‘Living with Chucky’ Documentary Unpacks the Groundbreaking Horror Franchise ‘Child’s Play’ | EUR Exclusive

*Cinedigm and Bloody Disgusting have teamed for the horror documentary “Living With Chucky” which is now available on its horror streaming service SCREAMBOX and on all major digital platforms in the US and Canada.

“Living with Chucky,” per the synopsis,” takes an in-depth look at the groundbreaking Child’s Play franchise from the perspective of a filmmaker who grew up within it. Featuring interviews with cast and crew such as Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Alex Vincent, creator Don Mancini, and much more, this personal film recounts the dedication, creativity and sacrifice that went into making the franchise and its long-lasting impact on the horror community.”

The documentary features commentary from Abigail Breslin, Adam Hurtig, Alex Vincent, Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif (the voice behind Chucky), Christine Elise McCarthy, Dan Povenmire, David Kirschner, Don Mancini, Elle Lorraine, Fiona Dourif, James A. Janisse, Jennifer Tilly, John Waters, Kyra Gardner, Lin Shaye, Marlon Wayans, Tony Gardner, Tony Timpone and many more. 

Watch the trailer below.

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Here’s the full official synopsis:

Storming into pop culture in the late 1980s, the three-foot menace known as Chucky, proved that Child’s Play was anything but. The horror film went on to spawn six sequels, a television series, a reboot, comic books, a video game and merchandise.

Written and directed by Kyra Elise Gardner, daughter of legendary special effects artist Tony Gardner, Living With Chucky looks back at the groundbreaking horror franchise by those there from the beginning. The documentary details the history of the Child’s Play films by the cast and crew, in addition to Gardner’s own relationship with the series and the impact it had on her family. Gardner, who grew up alongside Chucky the killer doll, seeks out other families involved with the Child’s Play films as they recount their experiences working on the franchise and what it means to be a part of the “Chucky” family.

We spoke to Kyra to unpack the global impact of the “Child’s Play” franchise and what it means to her family to be part of horror movie history. Check out our Q&A below.

What compelled you to want to make the Living with Chucky documentary?

Kyra: It originated as a short film that I did for a college class in film school, but that was only seven minutes at the time, and the focus really had to be the family aspect. So it was really because I did not have a lot of time to talk about anything other than that because I knew going into making a documentary when things were more personal to the filmmaker, I responded to it more as an audience member. So that was kind of something that was personal and about my … I love my dad and a facet of my dad’s career that has been going on as long as I’ve been on this planet.

And seeing the fans reactions to that short film in the festival circuit, and their response to it was really positive, and I realized, “Oh, I think this is a different angle that people haven’t seen, and I don’t realize that or recognize that because it’s so ingrained into my existence.” So I wanted to expand upon it onto a feature and have that be a very big section of the film. It could have gone on longer, it could have been a two, three-hour documentary, but I tried to really keep it to a digestible amount.

 

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So was your father, when you pitched the feature length project to him, was he all in? And Brad too, were they both just like, “Yes, let’s do this”?

I think my dad’s was a little bit more like, “Oh God, good God, good luck,” Also, when I started the short film, I was 19. And then I collected more interviews as and when I could, where I could, as I was going on for film school. Because I was in school in Florida, Alex Vincent lives in Florida, so I just went to Alex real quick for an interview. But I had no budget. It was out of pocket just trying to do this thing that I was passionate about. So I think my dad first and foremost saw it as a fellow filmmaker of like, “Dear God, woman, good luck. I love you. I will do anything I can to support you, but this is a big task you’ve created for yourself.” But anybody who I reached out to or asked was very excited to help. It was a little complicated as the TV series started because everybody was just so busy in COVID, stuff was locked down, so that created a bit of a problem. But anybody who could lend some time definitely did.

Did you have to travel much to meet with Jennifer? ‘Cause I know she works on the series, so how challenging was it to lock her down for interviews?

I got lucky, and I was still in film school at the time. I was closer to graduating, but there was a hurricane in Tallahassee, so I went home for a week, and it just so happened to be the week that Halloween Horror Nights was happening that year, and Chucky was taking over the Terror Tram. And so I was like, “You know what? Let’s just see if we can’t set something up.”

So my dad asked Jennifer and her team set something up. So I actually interviewed Jennifer. That interview is 45 minutes I had with her before she walked the red carpet for the Halloween Horror Nights event. So it was very intimidating. There was a lot of NBCUniversal. It was in a hotel ballroom, and the Universal execs are in the corner and I’m like 20 or something, and I’m like, “Oh my God, this is really … Hi, Jennifer Tilly. Let’s talk about stuff.”

So that just all came down to timing, and thank goodness because she also travels a lot with her poker tournaments and things like that. And it really can be hard to track her down; even now, because she’s also on the series as well. So that just came down to a hurricane coming into town.

 

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How much of the Chucky doll itself was a part of your childhood — just sitting on the mantle, or chilling on the couch?

Yes. Very, very much involved, especially when it came to October. I am an October baby, so Chucky was also just the highlight of all my birthday parties because he’d be there. Whether I wanted him there or not, he was there, and a very big attention grabber. But, yeah, and then as my dad would come back to be working on a movie, that’s like all that filled up in my dad’s shop was all the dolls. And sometimes he’d come home with him, and whether I knew it or not, and I’d like turn a corner … I’m not scared of the doll, but when I don’t know that he is in the house and I turn a corner and he’s there, it’s scary.

Child’s Play is ranked among the top 10 best horror franchises ever. So what does it mean to your family to be a part of horror movie history?

That’s so hard to look at it … When you said that, I was like, “Oh gosh, she’s not wrong.” I’m obviously very proud of my dad and just the challenges that he’s had to overcome as times and budget cuts have happened and things like that. But I’m so happy for him. That’s something that he consistently gets to try and work on, work kinks out, problem solve on, and come back to, and come back to with the same people.

Nobody really knows who my dad is, but then when we go to horror conventions, it’s so awesome to see people come up to him and thank him for his work and things like that. And I’m like, “Yes, you deserve all of that because it’s such a good franchise and also such good work.” And so that makes me really happy to see that.

As far as my own involvement, I feel like I’m adjacent. I’ve been there for re-shoots in L.A., but it’s even just being a tangent with the franchise, I feel so much of that love from the fandom and a part of it in a sense. And it’s really, it’s like the same as Fiona says in her interview, it’s a great gift that I wasn’t aware that I had.

And it’s wild that Fiona would follow in her father’s footsteps.

Literally. Literally playing her dad in the series.

 

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If there is a takeaway from the Child’s Play movies, for me, it would have to be, don’t bring toddler-size dolls into your home. What do you hope longtime Chucky fans take away from Living With Chucky?

I guess hopefully the takeaway is a greater appreciation for a franchise they hopefully already loved. And if you’re new to it, it makes you love it a bit and have that deeper appreciation for what goes into it. I think a lot of the times in horror specifically, the effects and the people bringing your creature feature to life are put on the back burner. We don’t see SFX artists walking the red carpet at movie premieres, getting interviewed when, like, say, Zombieland would not happen without the zombies.

So it was really important to me to shine a light on how much is involved in creating something like this, even in horror. And hopefully, people have a better understanding of the people who make it, who want to make it, who sacrifice their personal time, time with family, or relationships to bring you your favorite killer doll. I hope you just watch it and you go, “Oh my gosh. It makes me like this franchise just a little bit more than I thought I would.”

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