Tiffany: The Chucky Sidekick We Never Knew We Wanted
Chucky the doll has been a horror fan favourite since he first appeared in the 1988 Child’s Play movie, starring actor Alex Vincent. It’s hard to believe that it’s over 30 years ago now that Chucky crash-landed on our screens, stealing the limelight as one of the greatest villains of the horror genre. Of course, since that first movie arrived, Child’s Play has gone on to become a hugely successful franchise — with a total of seven (so far) feature length movies.
It’s hard to define exactly what gave the Child’s Play movie that extra edge, the impetus needed to make a film — which could easily have been a one-off-hit— so hugely loved and successful. With a dedicated team behind it, including writer Don Mancini and director Tom Holland, it was certainly destined to make an impact, though few could have imagined the powerful reverberations that Child’s Play and the Chucky character would go on to make in the film industry.
Whether it’s the dark and gruesome death scenes, Chucky’s unique character or the often twisted sense of humour displayed in several of the movies, Child’s Play certainly seems to keep the audiences craving more. Fans were hooked from the start. It already appeared to have everything it needed to succeed as a franchise, so when actress Jennifer Tilly signed up to play the murderous doll Tiffany, in 1998’s ‘Chucky’ film, audiences wondered how Chucky would evolve now he had this unexpected sidekick on screen.
Tiffany — the sidekick we never knew we wanted
Jennifer Tilly already had a long and successful career in the TV and film world before joining Chucky. Having already starred in several productions — since the early 80s — she was making a name for herself. With her undeniable on-stage charisma and authentic portrayal of her characters, she gained a lot of attention. When Child’s Play fans found out she was joining Chucky on screen, there was a buzz. People didn’t know what to expect.
For some, joining an already well-established film franchise may not be an easy feat. With Child’s Play already gaining cult-status amongst horror die-hards, it was certainly interesting to see what the addition of a powerful, female character would have. Tilly’s Tiffany certainly made a huge splash.
Tiffany was the perfect partner-in-crime for the killer doll, Chucky. With this additional character, a new dimension was added to the film series, injecting it with new life. With Tiffany’s arrival, there was an undeniable new edge of humour to the films, an unexpected raw sexiness on screen — (if that sounds a little strange when talking about a killer-doll horror film, you’ll have to forgive me).
Tiffany was the perfect counterpart to Chucky — played by Tilly, she brought new opportunities for fresh storylines to the franchise, whilst amazingly also bringing out a more human side to Chucky. Through Tiffany, Chucky was given a never-before-seen side, one that would not have been possible to explore without the addition of her character.
Of course, as the Child’s Play series expanded further, actress Jennifer Tilly remained a central character. Starring in The Seed of Chucky, The Curse of Chucky and The Cult of Chucky, we saw Tilly able to also share more on-screen time as her “human self” too. With her larger than life, dynamic performance on the horror series, her addition to the cast sealed the deal almost instantly: Child’s Play was evolving — and getting even better. Watching the films today, it’s almost hard to imagine Chucky was ever without his epic female sidekick. She has become such an integral part of the Chucky universe.
Fans were delighted when earlier this year it was confirmed there was to be a Child’s Play television series, starring Jennifer Tilly and Devon Sowa. It seems the Chucky world is expanding and its audience is certainly staying for the ride.
There are few film franchises that manage to carry on with such significant success through the years — the fact that Child’s Play is as loved today as it was in the 80s is testament to the power and talent of the creators and actors behind it. With the evolution of the show, the carefully plotted development of Charles Lee Ray’s history and the addition of actress Jennifer Tilly, things have only gone from strength to strength.
It’ll be exciting for fans to see where things go next.
You can check out my interview with actor Devon Sowa HERE
