I’ve never been a huge Child’s Play fan. The movies were fine, but for whatever reason the concept just never grabbed me. Then I saw Bride of Chucky in 1998 and fell head over heels for the wild ride of hipness, humor, and horror. Ronny Yu was a perfect, totally fresh director, and Jennifer Tilly was a beautiful, bawdy bride — it was a match made in hellish heaven.

The bride is back (it seems to be the year of the bride, doesn’t it? I can see it now: Uma vs. Jen!) but there’s someone different giving her away for Seed of Chucky. It’s the series creator, Don Mancini. Mancini has written every one of the five Chucky scripts, and now he’s finally grabbed the brass ring of directing. Joining Tilly (as Tiffany) at the altar of horror is Chucky’s usual voice-provider Brad Dourif, and joining them are Redman and a brand-new dolly of death, Glen (voiced by Billy Boyd).

In sort of a “second coming” Seed of Chucky introduces Glen as the plastic spawn of Chucky and Tiffany. Tilly does the voice of Tiffany, and also plays herself as the actress who portrays Tiffany in a low-budget stab and slab flick (we’ve seen this “horror movie within a horror movie” shtick in other franchises such as the Freddy, Jason, and Scream films… I guess you could say it’s been done to death).

The story basically follows the ending events of Bride of Chucky, as the murderous duo are now faced with the challenge of raising their gender-confused child and becoming a real family unit. Their diabolical plan involves becoming flesh and blood and they’ve got their sights set on Tilly and Redman — the two will quickly make and have a child thanks to a voodoo ritual — and baby makes three human bodies to embody. Lots of blood is spilled along the way, and only time will tell if the dolls are successful in becoming human. When a nosy reporter (John Waters) gets too close to the truth and Tilly’s assistant (Hannah Spearritt) becomes suspicious, the body count rises.

Seed of Chucky has some very funny moments (spoofs on Britney Spears and Jack Nicholson) and gruesome deaths (disembodied heads fly through the air, steaming guts spill) but it’s more like a series of short skits strung together than it is a cohesive, well-plotted film. Unfortunately, Mancini’s inexperience as a director does show — or maybe he’s just too close to the characters to be able to objectively tell and show the story.

However, if you’re a big fan of the characters and can be satisfied with just watching them do their thing, then Seed of Chucky is certainly worth a look. For those who are unsure, take your chances on a cut-rate matinee.