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Because of that friendship -- and the success of Bride of Chucky -- Tilly decided to reprise her role as Chucky's plastic love interest, Tiffany, and spoof her own image in the film. "With Seed of Chucky I wanted to bring Jennifer back, but I wanted to bring her back physically as well as the voice of Tiffany. So I came up with this concept of her playing her Hollywood self, and of course before I could even begin writing that I had to make sure she'd be on board with it. And she absolutely was. We have a very similar sense of humor. Jennifer is very outrageous and not afraid to make fun of herself," Mancini chuckles. "She totally embraced it."
Also returning is the only holdover from every single Child's Play film: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Oscar nominee Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. "As with any movie, especially when you're doing voiceover as with Chucky, you can ad lib a lot and I think Brad built on some of the stuff I had in my original script, which Tom Holland [director of the original Child's Play] amplified a little in his version of the film. He amplified the dark, sarcastic sense of humor that Chucky has," Mancini says, having worked with Brad through all five films. "I think Brad as an actor went even further with that, and it worked really well. So when it came time to write the sequels I was definitely influenced by some of the stuff Brad had done."
Mancini was also able to wrangle one of Chucky's most (in)famous fans to appear in the film: cult classic director John Waters (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos). "He actually courted us, in a way," Mancini recalls. "He's been a 'Chucky' fan for a long, long time. I first became aware of this back in the early '90s when he made the film Serial Mom. There was a young actor in that movie, Justin Whalin, who played the lead in Child's Play 3. And Justin was the first person to tell me that John was a big Child's Play fan, he had a Chucky doll in his house, and all that kind of stuff. Over the years I would read interviews with John Waters and he'd always go out of his way to mention that he loved the movies. It even got to the point where he said he wouldn't be interested in doing anymore acting in movies expect in a Chucky movie." When the maker of such cinematic sleaze as Polyester likes your movies, you know you're onto something special. "When I was coming up with the story for Seed of Chucky, I thought John would be a perfect fit for it. So I wrote the role for him, got in touch with him, and he said absolutely. John came to Romania for a couple of weeks and was exactly what you'd want John Waters to be like -- an extremely filthy mind."
Seed of Chucky marks not only the killer doll's return to the big screen, but also Mancini's debut as a feature film director. "I wanted to direct for a long time," Mancini says, obviously thrilled that he finally had the chance to helm one of his own creations. "I wanted to direct Bride of Chucky, but studios don't just hand over multi-million dollar feature films to just anyone. It takes a long time for you to win their trust with millions of dollars. The 'Chucky' movies had the same producer -- David Kirschner -- who I've had the good fortune to work with for twenty years. He's been really great and allowed me to be around the process and learn a lot. When we did Bride of Chucky and the studio was kind of leery about my directing that, David allowed me to be a producer on it and direct the second unit. Bride of Chucky was very successful, and when the time came around to do the next one they let me do it. Mostly it was just tenacity and sticking around."
Mancini notes that the film is not without its controversy, something that would surely make Chucky proud. In the film, the demented doll runs a convertible driven by a famous pop star off the road into a blaze of twisted metal and fire. "You know, I wonder if Britney herself was even aware of it," Mancini laughs. "Certainly her people were. If it were me -- and I'm not a pop star so it's all speculation on my part -- I would be tickled by it. The fact that they balked at it and wouldn't let us use the song...well, it benefited the film and created a lot of publicity." Needless to say, the Britney Spears camp wasn't happy with the good-natured jab. "I don't personally have anything against Britney Spears, though I'd have to say Chucky would," Mancini chuckles. "I think it's very possible that Britney Spears herself has a sense of humor about it. Who knows?"
As Seed of Chucky makes its way onto DVD, fans have been clamoring for a special edition of the original film (released in a bare bones edition by MGM in the early days of DVD). Mancini is sympathetic to their plight. "My understanding, " Mancini says, "is that there are attempts by Universal to get the rights to the original Child's Play film. Since the first movie is owned by MGM, Universal hasn't been able to do a special edition DVD or put out a complete package with all the films together. My understanding is that they're trying to do that and, God willing, it will happen."
As for the infamous Chucky, he's been terrorizing kids and adults for well over fifteen years. Have audiences finally seen the last of this pint-sized psycho? "I think it's only a matter of time," Mancini speculates. "Chucky, like Freddy and Jason, is a firmly established horror icon and I think that it's only a matter of time before people want more Chucky!"
Seed of Chucky is now available on DVD from Universal Home Entertainment