'Chucky' 1.02 Review: Give Me Something Good to Eat

This post contains spoilers for Chucky. Check out our last review here. 

In “Give Me Something Good to Eat,” Chucky establishes itself as a series that’s both upholding and reinventing its franchise tendencies. The opening minutes showcase a gruesome murder through Chucky’s point of view, which is the bloodshed we’re accustomed to witnessing from Don Mancini’s creation. Afterward, Chucky becomes Jake’s (Zackary Arthur) mentor figure as he champions his gender-fluid child, Glen (a tender callback to Seed Of Chucky canon that demands a later cameo). In other Chucky movies, this mentorship would be a ruse for hopeful soul transference like Andy in Child’s Play or Child’s Play 2, or Tyler in Child’s Play 3. Here? Chucky seems more nostalgic about his hometown of Hackensack and the prospect of raising another serial killer who might continue his slasher aspirations.

Chucky proclaims he loves Glen — a tender callback to Seed Of Chucky canon that demands a later cameo — but let’s not forget Chucky’s frustrations when Glen declined his family’s violent business. Perhaps Jake is Chucky’s reboot of sorts for reasons I’d need a thousand words just to recap (go marathon all the Child’s Play movies if you haven’t).

Let’s stay focused on the 10-episode show, which takes greater strides to tangle Chucky and Jake’s narratives in “Give Me Something Good to Eat.” Dialogue is sharper than the cutlery in the Wheelers’ dishwasher, as Chucky manipulates Jake and cannot contain his abusive outbursts. At first he’s compassionate, showing parental support for his queer kin Glen — he’s not a “monster.” Then Chucky apologizes for the bruised shiner around Jake’s eye after striking the timid boy during an argument in Jake’s room that cousin Junior (Teo Briones) overhears. The series is only beginning, but Jake’s understandably reached his lowest point. Especially since Lexy Cross’ (Alyvia Alyn Lind) attention-seeking Halloween costume reveal at an unsupervised mansion party impersonates Jake’s father in his last breaths of electrocution — and Chucky impersonates Jake's father by swinging his fist.

Cut back a few scenes to another of Mancini’s biting lines, when Lexy accuses Jake of bullying because of the obscene talent show stunt last episode — Lexy, “the victim,” who’s shown as the mayor’s daughter with her own soapy daytime dramas. Meanwhile, Jake — the actual victim — is viewed with hesitation by even his uncle Logan (Devon Sawa) and wife Bree (Lexa Doig) when they discuss parenting a child battered by emotional and bodily trauma. Jake’s “victim of circumstance” retort when Logan mistakes the kid’s black eye for a Halloween costume and asks what he’s supposed to be adds a chilling touch.

“Give Me Something Good to Eat” is an unexpected second episode because it’s quieter and more contained than one might expect from Halloween festiveness. After the tease of Alex Vincent’s voice via phone in “Death by Misadventure,” there’s no cavalry arrival or further nostalgia teases (outside of Glen). Conversations in suburban bedrooms between Jake and Chucky, Detective Evans and her podcaster son Devon (Bjorgvin Arnarson), or between Chucky and Lexy’s little sister Caroline Cross (Carina Battrick) as they slay video game zombies are the chapter’s biggest draws. 

In the first of these scenes, Chucky assures Jake he’s his friend till the end and how it’s the “Super Bowl of slaughter” outside, lest he chooses the wrong team. The second has Devon showing concern over Jake’s implication in now two accidental murders. The third? There’s where my interest pulls.

After two episodes, Caroline displays a magical connection to Chucky — whether that’s childhood innocence or something more fantastical is still under wraps. Lexy teases Caroline for drawing a flawless portrait of Chucky; Caroline whimpers at the thought of Chucky disapproving of their friendship. Caroline would be the surefire “Andy” or “Tyler” mark should Charles Lee Ray be replicating his hopeful possession plans from previous Child’s Play movies, but that doesn’t appear necessary anymore since Cult Of Chucky implies soul-swapping is no longer required. We get all the fun of Chucky mashing controller buttons while corrupting an angelic youth, with the bonus of curiosity over where their arc could venture beyond general manipulation of adolescent wonder.

We also receive another 1965 flashback to wee pipsqueak Charles Lee Ray, seen chomping into a razor-spiked apple with glee. Cue a callback when Chucky struts around Hackensack on Halloween night masked as a Hello Kitty trick ‘r treater, because Chucky wounds the nice nosy neighbor who spills where Jake’s friends and enemies are partying with the same bladed fruit weapon. It’s not the nastiest crime scene in Chucky so far — that’s handily the hired help who’s found face-down on steamy-cleaned sharpened knives — but heightens the blood factor as we anticipate the series’ meaner streak. Devon’s podcast narrates horrific descriptions of Hackensack’s hack ’n slash past, but Chucky’s here to contribute some deadly new illustrations for future remembrances — or convince Jake to add his personal touches.

In the end, “Give Me Something Good to Eat” feels like a pitstop on a longer journey that focuses on exposition and emphasizes development. The shot of Jake clasping a reflective knife that captures both Chucky’s and Jake’s faces as if they’re mirrored images speaks volumes about their blossoming relationship. The Hello Kitty sequence revels in Don Mancini’s zanier humor as Chucky cheerfully maneuvers through a candy-crazy crowd. 

Mancini uses Chucky in ways that appear invariably unique, and yet the cumbersome nature of having so much narrative freedom seems less impactful in its extended overtness. All the necessary motivations — Lexy’s cruel treatment towards Jake to Chucky’s sideline coaching — are pushing our characters toward something more volatile, using “Give Me Something Good o Eat” to set the table before hopefully chowing down on some vicious thrills next week.