelings of isolation and an absent male presence in his life crept into the story. As a child, his father abused and bullied Mancini for being gay. There was no one he could relate to, and those traits show up in Andy.
Eventually, Mancini would come out of the closet, and Chucky’s debut was a smashing success. After two sequels and a seven-year break from the big screen, Mancini brings back everyone’s favorite minute murderer with some welcome additions.
The Blood-Soaked Bride
The first two sequels to Child’s Play did what any good Horror sequel should, they brought back the iconic Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky and put him in different scenarios for fun kills.
They were pretty good, even the one where Chucky follows Andy to military school. The series, like most franchises, relied on the incredible character and less on pushing the envelope with style and commentary. Child’s Play 2 and 3 are nothing new, just solid-ass slasher flicks.
In 1998, Mancini kicked the doors open with Bride of Chucky. This story brought in director Ronny Yu’s unique visual style and, most importantly, Jennifer goddamn Tilly.
Tilly, star of lesbian-thriller classic Bound, plays Chucky’s wife Tiffany. Aside from bringing her Oscar-nominated chops and sexy trademark voice, Tilly brought the chance to queer things up a bit.
In an interview with Advocate magazine, Mancini said “Once we introduced Jennifer Tilly’s character, the Bride of Chucky, Tiffany, that brought a certain comedic camp vibe, which I think is kind of historically a hallmark of gay culture” he explains. “The filmmakers in the horror genre that I’ve always loved… create this really interesting, aesthetic intersection between violence and beauty and glamour. And that really attracts me. And I think there is something fundamentally queer about that, this sort of operatic viewpoint on the horror genre.”
Making the tonal switch from horror to horror-comedy usually signals the end of a series, but this was more of a relaunch. People enjoyed the twisted humor of two serial killer dolls bickering over dishes and having an explicit sex scene after a fresh kill.
In addition to adding some glamour to the gore, Mancini wrote in a gay supporting character. Stripping away typical stereotypes, the character David comes off as any average young guy. Without outright saying he’s gay, the audience would never have known.
David does die in the film, but in one of the most spectacular kills in the movie. It might seem odd, but horror fans see that as a badge of honor.
In his interview with Advocate, Mancini explains “I just have tried to go further with it with each movie and create a space of representation in this genre in a major studio product that really has a broad reach around the world.”
He does keep that trend going in the next part of the Chucky saga, just in the strangest way possible.
Things get Holly-weird
After the success of Bride and its injection of campy fun, Mancini helmed 2004’s Seed of Chucky and went for broke with its insane humor.
The movie literally opens with a classic “blood-dripping down-the-screen” effect, but instead of blood, it’s, um, Chucky’s “Good Guy Goo”.
At the end of the last movie, Tiff gives birth to a demonic doll baby. Brought to life by Billy Boyd and a team of master puppeteers, Tiffany and Chucky’s child is the gentle and meek Glen.
Glen finds and reanimates his parents on the set of a movie about the urban legend surrounding the killer dolls, a movie that stars a struggling has-been actress named Jennifer Tilly in the role of Tiffany.
Now “real” Tiffany, played by Jennifer Tilly, wants to move her soul into the body of “real” Tilly who plays “fake” Tiffany in the movie-within-the-movie. All of this while the pair of dolls try to beat their addiction to murder to become better parents.
Addiction and parental control are a recurring theme for Mancini, popping up again in season one of the series Chucky.
Obviously, there is a hard shift from Horror to Showbiz Farce. The pointedly confusing plot and satirizing of Hollywood life are, surprisingly, not what made the movie stand out.
Glen is Trans, or at the least Gender Fluid. Underneath his sweet persona is a maniacal alter-ego named Glenda. Aside from trying to quit murder cold turkey, the two parents are fighting over whether they have a baby boy or a girl.
While not every aspect of this story is handled perfectly, such as the femme presenting side being an insane killer and falling in with past garbage representations of Trans people, it is mostly treated with care and understanding.
There’s a well-meaning but ignorant tone to Chucky and Tiffany when it comes to Glen/Glenda’s gender. They support their kid but would prefer one gender or the other. It makes the absurdity of everything feel more grounded.
Some gay bonus points are the nod to Ed Wood’s cross-dressing film Glen or Glenda and casting gay legend John Waters as a sleazy paparazzi who meets a gruesome end.
Making a movie about a cursed doll family slicing up celebrities and gender norms is a weird step forward, but a step forward nonetheless.
Staying Grounded While Breaking Ground
In 2013, Mancini and co. went back to basics with a small-scale and scary sequel called Curse of Chucky.
Keeping it in the family, Brad Dourif’s own daughter Fiona joined as the new hero Nica Pierce. While the gay subtext in this one is not really sub-anything, with a same-sex affair going on between Nica’s controlling sister Barb and Barb’s new Aupair, there is progress in another realm.
Nica is paraplegic. She doesn’t wallow in her disability or monologue about how she wishes she could walk. The film doesn’t ignore her reality, yet it shows her disability is not a weakness or a strength.
Nica just lives her life like everyone else.
The film also dodges the trope of disabilities making people sexless, as Nica’s intro is her and a delivery guy flirting. It’s small, but rare in studio movies.
Nica returns in 2017’s Cult of Chucky, also written and directed by Mancini. Framed for Chucky’s crimes, Nica is in a mental institution.
Ah, yes, the “crazy people are dangerous” trope. Not this time, thankfully.
Cult thematically shows how the “crazies” are victims themselves and are the most vulnerable, with power structures as the true villain.
Oh, and Chucky.
Ready for Primetime
Going from the big screen to the little screen, ScyFy’s series Chucky premiered in October of 2021, with season two coming this year. It is the queerest horror series out right now, and that includes American Horror Story.
Fight me.
Mancini has a strong emotional bond to his creation and is finally able to tell a personal story with it. Times have changed enough that he can squeeze more than a gay supporting role or two in.
The series follows Jake, an artsy gay teen in suburban New Jersey. Much of the series focuses on Jake’s crush on his classmate Devon, a True Crime podcaster who still hasn’t come out to his mother.
The love story is shown as very touching and natural. Not even the 80s slasher villain has an issue with it. After all, he’s a killer doll, not a monster.
The only homophobia present is from Jake’s abusive alcoholic father, played in one of two roles by Devon Sawa. This aspect of the show was extremely personal to Mancini, as were the themes around bullying and loneliness.
The show also brilliantly fights back against the “angry queer villain” trope. Chucky wants Jake to kill his bully, Lexi, and Jake is tempted. Besides Jake resisting, it helps justify the real rage that kids like him feel.
The show’s tone strikes a perfect balance of horror and comedy, bringing back almost everyone from previous films in front of and behind the camera. That continuity of talent also brings another queer fixture: the family you choose.
At the end of the day, as Toretto says, it’s about family. Horror brings together a band of talented and lovely weirdos to revel in absurdity and face monsters in all forms.
Wanna Play?
The Child’s Play franchise has evolved over the years to let queer creators shine. While other 80s icons seem stuck in their ways, Chucky and the gang have grown. Watching all the movies and episodes back to back really drives home how much has changed in a few decades.
So, if you’re looking for something fun, scary, and fabulous this Halloween, try the Child’s Play series. Yes, the Queer series about a workaholic but spiritual father to a gender-fluid child and husband to a movie star that mentors LGBTQ+ youth and works with people with disabilities.
Oh, and uses his lil’ doll hands to strangle people.
FROM THE AUTHOR: TV & Film Characters That Inspired Queer Awakenings